Categories: Retirement Planning and Investing

Durable Goods Orders Stumble, but Consumers Gain Confidence

Man Cutting in Factory

Durable Goods Orders Stumble, but Consumers Gain Confidence (Bloomberg)

Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly fell in December along with a gauge of planned business spending, giving a a reality check to a largely improving U.S. economic outlook. The economy, however, is growing enough for consumer confidence to hit a five-month high in January. Plus, house prices posted their biggest year-on-year gain in almost eight years in November, other reports showed on Tuesday. Durable goods orders dropped 4.3 percent in December, weighed down by weak demand for transportation equipment, primary metals, fabricated metal products, computers and electronic products and capital goods. Last month’s decline was the largest since July and reversed November’s revised 2.6 percent rise. Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders for durable goods — items from toasters to aircraft meant to last three years or more — to rise 1.8 percent in December after November’s previously reported 3.4 percent rise.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.