One Minute You're Up, the Next You're Down

Here's another example of the see-saw type swings which characterise news on the US economy front these days.

Orders for U.S. durable goods slid in April, the government said on Wednesday showing another sign of the manufacturing sector's slump, while two other reports showed sluggish retail sales in early May. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods -- items meant to last three or more years -- fell an unexpectedly large 2.4 percent in April. With Wall Street analysts having anticipated a smaller 1.0 percent drop, the report underlined the sluggish state of U.S. manufacturing. As the overall economy has been stuck in low gear, the factory sector has been the hardest hit, shedding jobs and plagued with excess capacity. "This is a disappointing report, with weakness in all of the key categories," said Anthony Karydakis, senior financial economist with Banc One Capital Markets. Financial markets took the reports in stride, though. The Dow Jones industrial average was up more 40 points in mid-morning trading, while the Nasdaq composite was up more than seven points.
Source: Yahoo News
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