Orders for U.S. Business Equipment Drop by Most in 10 Months

Bloomberg reports:

Orders for business equipment fell in December by the most in 10 months, a sign U.S. companies were slashing capital investment even before the turmoil in global financial markets.

Bookings for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft plunged 4.3 percent last month after a 1.1 percent decrease in November that was previously reported as down 0.3 percent, data from the Commerce Department showed Thursday. Orders for all durable goods -- items meant to last at least three years -- slumped 5.1 percent, the most since August 2014 and reflecting a broad-based pullback.

Spending on equipment may stay depressed as a further decline in oil prices prompts energy companies to retrench. What’s more, U.S. exporters continue to struggle against softer global demand and an appreciating dollar.

“It’s a miserable report across the board,” said Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in New York. “It’s a reflection of what’s going on in industries attached to petroleum and any that are attached to overseas activity -- their activity is coming down.”

Yet, Obama says everything is better.