Economic Wheels Continue to Slow, GDP Shows

(Updated from 8:34 a.m.)

As if we needed any more proof, preliminary figures for the gross domestic product confirm the economic wheels are slowing dramatically. The economy grew by only 1.1% in the fourth quarter, slightly better than the 1% rate expected by economists.

The figure, however, is lower than the 1.4% growth rate flagged in the advance report of fourth-quarter GDP that had been released earlier. GDP -- the output of goods and services produced in the U.S. -- has slowed sharply from 5.6% in the second quarter of 2000.

But there was good news in the report on the inflation front. The price index, an important inflation measure, was revised down for the quarter to 1.9%. Economists were expecting it to remain at 2.1%, on par with the advance estimate, but up from 1.6% in the third quarter. ...