Update Provided By National Association of Manufacturers
The AP (8/18, Crutsinger, Wagner) reports, "New government data offered a mixed picture of the economic recovery Tuesday, as US manufacturing activity grew in July at the fastest pace in nearly a year while the outlook for the housing market remained dim." The AP adds that "factory output" was up by "1.1 percent -- the biggest increase since August 2009. Overall output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 1.0 percent last month, the Federal Reserve reported." Meanwhile, "construction of new homes and apartments rose 1.7 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. But the gains were driven by a 32.6 percent surge in apartment and condominium construction, a small fraction of the market," and "single-family home construction, which represented nearly 80 percent of the market, fell 4.2 percent. And requests for building permits, considered a good sign of future activity, slid 3.1 percent."
