Durable Goods Orders (Oct.)

October's durable goods data suggest that the slump in business investment eased slightly last month. But we don't anticipate any marked turnaround until Congress gets its act together and reaches an agreement to avert most, if not all, of the fiscal cliff. If a deal is done either late this year or very early next year, then we would expect to see something of a rebound in business investment, as firms give the green light to projects put on hold in the second half of this year.