[HOSTED.AP.ORG] There's something strange about the U.S. economy in the first three months of every year: It frequently grows at a much slower pace than in the other nine months.People spend a lot of money over Christmas and Hannukah. Holiday temp workers are laid off. Bad weather sets in and limits travel. What's so mysterious about that?
And on Friday, the government agency charged with calculating the economy's growth rate said it would adjust its methods in an effort to resolve the problem.
The changes could paint a much different picture of the economy's recent performance. Concerns flared when the government said late last month that the economy expanded just 0.2 percent at an annual rate in the first quarter. But many economists have challenged the government's data, and some have argued the first-quarter figure should be as high as 1.8 percent instead.