Capital goods orders up for 2 straight months

Washington

US business investment spending plans increased solidly for a second straight month in April, a hopeful sign for manufacturing activity after a long spell of weakness.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 1 per cent last month after an upwardly revised 1.5 per cent increase in March.

The so-called cor…