China's industrial profits suffer first drop in three years, piles pressure on economy

BEIJING (Reuters) - Earnings at China's industrial firms in November dropped for the first time in nearly three years, as slackening external and domestic demand left businesses facing more strain in 2019 in a sign of 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..