After-Tax Profits Down: The Commerce Department reported...

After-Tax Profits Down: The Commerce Department reported that corporations’ after-tax profits fell 1.7% in the first quarter of 1989, the biggest decline in more than a year. In a report indicating earnings are slowing down along with the economy, the department said after-tax profits dipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $171.6 billion during the first quarter, down from $174.5 billion during the previous three-month period. Decreases in profits were widespread within manufacturing industries, while earnings in trade, transportation, public utilities and other non-manufacturing industries also fell.