Reports Stir Hopes of U.S. Factory Revival

[La_Serpiente]

Reports Stir Hopes of U.S. Factory Revival

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturers showed further signs of revival on Tuesday, as reports from the Federal Reserve (news - web sites) and one of its regional banks showed gains in the sector in January and early February.

The Federal Reserve said its gauge of activity at American factories, mines and utilities rose a sharp 0.8 percent in January, led by a weather-related gain in utilities use. Factory output -- more than four-fifths of total production -- rose 0.3 percent, its fifth straight monthly rise.

In a separate report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its two-year-old Empire Manufacturing Survey of factories in the state that the business conditions index rose to a record 42.05 in early February from 38.85 in January.

The two reports may help ease worries over the embattled U.S. factory sector, which has yet to see employment recover from the 2001 recession. Manufacturers have trimmed payrolls for 42 straight months, with about 2.8 million factory jobs lost since President Bush (news - web sites) took office in January 2001. Still, another widely watched index compiled by the Institute for Supply Management has shown eight straight months of growing factory output.

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Reports Stir Hopes of U.S. Factory Revival

[junker]

1. Note that the FEd is only measuring money. Not actuall produciton of

goods. In fact they are incapable by the methods they use, of ever measuring anything other than various accounts of the dollars floating around.

So when they say something went up .9 per cent, have a look first to see if the dollar did not go down in value, that same .9 per cent or more. In the last year that has been the case.

Further, capacity utilzation figures *in spite of Fed changing which factors go into the calc's* still shows falling usage. Meaning we are closing factories and laying off such that the per square foot amount of manufacturing capacity is only being used 75.2 per cent and falling.


Read the text, don't buy the headlines. PolSpeak/GovSpeak. In your eye, and in your mind....beware. They are trying to pollute your perception of reality.