The U.S. economy grew at a slower pace in the first quarter due to reduced business investment in inventories, government spending cuts, and weak consumer spending. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting the economy growing at only a 0.2 percent rate in the first quarter, which would be the weakest performance in three years. The expected sluggish first-quarter growth pace, however, is not a true picture of the economy's health.

Twitter's active users have risen by 14% in Q1 2017, but advertising revenue fell by almost 8% from a year earlier. Twitter's CEO, Jack Dorsey, said the company continues to face revenue headwinds, but believes executing on their plan and growing their audience should result in positive revenue growth over the long term. The increase in users is in part due to measures to reduce abusive content and new features, including live video broadcasting. Twitter shares rose 11% following the announcement.