Federal Reserve
...ebruary. For the first three months of 2003, machine tool demand slid 25.5 percent to $394.92 million from $530.42 million in the same 2002 period. February demand was revised downward from $133.78 million reported a month ago. "The five-year-long slide in new investment in modern production equipment continues as first quarter orders are down another 26 percent from 2002 levels," AMT President Albert Moore said in a statement. "The proposed tax bills in both houses of the U.S. Congress call for expanded expensing. Without this jump start the outlook for manufacturing remains bleak," he said. In its employment data issued last week, the Labor Department reported a 95,000 decline in U.S. April factory jobs. April marked a 33rd straight month of factory job losses, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (News - Websites). Next week the Federal Reserve ...