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Durable Goods, New Homes Take Hit in February

Posted Mar 26, 08 11:21 AM CDT in Business 

(Newser) – Durable goods took an unexpected tumble in February, the Commerce Department announced today, with a 1.7% drop headlining a raft of bad economic news. Analysts expected a 0.8% increase. “Businesses definitely have shown they are beginning to retrench,” one analyst told Bloomberg. “Demand is weakening.” New-home sales, meanwhile, fell 1.8% to a 13-year low, despite a median-price drop to $244,100.

Manufacturing also contracted for a fourth consecutive month in March, according to the Philadelphia Fed’s index. The durables report likewise pointed to slowing business spending. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 2.6%, as shipments dropped 2.1%. The shipment figure is a key component in US GDP calculations. Orders for machinery fell 13.3%, and defense-related orders fell 10.1%.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg

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Chart shows new orders of durable goods for the past 13 months.   (AP Photo)
A consumer considers washers and driers in this Jan. 29, 2008 file photo. Orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell unexpectedly in February.   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Washers and dryers sit on display at Western Appliance in this Sept. 26, 2007 file photo. Orders for durable goods like washers and driers fell in February, confounding analysts.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
A sale sign stands sentry outside an unsold new, single-family home in east Denver on Sunday, March 16, 2008.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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housing market  • economy  • manufacturing  • economic indicators  • durable goods  • new home sales  • manufacturing index  • Philadelphia Federal Reserve


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