INSTANT VIEW: Reaction to GDP, jobless data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. corporate profits fell 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in a report that also confirmed U.S. economic growth slowed to a meager annual pace of 0.6 percent in same period.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 last week, the government said on Thursday, though a more reliable gauge of layoff trends rose to its highest in more than two years.

KEY POINTS:

GDP/CORP PROFITS * Wall Street analysts surveyed before the report had expected only a 0.1 percent drop in corporate profits, despite a crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage market that has hobbled U.S. economic growth. * Analysts had forecast a 0.6 percent rise in GDP.

JOBLESS CLAIMS * Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell to 366,000 in the week ended March 22 from a revised 375,000 for the prior week, the Labor Department said. * The four-week average of new jobless claims, which is considered a more accurate measurement of employment trends since it smoothes out weekly volatility, rose to 358,000 in the week ended March 22 from 356,250 in the previous week.

COMMENTS:

ANDREW HARDING, HEAD OF TAXABLE FIXED-INCOME, ALLEGIANT ASSET MANAGEMENT, CLEVELAND, OHIO:  Continued...