U.S. Q4 GDP grew less than originally estimated

Economy grew at 2.2% pace, government says.    U.S. Gross Domestic Product in the fourth quarter of 2014 slowed to an annual rate of 2.2 percent from 5 percent in the third quarter. The Commerce Department revised downward last month’s initial estimate of 2.6 percent as more complete data became available.
   The deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected an upturn in imports – which subtract from calculations of domestic productivity – a downturn in federal spending, and deceleration of nonresidential fixed investment and exports.
   Real exports of goods and services increased 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 4.5 percent in the third. Real Q4 imports of goods and services increased 10.1 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.9 percent in Q3.
   Deutsche Bank Chief Economist Joseph LaVorgna suggested a few weeks ago the West Coast port slowdown over labor issues would knock down fourth-quarter GDP by one percentage point.
   For the year, the U.S. economy grew 2.4 percent compared to 2.2 percent in 2013.