Fortune 500 Companies' Profits Grew 23 Pet. in 1996
NEW YORK April 7-Profits surged 23.3 percent at the Fortune 500 companies in 1996, as low interest rates and benign inflation helped fatten the wealth of CorporateAmeri-caÛªs mightiest businesses.</br></br>It was the fourth straight year of strong profit gains among companies ranked in FortuneÛªs annual listing, released today. The surge in profitÛÓto nearly $300 billion for the 500 companiesÛÓwas in percentage terms far greater than worker income gains and other measures of economic health.</br></br>The profit growth is widely viewed as an unsustainable trend that already has begun to show signs of faltering, partly reflected in the recent pullback in the roaring stock market.</br></br>Investors are increasingly concerned that the Federal Reserve has only started to nudge interest rates upward, which raises the cost of doing business and discourages people from spending money.</br></br>Exxon Corp., the nationÛªs biggest oil company, had the biggest profit among the 500 in 1996: $7.5 billion.