Australia’s economy grew less than expected in the first quarter this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in a statement Wednesday, as growth stalled amid the simmering global trade tensions. The economy grew 1.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, lower than the estimated 1.5% growth in a Reuters poll. That was unchanged from the 1.3% year-on-year growth in the prior quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy expanded 0.2%, undershooting expectations for a 0.4% growth. Katherine Keenan, ABS head of national accounts, attributed the soft growth to shrinking public spending and weakened consumer ... (full story)