U.S. economic growth slowed during the third quarter as business investment declined, The Wall Street Journal reports. Gross domestic product—the value of goods and services produced in the U.S.—rose at an annual rate of 1.9 percent from July through September, according to Commerce Department figures released Wednesday. That’s a slight slowdown from the second quarter, when the economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate. However, third-quarter growth was stronger than experts had predicted before the release. The Journal reports the figure was boosted by government and consumer spending, residential investment, and exports.