Q4 GDP Growth was Revised Up to 1.4%

This morning, the government revised higher its report on fourth-quarter GDP. The economy grew, in real terms, by 1.4% (annualized) during the final three months of last year.

The revision mainly reflects better consumer spending on services, signaling domestic stability in the face of overseas headwinds that stung manufacturers, energy firms and financial markets.

The balance sheets of U.S. companies weakened during the quarter. Corporate profits after tax, without inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments, fell at an 8.1% pace last quarter from the third. That was largest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 2011. Profits fell 3.3% in third quarter from the second. On a year-over-year basis, corporate profits declined 3.6% in the fourth quarter.

Still, for all of 2015, profits were up 3.3% from 2014. The unadjusted measure of corporate profits tracks most closely with what companies report in earnings statements.

Posted by on March 25th, 2016 at 9:33 am


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