Annualized GDP falls 5.5 percent in Q1, corporate profits increase

"The U.S. economy decreased at an annualized rate of 5.5 percent in the first quarter after a 6.3 percent decline in the last quarter of 2008."

"The Bureau of Economic Analysis, which released first quarter gross domestic product figures Thursday, said the improved performance is due to a 1.4 percent increase in real personal consumption."

"The decline in GDP, which measures the output of goods and services produced in the U.S., coincided with a rise in corporate profits, which increased $48.1 billion in the first quarter following a $250.3 billion decrease in the fourth quarter of 2008."