Big institutions, however, are increasingly inclined to invest directly, saving the double-whammy in fees which helps to drag down net performance.

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Meanwhile, federal stimulus spending is on the wane and will become a net drag on output in the second half of this year.

ECONOMIST: Unemployment benefits

As a result, they were a net drag on the economy.

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Rather, because the resulting deficits imply future tax increases, and the private sector spends the money more productively overall than the public sector, it is a net drag on the economy.

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Wrap one of these peanut clusters in a giant steel net, then drag it off its deadly course?

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What seems not to have occurred to members of Congress is that there is a way to boost the economy that not only doesn't require federal spending but actually reduces it: removing the drag caused by excessive, unscientific and net-negative regulation.

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Even so, UBS, a bank, forecasts that in 2009 net exports will be a negative drag on GDP growth.

ECONOMIST: China's economy

As you can see, consumption and investment contributed positively, while net exports and government spending were a drag.

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David Bianco, chief U.S. equities strategist at Deutsche Bank, says the automatic spending cuts could actually be a "net positive" for stocks, despite the drag that they would put on the economy.

NPR: Wall Street Holds Its Nerve As Spending Cuts Near