Consumer spending and corporate profits boost growth in the US in the second quarter

WASHINGTON – Corporate profits declined in the second quarter after a slowdown early in the year and consumer spending rose faster than expected. This helped fuel solid economic growth, albeit slower, as the US expansion celebrated its 10th anniversary.

A key measure of corporate profits – after taxes, with no inventory valuation and no adjustment in capital consumption – rose 4.8% over the previous quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. This came after the 1.5% drop in corporate profits in the first quarter of …