News the US economy contracted at an annualised rate of 6.1 per cent in the first three months of this year on Wednesday cast a pall over the completion of Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office.

Bargain hunting: shoppers kept tills jingling, causing a 9.4 per cent gain in spending on consumer durables

The growth report was not uniformly bad. It confirmed that private consumption increased in the first quarter after falling in both the third and fourth quarters of 2008. That may ultimately provide the foundation for economic stabilisation.