Wholesale Inventories Climb Twice as Much as Expected

U.S. wholesale inventories rose 1.5% in September, and when combined with a more-optimistic outlook by U.S. CEOs, the data suggest suppliers and businesses expect slightly better holiday sales this year than in 2009.
…

Silver Lining in Weak Factory Orders Report

Investors received some evidence Monday that the manufacturing sector’s expansion continued this summer. While the U.S. Commerce Department announced that factory orders fell 0.5% in August, the more-telling ex-transportation orders actually rose 0.9%….

A Strong Surprise for August Durable Goods Orders

August’s 1.3% drop in durable goods orders looks bad. But the real story is that the more-telling component that excludes volatile transportation orders rose 2%, doubling a Bloomberg survey’s consensus estimate. So far, Wall St…