U.S. economic growth likely accelerated in the second quarter as a pick-up in consumer spending and housing offset the drag from trade and the energy sector, suggesting a steady momentum that could bring the Federal Reserve closer to hiking interest rates this year. The government is expected to report on Thursday that gross domestic product increased at a 2.6 percent annual rate, according to a Reuters survey of economists. There is, however, a lot of uncertainty regarding this estimate after the government took steps to refine the seasonal adjustment for some components of GDP, which economists said left residual ... (full story)