By Steve Goldstein
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Commerce Department on Friday slashed its estimate of second-quarter growth in the U.S. economy to 1.6% from 2.4%, showing a sharp deceleration in the April-to-June period from the 3.7% growth of the first quarter. Economists polled by MarketWatch had anticipated an even sharper downward revision in the second quarter to 1.3% growth. The revision came as imports were revised higher to show 32.4% growth, the biggest jump since the first quarter of 1984. Inventories and exports were also downwardly revised, while consumer spending was upwardly revised on electricity and natural gas usage. The Commerce Department also released its first set of data on profitability in the second quarter, showing after-tax profits up 25.5%, or a 39.2% rise before tax.
