US Economy Expanded in Q4

Here’s hoping that red ink is erasable. The US economy actually grew in the fourth quarter of 2012—but just barely—instead of contracting for the first time in three and a half years, according to the Commerce Department.

The US expanded at a 0.1% annual rate in the last three months of 2012, better than the initially reported 0.1% drop but well below the third quarter’s 3.1% pace. Stronger residential construction and an improvement in net exports pushed growth into positive territory. It offset a bigger decline in government spending than previously suggested as well as a sharper deceleration in the buildup of business inventories, according to the Commerce Department.