Factory Orders Up

For the "better than expected" file, add U.S. factory orders, which jumped 1.8 percent in February after many economists predicted a 1.5 percent increase. This adds to a number of economic indicators that are faring better than experts thought.

The increase in orders reported by the U.S. Commerce Department marks the first rise for such goods in seven months. Orders had plunged 3.5 in January -- in the "worse than expected" file.

Leading the increase: durable good orders, which jumped 3.5 percent. That's for stuff that's supposed to last three years. Non-durable goods -- your chemicals, food, paper, etc. -- only increased .3 percent.

-- Michael Rosenwald