Stealth Boom
Jim Geraghty is right - The Bush camp is insane if they don't do everything they can to publicize these economic numbers:
~~New orders at U.S. factories rose by more than expected in June and May's fall was revised to show a gain, government data showed on Wednesday, while a jump in a key service sector poll added to the upbeat outlook.
The Commerce Department said factory orders advanced 0.7% in June, after a revised 0.4% gain in May that was initially reported as a 0.3% fall.
Wall Street had forecast orders to grow 0.5% in June and the data dovetailed with an Institute for Supply Management report on Monday showing U.S. factories stepped up the pace in July.
~~U.S. auto sales heated up again in July, after a surprising slowdown a month earlier, even as Detroit's traditional Big Three automakers had mixed results.
Buoyed by high incentives and low interest rates, Wall Street analysts say light vehicle sales industrywide hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate between 17.1 million and 17.5 million for the month.
That would be down from a 17.8 million annual rate in May, when car sales made their strongest showing of the year so far. But it would be much better than a 15.4 million rate in June, when sales plunged to a nearly six-year low.
~~The American manufacturing sector sped up activity in July, cementing the longest stretch of rapid growth in more than thirty years, a survey showed.
The Institute for Supply Management purchasing managers' index (PMI), based on a survey of supply executives, rose 0.9 point from June to 62.0 in July, in line with private economists' forecasts.
It was the 14th consecutive reading above 50 points, which indicates an expansion in activity.
"The manufacturing sector continues to grow at a rapid rate as the PMI has now been above 60% for nine consecutive months," survey chief Norbert Ore said in a statement.
"This is the longest period of growth above 60% since the 12-month period of July 1972 through June 1973," he said.
~~Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose a moderate 0.9% in the April-June quarter this year, down slightly from the previous quarter's increase, as price pressures for benefits like health insurance eased significantly.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the 0.9% rise in wages and benefits in the second quarter followed a 1.1% increase in the January-March quarter. It was the smallest quarterly increase since a 0.8% rise in the final quarter of last year.
Not the best economy in twenty years, but the best economy in thirty years.
Bill Clinton would be bragging about having given every American their own personal Taj Mahal. Hell, he’d have been doing it months ago. Will George Bush even notice?
~~New orders at U.S. factories rose by more than expected in June and May's fall was revised to show a gain, government data showed on Wednesday, while a jump in a key service sector poll added to the upbeat outlook.
The Commerce Department said factory orders advanced 0.7% in June, after a revised 0.4% gain in May that was initially reported as a 0.3% fall.
Wall Street had forecast orders to grow 0.5% in June and the data dovetailed with an Institute for Supply Management report on Monday showing U.S. factories stepped up the pace in July.
~~U.S. auto sales heated up again in July, after a surprising slowdown a month earlier, even as Detroit's traditional Big Three automakers had mixed results.
Buoyed by high incentives and low interest rates, Wall Street analysts say light vehicle sales industrywide hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate between 17.1 million and 17.5 million for the month.
That would be down from a 17.8 million annual rate in May, when car sales made their strongest showing of the year so far. But it would be much better than a 15.4 million rate in June, when sales plunged to a nearly six-year low.
~~The American manufacturing sector sped up activity in July, cementing the longest stretch of rapid growth in more than thirty years, a survey showed.
The Institute for Supply Management purchasing managers' index (PMI), based on a survey of supply executives, rose 0.9 point from June to 62.0 in July, in line with private economists' forecasts.
It was the 14th consecutive reading above 50 points, which indicates an expansion in activity.
"The manufacturing sector continues to grow at a rapid rate as the PMI has now been above 60% for nine consecutive months," survey chief Norbert Ore said in a statement.
"This is the longest period of growth above 60% since the 12-month period of July 1972 through June 1973," he said.
~~Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose a moderate 0.9% in the April-June quarter this year, down slightly from the previous quarter's increase, as price pressures for benefits like health insurance eased significantly.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the 0.9% rise in wages and benefits in the second quarter followed a 1.1% increase in the January-March quarter. It was the smallest quarterly increase since a 0.8% rise in the final quarter of last year.
Not the best economy in twenty years, but the best economy in thirty years.
Bill Clinton would be bragging about having given every American their own personal Taj Mahal. Hell, he’d have been doing it months ago. Will George Bush even notice?
posted by JASmius at 5:48 PM
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