Good Econ News

Factory Orders Post Solid Gain in June:

Demand for U.S. manufactured goods rose at the sharpest rate in three months in June, the government said on Monday in a report that offered the latest sign that the struggling industrial sector is on the mend.

Factory orders rose 1.7 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted $326.0 billion after an increase of just 0.3 percent a month earlier, the Commerce Department said. It was the biggest gain since March and beat expectations on Wall Street.

Orders for costly durable goods -- items intended to last three years or more -- rose 2.6 percent, their biggest increase since last July and an upward revision from the 2.1 percent gain reported a little more than a week ago. Demand for shorter-lived goods rose a much-more-modest 0.7 percent.

The June increase in factory orders is among a number of recent signs showing activity stirring in the long-suffering manufacturing sector. The Institute for Supply Management said on Friday its manufacturing index pushed up to 51.8 in July from 49.8 in June, signaling factory-sector growth.