U.S. economic growth nudged up in the third quarter, the government confirmed on Friday, and there are signs the economy more or less maintained the moderate pace of expansion as the year ended, supported by a strong labor market. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.1% annualized rate, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate of third-quarter GDP. That was unrevised from last month’s estimate. The economy grew at a 2.0% pace in the April-June period. Despite the unrevised reading, which was in line with economists’ expectations, consumer spending was stronger than previously reported. There were also ... (full story)