US Govt. data -

Business inventories rose 0.9% in June, exceeding analysts' expectations
of a 0.6% rise and matching the revised May figure. Retailers saw the
biggest increase; their inventories rose 1.2% in June. Total business sales
were also up 0.9% in June, a slightly weaker showing than the revised 1.1%
rise posted in May. The inventory-to-sales ratio--the number of months it
would take to empty the nation's warehouses, store shelves, and sales lots
at the current rate of sales--remained at 1.32, just off its all-time low.
In a separate report, the Fed said industrial production rose 0.4% in July,
double the pace in June. Industrial production, which measures output at
U.S. factories, utilities, and mines, is now 5.8% stronger than it was this
time last year, due mainly to continued growth in high-tech manufacturing.
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