How are GDP rates calculated?
This question overlaps with the question: link to question on quarterly/annual GDP.

Since you are referring to news commentary, I just want to add that the standard in the United States is to quote annualised quarterly GDP figures (e.g. 2.0% annualised roughly equals 0.5% on the quarter), while European countries (e.g., Germany) often quote the non-annualised quarterly growth rate. (These are the conventions used by the national statistical agencies when quoting growth rates, and the business press usually follows the local convention when reporting on the results.) This difference sometimes can cause confusion in international comparisons.