New orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell in November on a sharp decline in aircraft sales, ending a four-month streak of increases, the Commerce Department reported last week.
Dutch market research firm WorldACD has released strong monthly results for late 2016, calling the most recent peak season the most robust since 2009. November U.S.-dollar yields improved by 3.9 percent over the previous month while volumes increased by 6.9 percent, year-over-year (y-o-y), WorldACD reported.
For food shoppers, 2016 was a back-to-the-future experience, with retail prices deflating for the first time since Lyndon Johnson was president. The year is expected to end with an annual drop of between 0.5 and 1.5 percent in the retail price of food prepared at home, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.
"It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future." So said a Danish wit nearly 80 years ago. But when it comes to divining the direction of the economy, why try?
The more connected you are with the world, the greater your ability to engage in trade - by a factor of 6 to 1. Those are the findings of a recent study released by The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which made a quantitative link between a country's air cargo connectivity and global trade.
From hand-crafted boutique brands to high-volume manufacturing and assembly, dedicated U.S. bicycle makers are reshoring bike production to the U.S. A confluence of factors including rising offshore costs, the benefits of a "local for local" business strategy, the growing popularity of bikes in expanding urban areas and patriotism are giving rise to new opportunities for an "old" mode of transportation.
Asos Plc, Britain's largest online-only fashion retailer, plans to double its U.K. manufacturing as the pound's post-Brexit plunge makes domestic production more affordable.
On the surface, the European airline industry doesn't look much changed from 20 years ago: National flag carriers such as Air France, British Airways, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa dominate a handful of giant hub airports. Dig a bit deeper, and you'll see that the market has shifted in a big way. Over the past decade or so, 10 legacy airlines across the region have combined into three huge groups, a consolidation that makes the market look a lot like the U.S.
