This is a little bit confusing. Durable goods orders were up in July, but it turns out it was mostly because Boeing had a good month:
As encouraging as the report appeared at first glance, it also suggested businesses were still cutting back. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a barometer of business investment, fell 0.3 percent in July after rising 3.6 percent in June. New orders for computers and related products fell 2.8 percent after rising 0.5 percent in June.
The report today is likely to bolster the view, shared by a growing number of economists, that the recession is winding down or has already ended. It was further proof the manufacturing sector has begun to stabilize as businesses start to restock. Businesses had been slashing inventories for months as they tried to catch up with falling demand.
Aside from commercial jets, orders for durable goods fell 0.3% after rising in June, which “suggested businesses were still cutting back.” But three sentences later this bolsters the view that the recession is winding down. What am I missing?
