By Sven Nordenstam and Simon Johnson STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A completion of large projects in the United States weighed on Ericsson’s earnings in the fourth quarter, but the world’s biggest maker of mobile networks said demand was picking up in Europe and China. Ericsson shares rose 3 percent as the company reported improving underlying profitability and looked ahead to strong investment this year in 4G LTE networks that can cope with increasing data traffic from smartphones and tablets. The drive for faster networks is brightening prospects for an industry that has suffered a decade-long price war started by Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. Sweden’s Ericsson made a push for more business in Europe a couple of years ago that weighed on its results.