Orders for durable goods – products with a lifespan of three or more years – rose more than predicted in December providing further evidence that growth is slowly returning to the US economy. Part of the increase can be attributed to companies rebuilding their inventories and returning to planned capital projects that were put on hold during the recession.
“Businesses are becoming more confident about the outlook and starting to invest in their expansion,†noted Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura International Securities Inc. in New York. “If capital spending starts, a pickup in hiring is not far behind.â€
Source: Bloomberg
