Data remains generally lackluster, disappointing both those still looking for a recession and those hoping for a rapid rebound. Housing remains perhaps the brightest sector as last year’s soft patch is now well in the rearview mirror: New manufacturing orders continue to move sideways: While not the most exciting data, the relative strength of new orders stands in stark contrast to the widespread concerns that investment spending by firms would fall off a cliff this year. To be sure, the hangover from the 2018 fiscal stimulus coupled with slower foreign growth and trade policy uncertainty have weighed on investment ... (full story)