US Business Activity Expands at Slower Pace as Companies Face 'Fiscal Cliff'Friday, 31 Aug 2012 Business activity in the U.S. expanded at a slower pace in August, indicating companies may hold the line on production until sales pick up. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said its
business barometer fell to 53.0 this month from 53.7 in July. Companies may lack the confidence to invest in new equipment and
hire as they face a global economic slowdown and the so-called
fiscal cliff threat of more than $600 billion in government spending
cuts and higher taxes. “Manufacturing looks like it’s not playing a major role in the expansion any longer but neither is it contracting,” Drew Matus, senior U.S. economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said before the report. “Manufacturing is just treading water.” ©2012 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved. To subscribe or visit go to: www.bloomberg.com |