The U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of the year, and faces threats from high inflation and rising interest rates. <br />''<br />'' According to media reports, the first quarterly decline in the gross domestic product since the pandemic hit in 2020, a 1.4 percent drop on an annualized basis.<br />''<br />''On other hand, rising wages bolstered spending by households and higher profits drove investment by companies.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The job market also remains robust, with the unemployment rate near a 50-year low of 3.6 percent, and wages rising steadily. Last month, prices jumped 8.5 percent from a year earlier, the fastest such rise in four decades.</span><br />