GNP gained a fraction in 2nd quarter, US says

The US gross national product increased 0.6 percent from April through June, a turnaround for the economy after two consecutive quarterly declines, a tentative government estimate showed.

The White House quickly hailed the increase as a sign that the worst of the recession is over. The indication that the economy was once again growing was in contrast to the Commerce Department's downward revision of corporate profit figures for the first quarter, which showed that profits dropped 18 percent after taxes, instead of the originally reported 17.5 percent decline. The tentative GNP figure is known as the ''flash'' figure - an estimate based on partial data for the second quarter.