By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. real gross domestic product for the third quarter was revised to an increase of 1.8% annualized from the earlier estimate of a 2.0% rise, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected third-quarter growth to be unrevised at a 2.0% rate. The downward revision to third-quarter GDP was largely due to weaker consumer spending. A key measure of inflation was revised higher. The core personal consumption index, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 2.1% up from 2.0% reported earlier. Corporate profits before-tax were revised lower. Corporate profits before-tax increased 1.2% quarter-to-quarter, down from the 1.6% gain reported earlier.
