Thursday Data Release Round-Up

A little speed bump showed up yesterday.  From Reuters:

In a somewhat disappointing signal on the factory sector, the Commerce Department said on Thursday orders for durable goods -- pricey items meant to last three years or more -- edged up 0.3 percent in February. This was well below the 1 percent gain expected on Wall Street...

On the other hand, there was the  news from the new residential sales report for February.

But the department said sales of new U.S. homes soared 9.4  percent in February, the largest jump in more than four years.

Calculated Risk has a pithy summary:

The New Home Sales report shows no sign of a slowdown.

Overall (again from the Reuters) the day brought

... mixed news that analysts said did little to alter a view of a  solidly expanding U.S. economy.