Retail spending and corporate profits have edged upward slightly, but a rush of new jobs still seems a long way off.

The US Airways Group reported that profit edged up 2 percent in the first quarter on modest revenue growth, and repeated its forecast for a profitable year.

For the year, profits edged up to $318 million from $317 million.

General Electric said profits edged up 2 percent, to $1.26 billion, helped by continued strength in financial services.

Ltd. said Tuesday its consolidated pre-tax profit edged up 0.5 percent from a year earlier to 70 billion yen (680 million dollars) in the year to March.

In the year to December, pre-tax profits edged ahead from £40.3 million to £42.7 million.

The company said its profit edged up slightly to $:287 million, or $453 million, from $:286.2 million a year earlier.

At Liz Claiborne Inc., the largest publicly traded clothing manufacturer, profits in the quarter edged up 1.4 percent.

American Express's profits edged up 1.2 percent in the quarter, and revenues fell slightly.

The division's profits edged up from £10.6m to £11.3m thanks to an excellent performance from the Hammerite protective coatings business in Britain.