Factories Speed Ahead, Consumers Spend
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The outlook for U.S. manufacturing  improved in November as factories hired more workers in  response to a jump in new orders, a national survey published  on Wednesday showed.
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The final snapshot of the economy before Election Day showed yesterday that growth picked up to a 3.7 percent pace this summer, fired by a consumer spending splurge on cars and sport utility vehicles.
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Recent consumer spending suggests that the economy may not be slowing as suddenly as some economists had thought.
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(InfoWorld) - In a sign ofÂ China's growing importanceÂ as a center of semiconductor manufacturing, Chinese chip makers will spend more than ever before on cutting-edge factories over the next two years. Chinese spending on chip plants will top $9.8 billion between 2006 and 2008, with most of these funds going towards the construction of factories that produce chips on 300-millimeter wafers, industry group SEMI said. If realized, this spending forecast will top combined Chinese spending on chip plants over the last five years, which amounted to $8.7 billion, it said. Around 70 percent of the money that will be spent on new Chinese plants will go towards factories that use 300-millimeter wafers, which will result in an annual increase in production capacity of 16 percent by 2008, SEMI said. At least five new 300-millimeter plants are expected to come online by 2008, it said. While the fast growth of China's market presents opportunities for established chip makers as well as new entrants, established players -- especially those with Chinese government backing and overseas funding -- will fare better over the long term, SEMI said. Leading China's charge forward in chip production is Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., the country's largest chip maker. Among a string of production plants across China, SMIC has one 300-millimeter plant in production and another two under construction in Beijing. The company has also signed an agreement to manage the operations of other plants, including a 300-millimeter fab to be constructed in Wuhan. That agreement helpedÂ spark a lawsuitÂ by rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., which said the deal violated the terms of a 2005 settlement agreement that ended a patent infringement lawsuit brought against SMIC by TSMC. The latest lawsuit is currently pending in a California state court.
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Manufacturing activity expanded at its fastest pace in four months in November as factories ramped up production to meet rising demand, calling into question the growing assumption that interest rates have peaked.
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The family-run manufacturing plant has expanded its workforce by two thirds â and the order backlog is still triple that of last year.
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NEW YORK Oct. 1, 2004 - Manufacturing activity remained strong in September and construction spending surged to a record high in August, according to a pair of reports issued Friday that provided an optimistic look at the sturdiness of the economy.
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Focus on consumers' everyday needs.
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Two big manufacturers said Thursday that they expected stronger growth next year despite the slowing economy.
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WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Factory activity in the New York region accelerated in September, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Wednesday.
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Manufacturing activity marked its 18th straight month of expansion in November, a research group reported today, and the rate of growth was faster than economists had expected.
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CINCINNATI -- Challenged by a troubled U.S. economy and the steeply falling dollar, a growing number of U.S. manufacturers are making up for slowing domestic sales by expanding them overseas, often with sophisticated products.
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Consumer spending rose in December by the most in five months, helping the economy weather a slump in manufacturing that extended into 2007.
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Manufacturing expanded at the slowest pace in more than a year in October, Americans spent more than they earned in September and home construction declined in the final economic reports before tomorrow&#39;s presidential election.
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Robust consumer spending on cars, furniture and food helped the U.S. economy advance faster than first thought in the third quarter, a government report showed, while underlying inflation was the tamest in decades.
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NEW YORK: US factory growth stayed strong in September, while construction spending in the prior month hit a record high for a seventh month in a row, showing the economyâs expansion remains solid.
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U.S. factory growth stayed strong in  September, according to reports on Friday, while construction  spending hit a record high in August for a seventh month in a  row, showing the economy's expansion remains solid.