What to Cook Right Now

Last-minute Labor Day recipes for your holiday, a charred okra salad and more.

Send any friend a story

As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

By Kim Severson

Your Final Wine School Assignment

This last class will examine Alpine white wines, but after 100 classes, the most important messages should carry through to a long and pleasing relationship with wine.

Send any friend a story

As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.

By Eric Asimov

U.S. Factory Orders Unexpectedly Show Sharp Pullback In July

A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday unexpectedly showed a sharp pullback in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the month of July.

The Commerce Department said factory orders slumped by 1.0 percent in July after surging by a revised 1.8 percent in June.

The steep drop surprised economists, who had expected factory orders to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 2.0 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The unexpected pullback in factory orders was partly due to a notable decrease in orders for non-durable goods, which tumbled by 1.9 percent in July after shooting up by 1.4 percent in June.

The report also showed durable goods orders edged down by 0.1 percent in July after spiking by 2.3 percent in June. Last week, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders were virtually unchanged.

The Commerce Department also said shipments of manufactured goods slid by 0.9 percent in July following sixteen consecutive monthly increases.

Meanwhile, the report said inventories of manufactured goods inched up by 0.1 percent in July after rising by 0.4 percent in June.

With inventories edging higher and shipments falling, the inventories-to-shipments ratio ticked up to 1.47 in July from 1.46 in June.

US Covid Hospitalizations Fall By 10% In A Fortnight

As U.S. Covid hospitalizations continue to fall, the number of people admitted with the viral disease in the country’s hospitals has decreased by 10 percent in the last two weeks, according to New York Times’ latest tally.

Also, a 10 percent fall is reported in the number of patients admitted in intensive care units in the same period.

U.S. Covid hospitalizations fell to 30,587, as per the latest CDC update. 4,316 of these patients are admitted in intensive care units.

Covid positive cases fell by 8 percent in the last fortnight while Covid casualties increased by 7 percent.

The total number of people losing their lives due to coronavirus infection in the country has risen to 1,047,518, as per Johns Hopkins University’s latest data.

6111 new infections on Sunday took the total U.S. Covid cases to 94,753,897.

The nation’s current test positivity rate is 14 percent.

1052 additional deaths were reported globally on Sunday, taking the total number of people who lost their lives due to the pandemic so far to 6,495,703.

92,494,183 people have so far recovered from the disease, the Worldometer tally shows.

European Economics Preview: Eurozone Retail Sales, Final PMI Data Due

Retail sales and final composite Purchasing Managers’ survey results from Eurozone are due on Monday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs releases Swiss GDP data for the second quarter. Economists forecast the economy to grow 0.4 percent sequentially, slightly slower than the 0.5 percent increase in the first quarter.

At 3.15 am ET, S&P Global releases Spain’s services Purchasing Managers’ survey results. Economists expect the index to fall to 52.9 in August from 53.8 in the previous month.

At 3.45 am ET, Italy’s services PMI survey data is due. The index is seen at 48.3, down from 48.4 a month ago.

Thereafter, final PMI survey results are due from France and Germany at 3.50 am and 3.55 am ET, respectively.

At 4.00 am ET, S&P Global releases euro area final composite PMI survey data. The index is seen at 49.2 in August, the same as in the flash estimate, down from 49.9 a month ago.

Half an hour later, UK S&P/CIPS final PMI survey data is due. The final composite index is forecast to fall to 50.9 in August from 52.1 in July.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is scheduled to publish euro area retail sales figures for July. Economists forecast sales to rise 0.4 percent on month, in contrast to the 1.2 percent fall in June.

DS Smith Plc: Overall Trading In Line With Expectations; FY23 Outlook Unchanged

While issuing a trading update in respect of the period since 1 May 2022, DS Smith Plc (SMDS.L) stated that overall trading was in line with its expectations driven by pricing momentum and good cost control. First quarter corrugated box volumes declined slightly on a like for like basis. The Group continues to expect growth of at least 2% for the full year.

Miles Roberts, Group Chief Executive, said: “The increased profitability and cash generation is being driven by improving efficiency and cost increase mitigation as well as successfully continuing to raise packaging prices. Overall returns on capital remain within our medium term target.”

The Group noted that its operating plans and progress to date continue to give confidence in its outlook for fiscal 2023.

DS Smith Plc also announced that Adrian Marsh plans to retire from the Board and from his role as Group Finance Director once a successor is in place.

For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com.