GDP Growth in Q1 Lowest in 4 Years

You can thank the usual suspect of Rising Energy Prices (hello, soon-to-be $4 gallons of gas!) and newcomer Godawful Housing Market for the weakest GDP growth in four years.  The U.S. economy slowed to real annualized growth of just 1.3 percent in the first quarter, according to the Commerce Department.

What growth there was can be attributed to consumer spending, state and local government expenditures and business investments.

"Calm will likely prevail over today’s lower-than-expected figure largely because of resilience seen in consumer spending," wrote Tony Crescenzi, chief bond market strategist for Miller Tabak & Co. "No issue has seen more heated debate over the past few months" than the consumer. For now, at least, "the onus is on the bear camp to prove their case" that housing woes and higher energy prices will sap the consumers’ strength.