The Big Picture
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 6/14/2004
Gross domestic product
- GDP, the total output of goods and services, increased by 4.4 percent in the first quarter, driven by personal consumption, equipment, inventory investment and federal government spending, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Corporate profits
- Corporate profits increased by $14.4 billion in the first quarter, one-sixth the increase of the $81.4 billion registered in the fourth quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Consumer sentiment
- The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment fell to 90.2 in May, down from 94.2 the previous month. The reading came as gas prices hit record levels. U.S. economic officials, meanwhile, reported that April personal income increased by 0.6 percent.
