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Business Title: Manufacturing in U.S. Expands for a 16th Month as Recovery Gains Traction Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded for a 16th consecutive month in November, a sign the world’s largest economy is gaining traction as the year draws to a close. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index was little changed at 56.6 after 56.9 in October, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. A reading higher than 50 signals growth. The figure compared with a median estimate of 56.5 in a Bloomberg News survey and highlights global industrial strength that extends to China and Europe. Manufacturers such as Dow Chemical Co. remain at the forefront of the U.S. expansion as growing demand abroad fuels exports and companies invest in new equipment. Holiday sales gains indicate factories stand to benefit further from a pickup in consumer spending that would allow the recovery to become more broad-based. “Businesses are starting to feel better about the outlook and so they’re willing to spend more on investment as well as to hire,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “We had strong growth early in the year, a little bit of a hiccup in the middle and now things are starting to come back again.” Estimates in the Bloomberg survey of 83 economists for the November factory index ranged from 54 to 58.1. Stocks Rise Stocks held earlier gains on more signs of strength in global manufacturing and a report that showed U.S. companies boosted payrolls more than forecast. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1.6 percent to 1,199.85 at 10:22 a.m. in New York. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell, pushing up the yield to 2.92 percent from 2.80 percent late yesterday. In Europe, manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in four months in November, led by Germany, the region’s largest economy. A gauge of manufacturing in the 16-nation euro area rose to 55.3 from 54.6 the prior month, London-based Markit Economics said today. China’s manufacturing grew at a faster pace for a fourth straight month in November. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 55.2 from 54.7, China’s logistics federation said on its website today. Companies in the U.S. boosted payrolls by 93,000 in November, the most since November 2007 and propelled by increased hiring at small businesses, according to figures from ADP Employer Services. Orders, Production The ISM’s U.S. new orders index eased to 56.6 from 58.9, while the production index fell to 55, the lowest level since June 2009, from 62.7. The employment gauge was little changed at 57.5 from 57.7, and the index of export orders dropped to 57 from 60.5. The measure of orders waiting to be filled held at 46 and the index of prices paid fell to 69.5 from 71. The inventory index increased to 56.7 from 53.9, while a gauge of customer stockpiles rose to 45.5 from 44. A figure higher than 50 means manufacturers increased stockpiles. The recovery that began in June 2009 after the worst recession since the 1930s has been led by manufacturing as exports climbed, business investment picked up and inventories were replenished. The pace of stockpiling may cool in coming months, while consumer spending is showing signs of picking up. Jobless Rate Economic growth may need to quicken to bring down an unemployment rate hovering near a 26-year high of 10.1 percent. As part of an effort to reach out to some of the nation’s largest employers, President Barack Obama met with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke at the White House on Nov. 29. The meeting is one of a series of sessions aimed at soliciting the views of companies, with the goal of spurring the recovery and adding jobs. Dow Chemical, the world’s second-biggest chemical company, said yesterday that fourth-quarter sales are matching those of the prior three months, led by demand for materials used in electronics. Electronics demand is “going gangbusters,” and commodity plastics and chemical sales are still “strong,” Bill Weideman, chief financial officer of the Midland, Michigan-based company, said in an investor presentation broadcast on the Internet. “Overall demand is very solid.” Production, Hiring General Motors Co. is among those companies beginning to ramp up production and hiring. The maker of the Chevrolet Volt gasoline-electric car plans to add 1,000 engineers in Michigan to help expand the automakers’ lineup of electric-drive vehicles. The hiring will increase GM’s workforce of electric- vehicle engineers by 50 percent to about 3,000, said Rob Peterson, a spokesman for the Detroit company. Automakers including Ford Motor Co. and GM are among manufacturers seeing increased demand. Sales at Ford in October increased 15 percent from a year earlier to 157,935, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company said in a statement. Sales at GM climbed 3.5 percent to 183,759. The world’s largest economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual pace from July through September, more than previously calculated, as Americans boosted their spending, the Commerce Department said last week. Consumer purchases, which account for 70 percent of the economy, rose at a 2.8 percent rate, the most since the final three months of 2006. Holiday sales are stronger as well. The average shopper in the U.S. spent $365.34, or 6.4 percent more, over Thanksgiving weekend than last year as more people picked up jewelry and toys, the National Retail Federation said Nov. 28. Retailers lured people into stores with promotions like Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s $5 Barbie and J.C. Penney Co.’s $10 diamond-accented earrings.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Recovery....rotflmao. Riiiight.
Obama's first all-by-his-lonesome budget, btw, calls for a $1.17 trillion deficit.
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