A report July 27 showed the U.S. economy cooled in the second quarter as limited job growth prompted Americans to curb spending while state and local governments cut back.

Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 1.5 percent annual rate after a revised 2 percent gain in the prior quarter, Commerce Department data showed in Washington. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of GDP, grew at the slowest pace in a year.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets today and tomorrow amid speculation they may act to strengthen the economy. Developed nations' central banks, from the Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank, have cut rates to record lows since 2008. Fed policy makers have said they expect to keep their target rate for overnight loans between banks low through late 2014. The Fed's benchmark rate is in a range of zero to 0.25 percent.

Pimco's Total Return Fund gained 7.3 percent during the past year, beating 73 percent of its peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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