U.S. durable-goods orders unchanged in October

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U.S. durable-goods orders unchanged in October
from MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for big-ticket U.S. goods were essentially flat in October, as declines in defense and transportation offset increases in metals, machinery and electrical equipment, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected orders for durable goods to drop 0.4%. Orders for core capital goods excluding defense and transportation, a key barometer of broad U.S. business spending, jumped 1.7% last month, the biggest increase since May. Bookings for transportation equipment, a particularly volatile category, declined 3.1% last month. Omitting the transportation sector, orders rose 1.5%. Orders minus defense, another volatile category, edged up a smaller 0.1%. Defense capital-goods orders such as tanks, jets and missiles sank 7.1% in October after a 37.5% increase in the prior month. So far in 2012, orders for overall durable goods have risen 4.9%. Meanwhile, shipments of core capital goods, a number used to help determine gross domestic product, fell 0.4% in October to mark the fourth straight decline.