• American gross domestic product fell 0.9% at an annualized pace for the period, according to the advance estimate.
• That follows a 1.6% decline in the first quarter and was worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a gain of 0.3%.
• The drop came from a broad swath of factors, including decreases in inventories, residential and nonresidential investment, and government spending.

The U.S. economy contracted for the second straight quarter from April to June, hitting a widely accepted rule of thumb for a recession, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.

Gross domestic product fell 0.9% at an annualized pace for the period, according to the advance estimate. That follows a 1.6% decline in the first quarter and was worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a gain of 0.3%.

Officially, the National Bureau of Economic Research declares recessions and expansions, and likely won’t make a judgment on the period in question for months if not longer…read more.