The US economy shrank in the fourth quarter at its fastest rate since 1982, revised official figures showed on Thursday, as corporate profits fell at the sharpest pace in 55 years and jobless claims continued to climb. Updated data showed US GDP contracted at an annualised 6.3% in the 2008 fourth quarter, compared with last month’s estimate of 6.2%, which came after an overly optimistic January projection of a 3.8% contraction, despite evidence of a more severe downturn.

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