E-Commerce Times Talkback

U.S. government data cast twin clouds on the big-picture view of the economic recovery Friday, saying economic expansion in the first quarter wasn't as strong as earlier reported, while inflation was actually higher than believed. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate of 3.9 percent during the first three months of the year, down from the 4.4 percent reported last month and down from the 4.1 percent rate of growth recorded in the last quarter of 2003.