Factory orders, new home sales rise in April ...

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Factory orders rose sharply last month while sales of new homes surged with help from government incentives, giving the economic recovery a jolt in April.

Demand for commercial aircraft lifted requests for big-ticket manufactured goods 2.9 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was the best showing in three months and more than double expectations.

Excluding transportation, durable goods orders fell 1 percent in April. But that came after the March figures were revised to show a 4.8 percent jump. A durable goods is a product that is expected to last at least three years.

A separate report from Commerce showed of new single-family homes jumped 14.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000 units. The April gain followed a 29.8 percent surge in March, the biggest monthly increase in 47 years.

Economist: U.S. in middle of 'W' economic recovery ...

The United States is at the midpoint of a W-shaped economic recovery entering the second half of 2010, an economist said Wednesday night during a speech at IBC Bank's Annex Building.

Jeffrey Kleintop, senior vice president and chief market strategist of LPL Financial with offices in Boston, Charlotte and San Diego, said he expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the second half of this year.

As for Texas-Mexico region economics, Kleintop said a lot of growth has come from exports.

For more on Kleintop's speech, be sure and pick up a copy of Thursday's Laredo Morning Times.