Ericsson's first quarter profit drops, says U.S. market remains slow

By Sven Nordenstam and Olof Swahnberg STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Telecoms equipment maker Ericsson reported a surprise fall in profits on Thursday as infrastructure spending by mobile network operators in its key North American market remained sluggish and fierce competition pressured margins elsewhere. While sales in China were up as build-outs of new networks there gather pace Ericsson's overall operating profits in the first quarter fell, weighed down by the lower margins in Asia. Ericsson, t