Economic growth continues to be sluggish. (Commerce Department report on growth of gross...

The preliminary Commerce Department report on second-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) provided further evidence of the sluggish economy. GDP grew at an estimated annualized rate of only 1.6percent during the April-June period, up from the even more anemic 0.7 percent first-quarter growth trend.

Although the economy has now expanded for nine consecutive quarters -- it's sometimes hard to believe that the recession "officially" ended more than two years ago -- there is precious little evidence that we're on the verge of more solid and sustainable growth. Business and