Economists are slashing their expectations for fourth-quarter GDP growth as holiday sales come in lower than projected and utility output flounders. Bank of America analysts cut their quarterly growth projection 0.2 percentage points to 2% on Friday, slowing from the third quarter's 2.1% growth and matching the rate seen in the second quarter of 2019. December's retail sales excluding auto climbed 0.7%, but control group sales in November and October were both revised to mild drops after initial reports showed healthy gains. The control group consists of all sales except for car dealers, building materials, ... (full story)