Orders for U.S. durable goods probably climbed in September by the most in five months, a sign business investment is underpinning the recovery, economists said before a report today. Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years increased 2 percent, according to the median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report may show sales of new houses rose last month to a 300,000 annual rate, hovering near a record low. Rising profits at companies from Boeing Co. to Intel Corp., in part reflecting improving sales abroad, may lead to more gains in business spending on machinery and software. At the same time, a pickup in hiring remains the missing element in the emerging rebound from the worst recession since the 1930s, one reason why housing will probably continue to languish. “Businesses still have a lot of catching up to do in terms of investing in equipment and software,” said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc. in Holland, Pennsylvania. “While we’re going to moderate from the break- neck pace we saw earlier, it’ll still be a strong part of the recovery.” The Commerce Department’s report on goods orders is due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Survey estimates ranged from no change to an increase of 8 percent. At 10 a.m., the Commerce Department will issue its figures on new-house sales. Economists’ forecasts ranged from 270,000 to 330,000. May’s 282,000 pace was the weakest since records began in 1963. Boeing Orders Demand for durable goods was probably led by a jump in the transportation category, which is often volatile. Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, said it received orders for 117 aircraft last month, up from 10 in August. Industry data may not correlate precisely with the government statistics on a month-to-month basis. Chicago-based Boeing this month raised its full-year profit forecast on rising demand, and said it is considering boosting production. Honeywell International Inc., a maker of car turbochargers and aircraft parts, also lifted its annual earnings projection. A pickup in auto demand is also helping manufacturers. Vehicle sales are running at a 12 million annual rate in October, Mark Fields, Ford Motor Co.’s president of the Americas, said this week. The rate would be the highest since the government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive boosted demand in August 2009. “We continue to see good, steady improvement,” Fields said on Oct. 25 at an event in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Sustained Gains Bookings for durable goods excluding transportation equipment rose 0.5 percent, according to the survey median. It would be the fourth gain in the past five months. Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, said fourth-quarter sales may exceed some analysts’ estimates and it plans to spend as much as $8 billion on U.S. factory upgrades, helping create 800 to 1,000 manufacturing jobs. “Business investment in equipment and software should grow at a reasonably rapid pace next year,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in an Oct. 15 speech in Boston. The overall recovery is “less vigorous” than policy makers would like, he said. The Fed meets on Nov. 2-3 to decide on what economists and investors expect will be a plan to boost growth by restarting large-scale securities purchases. Manufacturing Shares Growing orders help explain why manufacturing shares are rallying. The Standard & Poor’s Supercomposite Machinery Index, which includes companies like Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co., is up 28 percent so far this year. The broader S&P 500 Index is up 6.3 percent, and the Supercomposite Homebuilding gauge is down 8.1 percent. Housing remains restrained by mounting foreclosures as joblessness hovers near 10 percent. Eviction moratoria at banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., may also cause delays that will further postpone a recovery. “The U.S. economy needs to improve, and we’ve got to see some improvement in job creation” before housing can recover, Larry Sorsby, chief financial officer at Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the largest homebuilder in New Jersey, said during an Oct. 7 conference call.

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