Durable Goods Orders
February’s Durable Goods Orders report was released at 8:30 AM ET this morning. It revealed a 1.0% decline in new orders for big-ticket items such as electronics, refrigerators and airplanes at U.S. factories. This was well off the increase of 1.6% that was expected, even for this report that is known to be volatile from month to month. The decline indicates weakness in the manufacturing sector that makes the report good news for bonds and mortgage rates.