Profits at Chinese industrial firms shrank last month for the first time in two years as Covid outbreaks and lockdowns disrupted factory production, transport logistics and sales. Industrial profits fell 8.5% in April from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday. It’s the worst performance since April 2020. Factories have struggled during the latest outbreak largely because of the extended lockdown in Shanghai, an important port city that is also at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta region, a major economic hub. Earlier this month, the government reported that output unexpectedly ... (full story)