US Economy Cools to 1.5 Percent Growth in Second Quarter Amid Middle East Tensions

A measure known as real final sales to domestic purchasers, which tracks spending by households, businesses and government while filtering out trade and inventory swings, jumped 3.9% on an annualized basis. That’s a sharp improvement from the 1.7% pace seen in the first quarter, suggesting underlying demand in the economy was actually stronger than the topline number suggests.