Weekend Economists Go Out with a Boom August 24-26, 2012

[xchrom]

15. US spending index falls

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0824/breaking42.html

A gauge of planned spending by US businesses fell in July for a second straight month, suggesting a slowing growth trend in the factory sector, even though demand for long lasting manufactured goods surged.

The Commerce Department said today non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, declined 3.4 per cent after falling 2.7 per cent in June.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.7 per cent rise after a previously reported 1.7 per cent decline in June.

This category tends to weaken at the start of a quarter, but it was the second straight month of weakness, hinting at a cooler growth pace in manufacturing, a sector that has shouldered the economy's recovery from the 2007-09 recession.