The U.S. economy was still chugging along as it rounded out 2022, despite rising interest rates and widespread fears of a recession.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) was up 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, according to an estimate from the Commerce Department, even as some sectors slowed.
The department said the overall growth reflected higher levels of consumer spending, private inventory investment, and government spending, as well as a drop off in imports.
Manufacturers and utilities led the rise in private inventory investment, with petroleum, coal products, and chemicals seeing the biggest gains.
As for consumer spending, both services and goods fueled the uptick. Health care, housing and utilities topped services, while motor vehicles and parts topped goods.
The data marks a deceleration in real GDP from the 3.2 percent growth in the third quarter, in large part due to falling exports and a drop in nonresidential fixed investment. Specifically, the housing sector has screeched to a halt in response to higher mortgage rates.
President Joe Biden told a gathering of Native American nations that he would support the bid by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which invented lacrosse, to compete in the sport under its own flag in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Fifty-two endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles suffering from “cold stun” are rehabbing at four facilities in Florida after a flight on a private plane from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts.
Last week's crash off the coast of Japan raised new questions about the safety of the helicopter-airplane hybrid, which has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over its relatively short time in service.
Amanda Perez, left, is comforted by fellow student Alejandro Barron following a shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Las Vegas. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Authorities in Oregon are investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were found in creeks this week and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued five people from flooded areas on Tuesday.
A liberal activist with an eye for mainstream entertainment, Lear fashioned bold and controversial comedies that were embraced by viewers who had to watch the evening news to find out what was going on in the world.
