FABRICATION SLOWED IN APRIL IN U.S.
U.S. manufacturers expanded at a slower pace in April, as measures of new orders, production and employment each slipped.
The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, says its manufacturing index fell to 52.8 last month, down from 55.3 in March.
Readings above 50 point toward an expansion in manufacturing. The sector has been reporting growth for 32 months.
ISM’s survey of companies for the index is a sign that economic growth should continue, even though companies raised concerns about delays at the border between the United States and Mexico and the tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on Chinese imports.
Survey says U.S. businesses are hiring.
ON» U.S. companies in ING T
April added the most jobs in nine months, a sign hiring remains strong amid economic growth.
Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that businesses hired 275,000 people last month, up from 151,000 in March. That’s a higher number than economists forecast for Friday’s government jobs report.
Current projections call for the Labor Department to report 181,000 new jobs, according to data provider FactSet. The U.S. economy has expanded at a solid pace this year.
Construction spending drops as housing takes a hit.
ON» U.S. WASHING T construction spending dropped in March for the first time in four months, and spending on U.S. home construction fell to the lowest level in more than two years.
The Commerce Department said construction spending — including housing, nonresidential and government building projects — fell 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.28 trillion after rising 0.7 percent in both January and February.
Residential construction spending skidded 1.8 percent.
SAS cancels more flights as labor talks resume with pilots.
C OPENH A GEN,
» Scandinavian Airlines canceled another 280 flights across the Nordic region through Thursday afternoon, affecting 20,000 more passengers, because of a pilots strike.
The cancellations come on top of 504 flights canceled Wednesday and hundreds more since pilots began an open-ended strike Friday because of the collapse of pay negotiations.