The numbers: Gross domestic product decelerated a bit to a 3.5% annual pace in the third quarter, down from torrid 4.2% pace in the prior three months, the government said Friday. GDP is the official measuring stick for the U.S. economy. The gain was very close to Wall Street estimates. Economists polled by MarketWatch had GDP would rise at a 3.4% rate. Growth in the last two quarters is the fastest six months of growth in four years. The economy looks like it will expand above a 3% rate in 2018. That hasn’t happened since 2005. At the same time, inflation cooled in the third quarter.
