Post by bot on Aug 29, 2014 20:14:10 GMT -5
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy grew at a slightly faster 4.2% annual pace in the second quarter, mainly because businesses invested more in buildings and equipment than previously reported, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Initially the government said the U.S. expanded at a seasonally adjusted 4% clip. Economists polled by MarketWatch predicted gross domestic product would be revised down a tick, but business investment and net exports were stronger than expected. Businesses increased investment in structures such as office buildings by 9.4% instead of 5.3% and they raised spending on equipment by 10.7% vs. a prior estimate of 7%. Trade was also less of a drag on the economy. The rise in exports was revised up to 10.1% from 9.5% and the increase in imports was trimmed to 11% from 11.7%. Consumer spending, the main driver of U.S. economic activity, was unchanged. Spending rose by a 2.5% annual rate. The rest of the revised report on gross domestic product showed little change. Corporate profits, meanwhile, rose an estimated 8% in the second quarter after declining by 9.4% in the first quarter. Profits adjusted for depreciation and the value of inventories climbed by $154.9 billion to a $2.1 trillion annual rate.
