Market News

MADISON, Wis. (11/4/09)

• U.S. chain store sales posted a slight 0.1% gain in the week ending Saturday, marking the sixth consecutive weekly gain, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers sales index. All the weekly gains have been modest, analysts said. Warm, wet weather hurt sales last week, they added. Year-ago growth fell to 1.9% but stayed strong by standards of the past 14 months due to "easier comparisons," analysts said. Consumer fundamentals are mostly weak and unfavorable to spending--although they are not as negative as they were several months ago. Job losses are the biggest and most important drag on sales, analysts said (Moody's Economy.com Nov. 3) ...

• For the fifth time in six months, U.S. factory orders increased in September, signaling that manufacturing likely will fuel the economic recovery, analysts said. For the month, bookings rose 0.9%--exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The September gain follows a 0.8% decline in August, according to figures released Tuesday by the Commerce Department. Excluding demand for usually volatile transportation equipment, orders rose 0.8% after a 0.3% August gain. Inventories fell in September, and the inventory-to-sales ratio slid to 1.36 months from 1.38 months. U.S. companies will gear up production because of a record drop in stockpiles and a boost to exports due in part to about $2 trillion in global stimulus, analysts said. Growth in manufacturing will help the boost the economy in the fourth quarter, they added. "Manufacturing is in recovery," said David Sloan, a senior economist at 4Cast Inc. "There's a need to rebuild inventories, and exports are getting stronger. The economy does seem to be in a sustainable recovery now" (Bloomberg.com and Moody's Economy.com Nov. 3) ...