The U.S. economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth, yet consumers continued to spend. Business investment, excluding housing, rose at an 8.4% pace, down from 10.6% from January through March but strong, reflecting a surge in investment in artificial intelligence. Imports are subtracted from the economic figures because GDP is only supposed to count what is produced in the U.S. Imports rose at an 11.5% pace, partly on a surge in shipments of computer chips and other products that support AI investment. The imports shaved 1.5 percentage off second-quarter GDP growth. “AI investment remains a powerful growth story, but the import surge underpinning the build-out is a reminder that an AI boom does not automatically translate into an equally large boost to U.S.