Economic News Last Week Mostly Positive

Washington, DC, Dec. 28, 2010 -- Last week's economic indicators were largely positive again, according to economist Dave Huether of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Of the seven major reports last week, five accelerated, one grew more slowly and one declined.

Although durable manufacturing orders fell significantly, that was mostly due to the transportation sector, which can be extremely volatile, Huether said.

Outside of transportation, he said, gains in orders for big-ticket items continued their momentum over the past several months after decelerating in the third quarter.

"Even after growing 3.7 percent since the second quarter of 2009, the economy still has not reached its pre-recession peak, remaining 0.6 percent below its fourth quarter 2007 level," Huether said.

"This makes the current recovery (the time of positive economic growth from the end of a recession to its prior peak) the longest since the Great Depression."