MW: Orders for durable goods sinks 5.2% in January
Demand for U.S.-made durable goods fell for the sixth straight month in January amid widespread weakness from both domestic and foreign buyers. Orders for durable goods -- such as airplanes, computers and washing machines --fell 5.2% in January, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Orders fell in every major sector. The report was much weaker than the 3% drop expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Excluding the 13.5% drop in transportation orders, orders fell 2.5%. Orders for core capital equipment goods - the kind of things companies use to expand or upgrade their productive capacity - fell 5.4% in January after falling 5.8% in December.
