Durable-goods orders rise, thanks to aircraft A surge in demand for commercial aircraft lifted orders for big-ticket manufactured goods in September, but businesses spent less on products that would signal expansion. The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods rose 3.3 percent last month. Overall, it was the best showing since January. But excluding transportation, orders fell 0.8 percent after having risen 1.9 percent in August. And spending by companies on capital goods excluding aircraft dropped 0.6 percent after rising 4.8 percent in August. The category, which is viewed as a good proxy for business investment in the economy, has declined in two of the past three months.
September outdid August for new home sales Sales of new homes improved last month after the worst summer in nearly five decades, but not enough to lift the struggling economy. The Commerce Department says new home sales in September grew 6.6 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 307,000. Even with the increase, the past five months have been the worst for new home sales on records dating back to 1963. Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics, called the September home sales encouraging. But he said it doesn't change the fact that activity remains at extremely low levels. "That's unlikely to change for a few years," Dales said.
CommScope OKs a $3.9B buyout CommScope Inc. has agreed to be bought out by asset manager Carlyle Group for $3.9 billion, two days after announcing it was in takeover talks. The company, one of the world's top infrastructure suppliers to wireless carriers, is being acquired for $31.50 a share, a 36 premium over its closing price before it announced it was in negotiations. It's the same price CommScope gave Monday when it confirmed it was in talks with the Carlyle group. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.
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