Institute For Supply Management

As markets hold steady going into the last week of 2014, investors look for risk signals as they rethink their portfolios for the New Year.
The latest data for the U.S. manufacturing sector showed a steep drop in activity, while another report showed that job growth slowed to nearly a halt, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Manufacturing activity growth in the U.S. slowed in the first month of the second quarter although remained at a pace that suggests the industry will continue to drive the economic recovery, according to Bloomberg.
Growth in the U.S. services sector slowed at the end of the first quarter of the year, signaling that the largest contributor to the U.S. economy continues to trail industrial production, according to Bloomberg.
Payrolls in the U.S. grew by more than expected to close the first quarter to bring the unemployment rate down to a two-year low as manufacturing continued strong growth, according to Bloomberg.
The services sector in the U.S. grew at the fastest rate in more than five years during the second month of the year as the economic recovery begins to spread out from manufacturing, according to Bloomberg.
Manufacturing in the U.S. grew at the fastest rate in almost seven years during the second month of the year, signaling that the sector will continue to drive economic growth, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Business activity in the U.S. leapt forward in the second month of the year at the fastest pace in more than two decades as manufacturing continues to drive the economic recovery, according to Bloomberg.
New claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. dropped sharply in the last week of January, reversing a big spike in claims the previous week and keeping the underlying trend nearly unchanged, according to Reuters.
The manufacturing sector in the U.S. started 2011 with quickening expansion and higher prices, signaling that the economic recovery has gained strength into the New Year, according to Bloomberg.