Growth Rate

The economy grew more rapidly in the final three months of last year than had been thought, the government reported yesterday, and economists said growth could be good this year, too. The gross domestic product rose at a 3.8 percent annual rate in the final quarter, significantly more than the government estimated last month, when the Commerce Department forecast a 3.1 percent increase. The GDP is the measure of all goods and services produced in the United States. The improvement reflected more robust spending by businesses on capital equipment and on inventories of goods.

You wouldn't know it by following the stock market's latest funk, but corporate America has rarely been in better shape. Another embarrassment of riches lies ahead as companies close the books on the first quarter of 2005. The biggest question is what to do with the money. Chances are good that analysts, once again, have low-balled the pace of profit growth. "I wouldn't be surprised if there is a surprise," said Michael Thompson, director of research at Thomson Financial. His firm officially estimates that earnings per share of the Standard & Poor's 500 companies grew at 7.8 percent in the current quarter, down from a 20 percent growth rate for the fourth quarter.

ABBOTT LABORATORIES (ABT, NYSE, around $52): "The firm's long-range prospects are enhanced by a worldwide leadership position in in-vitro diagnostics, revitalized pharmaceutical operations, and a continual emphasis on fast-growing medical products. The company sports a 5-year growth rate of 15 percent. The issue yields 1.9 percent and has a quality ranking of A+."H&R BLOCK (HRB, NYSE, around $60): "H&R Block is the largest federal income tax preparer in the United States and Canada. The company has recorded a steady rise in earnings for nearly two decades.

WASHINGTON -- Limp consumer demand and poor export performance reduced the nation's economic growth during the first quarter to its weakest pace in more than a year, according to revised figures released yesterday.Gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services in the United States, clocked in at a sluggish annual growth rate of 0.9 percent, well below official and private expectations and far behind the robust 4.9 percent spurt in the final quarter of last year. The level was just half the preliminary estimate of 1.8 percent released a month ago.The anemic domestic growth was compounded by recession in Europe and Japan, which held down demand in two of the nation's major export markets and left the United States with its largest trade gap in four years, a revised $29.07 billion for the first quarter.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The slowdown in growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended. The Commerce Department also said Friday that the economy grew a little better than previously thought in the January-March quarter. It raised its estimate to a 2 percent rate, up from 1.9 percent. Growth at or below 2 percent isn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, as Americans cut back sharply on spending. The slowdown in growth adds to worries that the economy could be stalling three years after the recession ended. The Commerce Department also said Friday that the economy grew a little better than previously thought in the January-March quarter. It raised its estimate to a 2 percent rate, up from 1.9 percent. Growth at or below 2 percent isn't enough to lower the unemployment rate, which was 8.2 percent last month.

After a nine-month job drought, businesses in Maryland have finally started to hire. Boosted by growth in construction, health care and the federal government, Maryland added jobs in November - the first time since January, according to data released by the federal government. Total jobs in the state rose to 2.5 million last month, 3,000 more than a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "The latest data ... clearly shows that job growth [in Maryland] has resumed," said Pradeep Ganguly, chief economist in Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development.

A new study of the Hispanic market in the United States projects increases in household disposable income and consumer spending through 2020 that significantly outpace the expected national growth rate. The study based its estimates on the continued rapid expansion of the Hispanic population. Titled "Snapshots of the U.S. Hispanic Market," the report, released last week, said Hispanic spending patterns "often show a sharp contrast of growth in an otherwise flat market. It also seeks to highlight the importance of targeting Hispanic consumers to achieve maximum sales gains.