And The Good Economic News

Durable goods orders up.

New orders for long-lasting U.S.-made manufactured goods rose by a much bigger-than-expected 5.2 percent in December and a key gauge of business spending also surged, a Commerce Department report showed on Tuesday.

Nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a proxy for business investment, rose a much greater-than-expected 4.4 percent. It was the first rise in that category since September, a Commerce Department official said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected orders for durables to rise 1.5 percent and for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft to rise 0.1 percent.