Modest 2.5% GDP gain marks slow growth era
The Commerce Department reports third quarter GDP at 2.5 percent, the slowest since late 1986, with inflation rising to 5.3 percent the highest in six years. GNP reaches $4.009 trillion, exports and imports revised up, and corporate profits up 3.9 percent after taxes. Drought losses trim growth, while inventory investment and government spending see revisions.