Unexpected Increase in Factory Orders

I read an article about the unexpected rise in manufacturing orders such as metals, machines and military equipment.The Commerce Department said that orders increased 3.4 percent in February after a 7.3 percent decline in January. Orders for machinery, transportation equipment and computers and electronics rose also.The rise was even better than economists had hoped. Although the recession is still very real, hopeful investors did lift stock markets some 20 percent over the last two weeks. My husband works for a government contractor and has been getting alot of overtime in the past two weeks.
Not only this, but On Monday a report was released saying sales of previously owned homes increased 5 percent after a 10-month decline, which is good news. Unfortunetly, the median price of a new home fell to $200,900, down from a peak of $262,600.
Obviously the economy is nowhere near in good shape, but it is nice to hear some good news.