U.S. durables orders up, home sales disappoint

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for U.S.-made durable goods were surprisingly strong in March, the government reported on Wednesday, but softer-than-forecast sales of new homes took the glow off a pickup in investment spending. The Commerce Department said orders for long-lasting goods like new cars and refrigerators gained 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted $214.9 billion last month after a 2.4 percent February rise. A key category within the report that measures business investment also rose strongly. But a second department report showed sales of new homes rose 2.6 percent in March to an annual rate of 858,000 that was below forecasts for an 888,000-unit rate.

The inventory of completed but unsold homes gained slightly to 545,000 from 544,000 in February, a hefty overhang that analysts said will delay a recovery in the housing sector. "I still believe that falling prices are needed to help clear out the excess supply and without those declines, we could be in for a very long, slow adjustment period," said economist Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. The monthly durable goods report is highly volatile but, nonetheless, the March rise handily surpassed Wall Street economists' expectations for a 2.5 percent increase.

"

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software
development, Internet programming,

real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name
registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the
complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

Real Estate Designers offers totally innovative solutions for your software development, Internet programming, real estate web design and hosting needs. Our service includes domain name registration and real estate web design. Real Estate Designers provides the complete solution including design, application development and marketing.

"

source: updatere.com