The U.S. economy is starting to slow under the combined weight of soaring inflation and climbing interest rates—including the highest mortgage rates since 2008. Recent reports show sharp declines in key sectors, raising the prospects of a stalled economic recovery and possibly a recession. Home construction across the U.S. fell sharply in May, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Factories in the mid-Atlantic region reduced activity for the first time in two years this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said. And Americans broadly cut spending at retailers for the first time this year in May, the Commerce Department said earlier this week. Economists have slashed their projections for second-quarter output growth in recent days. One closely watched forecast—the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow tracker—estimates that gross domestic product is on track to remain unchanged at an annual rate over the three months through June 30. Output fell […]