Economic Report: First-quarter GDP climbs at lackluster 1.1% pace as businesses retrench

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The numbers: The U.S. grew at a soft 1.1% annual pace in the first three months of this year, as strong consumer spending was offset by declining business investment.

Wall Street analysts had forecast a 2% increase in gross domestic product, the official scorecard for the economy.

Consumer spending, the main engine of U.S. growth, drove the…