Investment Slump

Marketwatch reports:

The big story for the first quarter was in the business sector, where firms halted new investments, and shed workers and inventories at a dizzying pace to bring down production and stockpiles to match the lower demand from U.S. and foreign markets.

"Businesses have not only cut back aggressively on inventories, but also on business fixed investment," wrote Harm Bandholz, economist for UniCredit Markets. "And the size of the declines in suggests that the adjustments in these areas have largely been made during the last couple of months."

Source: BEA