Dubai – Mubasher: The U.S gross domestic product advanced at a 2.1% in the third quarter of 2015, beating earlier estimates of 2% growth, which signals strength of the U.S. economy, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the balance sheets of U.S. companies weakened in the third quarter. Corporate profits after tax, without inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments, fell at a 3.2% pace from the second quarter, the biggest drop since the fourth quarter of 2014. On a year-over-year basis, corporate profit growth was 1.4%, compared with 8.5% year over year growth in the second quarter.

Consumer spending, which represents more than two-thirds of economic output, increased at a 3% rate in the third quarter, down from an initial estimate of 3.2% and from the second quarter’s 3.6% pace. The recent gain was led by strong spending on long-lasting goods, like automobiles.