EuroWire September 2020

Transatlantic cable

factory activity had eased from an 11-year low. Manufacturing remains hampered by supply chain disruptions caused by worldwide business closures and suspensions, and by social distancing measures in those factories that are operating or reopening. Cheaper crude oil eroded profits in the energy sector and reflected on the profits of manufacturers of drilling and offshore equipment. Unfilled orders at factories dropped 1.6 per cent in April, after falling 2.1 per cent in March, and factory inventories fell 0.4 per cent in April. Shipments of manufactured goods fell by 13.5 per cent. Orders for transportation equipment, having fallen by 43.2 per cent in March, fell again by 48.3 per cent in April. There were no orders for civilian aircraft, and orders for motor vehicles and motor parts fell by 29.3 per cent. Machinery orders fell 7.2 per cent, while orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components fell by 9 per cent. The US government reported that orders for non-defence capital goods (excluding aircraft) – seen as a measure of business spending plans and, hence, business confidence – declined 6.1 per cent in April, a greater drop than previously reported.

two-dimensional silver layer formed between silicon carbide and graphene. Silver is generally considered superior to gold as an electrical conductor, yet silver also becomes a semiconductor when reduced to two dimensions. Initial results indicate that the energy required to make the silver layer electrically conductive is probably higher than for 2D gold, suggesting, said Mr Starke, “The semiconductor properties of a component made from this material might therefore be thermally more stable than those [made from] gold.”

US industry

With the hatches battened down against coronavirus, April saw further declines in factory orders In early June, the US Commerce Department announced that new orders for American-made products dropped during April, reflecting the depressed business investment plans already seen early in the second quarter as a result of the uncertainty created by coronavirus. Factory orders dropped 13 per cent in April, following the 11 per cent drop seen in March, though at least a little better than the 14 per cent drop predicted in a Reuters poll. The year-on-year fall was 8 per cent for April. In early June it was believed that the slump in manufacturing (which accounts for 11 per cent of economic activity in the USA) was probably nearing its lowest point, following a report from the Institute for Supply Management revealing that in May its measure of national

Jobs market took a further hit, nearing 20 per cent unemployment

With US business investment contracting for four consecutive quarters, not all of which coincided with the pandemic shutdown, it was no surprise to read the US unemployment rate had reached almost 20 per cent in May: a new and

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September 2020