To All:
Here are some excerpts from an article in Cutting Tool Engineering:
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In a sign that business investment may be stabilizing, orders for goods like metals, machinery and electronic equipment picked up in April, the government reported on Thursday.
The New York Times The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods rose 1.9 percent last month, by $3 billion to a total of $161.5 billion. That was a larger increase than expected, but it came after a sharp drop of 2.1 percent in March.
Excluding military orders, the number of new durable goods orders increased 1 percent.
By some measures, economists have said, a sharp decline in industrial output and business activity is beginning to level off.
Construction spending rose modestly in March, and some home builders are beginning to feel a bit more optimistic.
?The absolute worst is over, but what we have now is still quite bad,? Ian Shepherdson, chief United States economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a research note. ?Just about the only thing we can say with real confidence is that the headlong plunge in orders after the Lehman bankruptcy is over.? ======================================================