Factory Orders

Reuter -- OSAKA, Japan -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said today that the odds are rising that the U.S. economy could bounce back from the 11-month recession at a stronger rate than many expect."

WASHINGTON -- Posting a third straight advance, the government's main economic forecasting gauge signaled yesterday that the 10-month-old recession would soon be over."

Maryland's economy may be nearing the bottom of the recession and preparing to turn around, local experts predicted after reviewing the Index of Leading Indicators, released today.The federal government's chief economic forecasting gauge rose 0.5 percent in March, its second consecutive monthly advance, the Commerce Department said today.The increase in the March index followed a revised 1.2 percent gain in February, stronger than the 1.1 percent estimate announced earlier.The February advance had ended a string of six losses stretching back to July, when the index was flat.

WASHINGTON -- Declines in orders for electrical machinery and transportation equipment pushed new orders for goods from U.S. factories down 1.7 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted $230.601 billion, the Commerce Department said yesterday.The January drop was the third consecutive monthly decline.In December, overall factory orders fell a revised 0.5 percent to $234.601 billion, the Commerce Department said. An earlier report said orders were unchanged.New orders for transportation equipment dropped 3.9 percent in January, and orders for electrical machinery fell 12.1 percent.