OECD sees developed world growth of less than 1% (by Steve Goldstein)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Thursday said growth in the G7 economies excluding Japan will remain at an annualized rate of less than 1% in the second half of 2011. The OECD forecasts third-quarter growth for the U.S. at 1.1% before slowing to a paltry 0.4% in the fourth quarter, and the OECD forecasts a German contraction of 1.4% in the fourth quarter. "Growth is turning out to be much slower than we thought three months ago, and the risk of hitting patches of negative growth going forward has gone up," OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan said. The OECD said President Barack Obama's speech later Thursday is expected to provide a boost to job recovery in the United States.