The government issues its second of three estimates of how the U.S. economy fared in the January-March quarter. The report will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday. NEGATIVE NUMBER: The forecast is that the overall economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the first quarter, according to a survey of economists by FactSet. SPRING REBOUND: In its first estimate, the government said that growth slowed to a barely discernible 0.1 percent rate as the harsh winter depressed business activity. The first estimate of the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy's health, is revised as the ... (full story)