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The United States economy grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the third quarter, slightly better than expected, with help from a healthier housing sector and a pickup in defense spending. But economists warn that growth could slow in the final quarter of the year if weakness in exports persists and businesses remain cautious because of fiscal uncertainty in Washington. The new figure, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, is the government’s first estimate of growth in the third quarter. It compares with the 1.3 percent pace of growth in the second quarter. In the first quarter of 2012, the economy...

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to the lowest level in more than four and a half years, according to government data on Thursday that suggested improvement in the labor market. The news could help President Barack Obama in his tight race for re-election on November 6 against Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who says Obama has mishandled the economy. But a second report released on Thursday hinted at weaker U.S. and global demand. The U.S. trade deficit widened in August to $44.2 billion, as U.S. goods exports fell for the fifth consecutive month and imports declined fractionally. Initial claims for state...

Friday's monthly jobs report changed the picture of the U.S. economy in more ways than one, showing the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in more than three years and hiring was stronger than originally reported throughout the summer. Unemployment unexpectedly fell to 7.8% in September, down from 8.1%, as a survey of U.S. households showed 873,000 more Americans had jobs compared to a month earlier. The last time the unemployment rate was that low was in January 2009, the month President Obama was inaugurated. A separate survey of employers, considered the key metric that Wall Street watches, showed businesses added 114,000 jobs in September. It marked a...

Wall Street stocks were mostly lower on Friday, pulled down by disappointing economic data, but the market posted its best third quarter since 2010 after a recent wave of central bank actions set off a recovery in equities in the last few months. Despite Friday’s losses, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index advanced 5.8 percent over the last three months, mainly on expectations that central banks around the world would take steps to stimulate their economies. That brought the benchmark index’s advance so far this year to 14.6 percent. For the third quarter, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite index 6.2 percent. On...