The daily business briefing: April 28, 2023

Economic growth slowed in the first quarter of 2023, Eli Lilly says a study shows its diabetes drug helps people lose weight, and more

Eli Lilly logo with syringe and medicine bottles.
(Image credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

1. Economic growth slowed in 1st quarter

Economic growth slowed to a 1.1 percent annualized pace in the last quarter from a 2.6 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The slowdown came as many economists warn the economy could be heading into a recession as the Federal Reserve aggressively raises interest rates to cool the economy and bring down inflation. A Census Bureau analysis published Thursday said the end of extra pandemic-era food subsidies on March 1 also contributed to the slowdown by reducing consumption. About one in four households who received the benefits, or about eight million Americans, say they "sometimes" or "often" don't have enough to eat now that the program has been lifted in 32 states.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.