Another day, another lackluster economic statistic from the manufacturing sector.
Today's nugget is the decline in durable goods orders. Although a lot of the decline is due to the extremely volatile aircraft segment, the overall trend is - at best - flat.
Automobiles are evolving into a source of weakness, although this is being offset by renewed strength in energy.
Overall, based on recent reports, it's hard to comprehend the Federal Reserve's robust optimism about trends in the economy. Ditto for the stock market's outstanding performance.