The US government has said that after a bleak start to the year, its economy grew at a brisk annual rate of 4.2 percent in the April-June quarter, slightly faster than it had first estimated. The upward revision supported expectations that the second half of 2014 will prove far stronger than the first half. The Commerce Department's second estimate of growth for last quarter followed its initial estimate of 4 percent. The upward revision reflected stronger business investment than first thought.The seasonally adjusted 4.2 percent annual growth rate for the gross domestic product, the nation's total output of goods and services, came after the economy had shrunk at a 2.1 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter. That was the economy's biggest drop since the depths of the Great Recession, and it reflected mainly the effects of a harsh winter that kept consumers away from shopping malls and disrupted factory production. Many economists say they expect growth of around 3 percent in the current July-September quarter and for the rest of the year.During a White House news conference yesterday, President Barack Obama took note of the upward revision to growth. Obama said, there are reasons to feel good about the direction they are headed. He said, Companies are investing, consumers are spending. Still, he acknowledged that there is a lot more that they should be doing to make sure that all Americans benefit from the progress that they have made. Obama said he would press Congress when it returns next week to take further actions to boost the economy.