The Incredible Shrinking Economy

Push back expectations for a rebound. The U.S. GDP shrank 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the most since 1982, the Commerce Department reported this morning. "A collapse in spending led to a buildup in inventories that will cause companies to retrench even more in the early part of this year," according to Bloomberg. Still, the contraction was less than the 5.5 percent decline that analysts expected.