A survey of companies released Wednesday by the Institute for Supply Management showed that service sectors of the United States moved back into growth territory in December, with the ISM non-manufacturing index rising to 50.5% from 49.8% in December.
The Commerce Department Thursday said that orders for durable goods rose 0.2% in November. Lower demand for commercial aircraft offset big increases for computers and other industries. Manufacturers' orders for the long-lasting goods increased to a seasonally adjusted $166.87 billion, Commerce Dept. figures showed.
The number showed a smaller gain than expected.
The Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders fell 2.5 percent in June, the largest drop since January.
This was worse than market expectations for a 0.6 percent decline. Orders had advanced for two straight months. We're a long way from being out of the woods.
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