ECONOMY

U.S. Manufacturers’ Profits Up in 1st Quarter: A quarterly survey of about 7,900 companies shows that profits rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.8 cents per dollar of sales from a revised 5.0 cents for the fourth quarter last year, the Commerce Department reported. The improvement was consistent with a pickup in overall economic activity this year after a lackluster final quarter last year, when the nation’s gross domestic product barely expanded. Manufacturers’ profits after taxes for the first quarter were a seasonally adjusted $52.81 billion on net sales of $905.43 billion. That is 18% higher than fourth-quarter profits.