Industrial production, helped by a jump in utility output, surged in June at the fastest pace in 16 months, providing the strongest evidence yet that U.S. manufacturing is rebounding.
Meanwhile, wholesale prices were flat last month, matching the benign performance turned in by consumer prices during June.
Taken together, the two reports Friday helped to ease fears that manufacturing, hardest hit in the 2001 recession, was in danger of faltering again or that inflation, battered by high energy prices, was threatening to get out of hand.
"This is about as close as you can get to a Mary Poppins economy _ practically perfect in every way," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York.
Investors liked the positive economic news. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.94 points to close at 10,640.83, the highest close in four months.
Now class is there anyone who knows why the left is concentrating exclusively on Gitmo, Rove/Plame and similar nonsense.....hands?
Saturday, July 16, 2005
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