US corporations pull out of their profit plunge

US corporate profits, after plunging to their lowest level in 25 years in the second quarter, rose 7.9 percent in the third quarter. As a further sign that the economy is pulling out of the recession, corporations' after-tax profits increased $10.1 billion in the third quarter, to $137.2 billion, after falling 19.6 percent in the second quarter. The Commerce Department also said the gross national product, the real value of the nation's goods and services, after adjusting for inflation, rose at a 0.9 percent annual rate in the third quarter, to $1.4 trillion. In the second quarter, GNP fell 9.6 percent.