U.S. economic growth slows in fourth quarter; corporate profits fall

U.S. economic growth cooled in the fourth quarter as previously reported and after-tax corporate profits took a hit from a strong dollar, which could undermine future business spending. Corporate profits from outside the United States fell at an 8.8 percent rate, the steepest decline since the 2007-2009 recession. "Slower profit growth could mean slower investment in the coming months," said Thomas Costerg, an economist at Standard Chartered in New York. For all of 2014, after-tax corporate profits fell 8.3 percent, the largest annual drop since 2008.

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