The Slumping US economy limped through the first quarter, growing by only 0.6 percent as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down. The country's economic growth during January through March was the same as in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported last week. The statistic did not meet what economists consider the classic definition of a recession, which is a retraction of the economy. This means that although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to grow, even if modestly.

Soaring prices for food, gas and other everyday needs pushed consumer spending to a faster pace than expected in March. The Commerce Department reported last week that consumer spending was up 0.4 percent, double the increase that economists had forecast. However, once inflation was removed, spending edged up a much slower 0.1 percent. The March figures represent the fourth straight lackluster performance as consumers have been battered by record gasoline prices, a deep slump in housing and rising job layoffs.

The number of workers filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose a bigger-than-expected 35,000 last week, and the number of workers remaining on jobless benefits climbed to a four-year high, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Initial claims for jobless benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 380,000 in the week ended April 26, from a revised 345,000 the previous week. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected claims to rise to 360,000 from an initially reported 342,000.

U.S. factories saw demand for their products rebound in March, following a two-month slump. The Commerce Department reported Friday that orders placed with U.S. manufacturers rose 1.4 percent in March. That was an improvement from the 0.9 percent dip reported in February and the 2.3 percent drop in January. The latest snapshot of manufacturing activity was better than many economists were forecasting. They were predicting a smaller, 0.2 percent rise in orders.

The major market indices were higher this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Index gained 1.29 percent. The S&P 500 Stock Index rose 1.15 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 2.23 percent. Closed end country funds closed the week in positive territory. Of 85 such funds tracked by Thomson Financial, 70 finished in positive territory, 14 finished in negative territory while 1 remained unchanged. The average fund jumped 1.99 percent compared to a gain of 0.74 percent in market price the previous week. The average discount of market price from net asset value per share narrowed to 7.31 percent from 8.14 percent the week before.

Rounding out the top three performers for the week was the Morgan Stanley China A Share Fund which gained 11.20 percent followed by Greater China Fund which gained 11.16 percent and Japan Smaller Cap Fund Inc which advanced 7.18 percent.

Leading the bottom performers for the week was Malaysia Fund which dropped 3.30 percent, followed by Swiss Helvetia Fund which lost 2.25 percent and Taiwan Fund which lost 2.23 percent.