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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (58357)	1/3/2002 2:29:42 AM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

From Another thread. REPORT - Manufacturing Humming Again; Biggest Nov. Gain in 18 years last month and more good news for Dec. as well. This is good news, folks, let's see if the Markets agree. You can almost feel the economy improving, but many are still worried about pre-announcement warnings, mediocre earnings and guidance, and of course possible terrorist attacks. I am much more positive than negative for the next few days anyway. (The following is an excerpt from SI's home page - go there for whole report) Jan 2 4:38pm ET By Daniel Sternoff NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturers increased production in December as a wave of new orders flowed in, an industry report showed on Wednesday, suggesting the factory sector is well on its way to clawing out of a 17-month slump. The Institute for Supply Management's monthly Purchasing Managers' Index rose for a second straight month to 48.2 in December, its highest reading since October 2000, from 44.5 in November. The report showed factories faced the strongest flow of new orders since April 2000 and ramped up production even as they continued to shed unwanted inventories. The news added to a mounting pile of evidence the U.S. economy, while still sluggish, has weathered the worst of a recession that began last March. "This is a hugely encouraging report, pointing clearly to a vigorous recovery," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. A reading under 50 indicates the sector -- about one-sixth of overall U.S. economic activity -- is contracting. The index has held below that watershed since August 2000, marking the most severe manufacturing slump since the 1990-1991 recession. But the report surprised economists, who had expected a more sluggish rebound from the shock of the Sept. 11 attacks, which drove the index to a 10-1/2 year low of 39.8 in October. "The manufacturing sector led us into this recession," said John Ryding, senior economist at Bear Stearns in New York. "A precursor to recovery will be stabilization in manufacturing. This is a sign that stabilization isn't too far away." But he cautioned the overall economy may not rebound as vigorously as the factory sector. "Consumers have done a terrific job of ensuring this will not be too deep a recession, but they don't have the spending firepower for a strong V-shaped recovery," Ryding said. "And capital spending should remain weak, with capacity utilization at its lowest since 1983." WITH ORDERS UP AND INVENTORIES TRIM, FACTORIES HUM AGAIN The ISM New Orders Index, a crucial gauge of demand for factory goods in the pipeline, rose from 48.8 to 54.9 in December, its highest since April 2000, building on the biggest single-month jump in new orders in 18 years in November.