U.S. Q2 GDP Holds at 1.5% as Corporate Profits Rise $400.9 Billion

The U.S. economy expanded at a 1.5% annual rate in the second quarter, unchanged in the Bureau of Economic Analysis's second estimate and down from 2.1% in the first quarter. Consumer spending, exports and investment contributed to growth, while lower government spending partly offset them; stronger consumer spending than first reported was balanced by higher imports. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers rose 4.2%, revised up 0.3 percentage point. Corporate profits from current production increased $400.9 billion after rising $74.4 billion in the previous quarter, and real gross domestic income grew 2.2%.