Despite a small beat of expectations at 20.7 vs expectation sof 19.8 but down from 22.5 , Philly Fed fell for the 2nd month from 3-year highs to 4-month lows.
[4]
Under the surface things were even less agreeable with employment and average workweek tumbling notably. As the table below shows, the number of employees was whacked in half to just 12.1, while the employee workweek actually dipped into negative territory at -1.3
[5]
Forward-looking expectations dropped driven by a fall in capital spending expectations, which slid as now has become the norm, from 23.7 to 18.9.
The punchline from the Philly Fed's summary:
The October Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey suggests continued expansion of the region’s manufacturing sector. Firms reported continued increases in new orders but slower growth in activity, shipments, and employment this month. The survey’s future activity indexes remained at high readings, suggesting continued optimism about manufacturing growth. Firms were less optimistic about employment increases over the next six months, but one-third of the firms still expect to hire additional workers.
Oh well, there is always the 7th half of 2014 for Tim Geithner's August 2010 "recovery" to finally flourish.
