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Profits rise: U.S. manufacturers’ after-tax first-quarter profits rose to an average 4.7 percent of sales from 2.9 percent in the preceding quarter and 1.6 percent a year ago, the Commerce Department said. Profits on non-durable goods totaled $19.48 billion in the first quarter versus $13.98 billion in the previous quarter and $12.84 billion a year earlier. Durable-goods profits totaled $16.20 billion in the first quarter, compared with $8.45 billion in the previous quarter and a loss of $1.69 billion a year earlier.
