The American economy grew at a solid 2.3 per cent annual rate the last three months of 2024, supported by a burst of year-end consumer spending, the government said, leaving unchanged its initial estimate of fourth-quarter growth. The outlook for 2025 is cloudier as President Donald Trump pursues trade wars, cutbacks in the federal workforce and mass deportations. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that growth in gross domestic product the nation's output of goods and services decelerated from a 3.1 per cent pace in July-September 2024. For all of last year, the economy grew 2.8 per cent, compared with 2.9 per cent in 2023. Consumer spending advanced at a 4.2 per cent pace from October through December. The report shows that Trump inherited a healthy economy when he took office last month. Growth has now topped a decent 2 per cent for nine of the last 10 quarters. Unemployment is low at 4 per cent, and inflation has come down from the highs it hit in mid-2022. After lowe