WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Demand for long-lasting “durable” goods sank in December, reflecting a downturn in business investment in 2015 that was especially acute in the waning months of the year. Orders for durable goods fell a seasonally adjusted 5.1% last month, marking the biggest decline in a year and a half, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 1.5% drop. The larger-than-expected decline could result in zero fourth-quarter growth or worse, some economists said. The MarketWatch forecast had called for 0.7% growth in the final three months of 2015. The report “tilted the scaled for fourth-quarter GDP, which now looks like it be in negative territory,” said Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at BNP Paribas. Most ominous, a key measure of business investment fell sharply, resulting in the largest year-over-year decline since 2009.
Unemployment claims dropped. The drop in unemployment claims is good news, if it is real. There is some issue because the filing period was shortened due to some holiday.
So this looks like a negative growth for 2015 Q4.
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