Here's why the US economy usually stinks at the beginning of the year

Bernardo Montoya/Reuters Once again, the first three months of the year were a dud for the US economy. Gross domestic product -- the headline metric on the economy's output -- increased by just 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the Department of Commerce. Growth hasn't been that sluggish since the first quarter of 2014 when it actually shrank. But every first quarter report in the post-financial-crisis economic recovery has been weak. In fact, GDP has averaged a 0.6% annualized rate since ...