Factory Orders Drop…Unexpectedly, Dashing Hopes For Rebound

Once again, the headline on a financial story reads: unexpectedly. At what point do we conclude the economists relied upon for these projections are worthless, as they never appear to expect what’s going to happen?

US factory orders drop unexpectedly

Lower demand for machinery and defense equipment prompted a fall in US factory orders in February, the Commerce Department said Thursday, dashing hopes for a rebound after start-of-year blizzards.

New orders for big-ticket items — such as planes, computers and cars — fell 0.9 percent during the month, led by a 4.2 percent drop in machinery orders.

That shocked economists, who had expected orders to rise.