“The first quarter was clearly very soft, but a lot of it was due to temporary factors,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said before the report. “The rebound in the second quarter should be good, with the focus on the consumer.” Economists’ estimates ranged from a decline of 0.5 percent to an increase of 0.4 percent. The economy grew at a 2.2 percent pace from October through December. “Part of this weakness was likely the result of transitory factors,” Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference last week after policymakers met to discuss the ... (full story)