The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that September 2009 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $320.2 billion, up 0.7 percent (+/-1.1%)*
from the revised August level, but were down 15.2 percent (+/-1.6%) from the September 2008 level. The August preliminary estimate was revised
upward $0.2 billion or 0.1 percent. September sales of durable goods were up 0.7 percent (+/-1.2%)* from last month, but were down 16.2 percent
(+/-2.5%) from a year ago. Sales of nondurable goods were up 0.6 percent (+/-1.2%)* from last month, but were down 14.3 percent (+/-1.8%) from
last year.

U.S. business productivity in the third quarter grew at the fastest pace in six years.

The Labor Department reported today that productivity surged at a 9.5 percent annual rate, the quickest pace since the third quarter of 2003, as companies squeezed more output from a smaller pool of labor to cut costs.

Productivity in manufacturing rose at a record 13.6 percent rate in the third quarter. Total non-farm output rebounded, growing at a 4 percent rate in the July-September quarter after dropping 1.1 percent in the previous period.

Productivity has increased sharply over the past two quarters, largely driven by aggressive cost cutting by businesses.

Compensation per hour jumped at a 3.8 percent pace, but after adjustment for inflation, it was up only 0.2 percent.

Compared with the July-September quarter of 2008, non-farm productivity rose at a 4.3 percent rate. Unit labor costs fell 3.6 percent year-on-year.

MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) today reported a third quarter diluted loss per share of  ($750,388,000), or ($1.70) per share, compared with net income of  $61,278,000, or $0.22 per share, in the prior year third quarter. The current year results were impacted by non-cash impairment charges totaling $1.17 billion, or $1.72 loss per diluted share net of tax, including a pre-tax non-cash impairment charge of $956 million related to the Company’s investment in CityCenter and a pre-tax non-cash charge of $203 million related to impairment of CityCenter’s residential real estate under development.

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New orders for manufactured goods  in September, up five of the last six months, increased $3.3 billion or 0.9 percent to $356.1 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

This followed a 0.8 percent August decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.8 percent.

Shipments, up three of the last four months, increased $2.9 billion or 0.8 percent to $363.1 billion also followed a 0.2 percent August decrease.

Unfilled orders, which have declined for twelve consecutive months, decreased another $3.3 billion or 0.4 percent to $733.3 billion: the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published in 1992 and followed a 0.4 percent August decrease.

The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 5.83, down from 5.97 in August. Inventories, down thirteen consecutive months, decreased $4.8 billion or 1.0 percent to $492.6 billion. In August a 0.9 percent decrease was recorded. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.36, down from 1.38 in August.