Monday, April 26, 2010

Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index looks very healthy


The Dallas Fed's index of manufacturing activity came in stronger than expected for April. Here are some excerpts from a Bloomberg story on the subject:

Texas factory activity increased for the sixth month in a row ... more producers reported increased activity ... 40% of respondents noting increased output ... indexes for capacity utilization, new orders and shipments showed marked increases ... growth rate of orders index jumped to its highest level since June 2006 ... employment index signaled further job growth, with the share of firms hiring workers rising to 22 percent ... wages and benefits index rose as the share of respondents noting increases doubled from 10 percent to 20 percent ... firms remain optimistic about their six-month outlook.

It would be hard to ask for more positive and optimistic news than this.

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