U.S. factory orders increased 1.8 percent in December, but demand for core capital goods, a category considered a proxy for business investment plans, dipped 0.3 percent in December following strong gains in November and October.
U.S. factory orders likely rose 2 percent in December, and a preliminary report on durable manufactured goods suggests that business investment plans increased for the third straight month.
Americans stepped up their spending at retail businesses in September, reflecting their growing confidence in the economy. Retail sales rose 1.1 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. That followed a 1.2 percent increase in August. Both were the largest gains since October 2010.
U.S. builders started work on more single-family homes in May and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in three and a half years. The increase suggests the housing market is slowly recovering even as other areas of the economy have weakened.
More Americans sought unemployment aid last week, suggesting hiring remains sluggish. The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly unemployment benefit applications rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000.
Nearly 60 million foreigners visited the U.S. in 2010. Where did they go? The most popular destinations included New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Big Apple is particularly appealing, drawing a record 48.7 million big-spending foreign travelers.
U.S. shoppers piled up the presents under their Christmas trees, but retailers were still a bit disappointed. The Commerce Department's official tally shows what many suspected: Consumers did most of their holiday buying early this year.
The Commerce Department reports that U.S. corporate profits have hit historic highs, so why isn't the GOP -- the party of business -- celebrating? After all, those profits are coming not from revenue growth -- which would benefit workers and executives -- but from cost cutting.
The third-quarter earnings season got off to a reasonably positive start for retailers, with department stores hoping colder weather heats up holiday sales, even as shoppers continue to prefer discounts and generally hold back on spending.
U.S. economic growth slowed to an anemic 1.6% pace in the second quarter, due primarily to a worsening trade imbalance. The sole ray of light in the Commerce Department's report was that the downward revision was not as severe as economists had expected.
Boosted by fiscal stimulus, construction spending rose 0.1% in June, the Commerce Department said. But spending for May was revised downward.