China's industrial profits suffer first annual drop in three years

BEIJING (Reuters) - Earnings growth at China's industrial firms in November fell for the first time in nearly three years in the face of slackening domestic and external demand, highlighting rising risks to the world's second-largest economy. The gloomy data points to a further loss of economic momentum as a trade dispute with the United States piles pressure on China's vast manufacturing sector and as firms, bracing for a tough year ahead, shelve their investment plans, executives say...