Australia’s economy shrank the most since in almost eight years in the third quarter as government spending fell and imports rose. The local currency slumped. • Gross domestic product fell 0.5% from the previous quarter, when it gained a revised 0.6%; economists estimated a 0.1% drop • The economy grew 1.8% from a year earlier, compared with a forecast 2.2% gain • Contraction was biggest quarterly decline since end of 2008 The report spans a period when Australia’s election returned Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with a razor-thin majority and government spending and resource exports failed to lift growth. The ... (full story)