DRIVEN BY STRONG DEMAND FOR SUVs, PICKUP TRUCKS GM's core profit rises in Q4

GENERAL MOTORS (GM) reported a higher fourth-quarter core profit on Tuesday on stronger sales of its affordable crossover SUVs and pickup trucks through the year,sending the shares of the Detroit automaker up about 6% in premarket trading.

- KALEA HALL & NATHAN GOMES

Its pretax earnings on an adjusted basis rose about 13% to $2.84 billion compared with about $2.51 billion a year ago. The firm said it expects an annual adjusted core profit of $13 billion to $15 billion, a range whose midpoint exceeded analysts’ expectation of $13.39 billion, according t