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Manufacturing activity picked up a bit in September, according to a key survey released Monday that suggests a slow-growing economy that has nonetheless avoided falling into recession. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index rose to 51.6% from 50.6% in August. Economists polled by MarketWatch had anticipated an unchanged reading.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. service sector expanded at a slightly faster pace in August, but growth was spotty and prices paid for raw materials shot up, according to a survey of senior executives. The Institute for Supply Management on Tuesday said its service index rose to 53.3% in August from 52.7% in July. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected the index to fall to 51.0%.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index slowed to 50.6% from 50.9% in July, marking the worst reading since July 2009. The index extended its string of readings above 50%, which indicate expansion, to 25 months. However, economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a reading on average of 48.8% — and the 50.6% result was higher than every economist polled.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. manufacturing activity barely grew in July, according to a key index released Monday in a demonstration of an economy struggling to expand. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing gauge in July dropped 4.4 points to 50.9%, the worst reading since July 2009 and barely staying above the 50% no-change line. The index came in far below a MarketWatch-compiled economist poll of 54.3%. U.S. stocks slumped after the ISM report, with the Dow industrials DJIA recently down by 35 points.

HUGE MISS ON ISM: Manufacturing Index Collapses To 50.9 Joe Weisenthal Aug. 1, 2011, 9:55 AM The number: Huge miss. July ISM came in at just 50.9 vs. estimates of 54.5. It's also well below 55.3. The prices paid index plunged from 68 to 59.0. According to Bloomberg, it's the lowest since July 2009. Stocks are in the red. Bad news for the economy. Original post: Given the run of weak data, this will be a closely-watched one.. July ISM (a survey of manufacturing) is expected to come in at 54.5 vs. 55.3 last month. The "whisper" is probably lower....

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Activity at the nation’s manufacturing firms accelerated in June, according to a closely followed survey of top executives released Friday, data which eased fears about the health of the U.S. economy. The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index rose to 55.3% in June higher than the 53.5% in May. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the index to drop to 52.3%. Read economic calendar with forecasts of key indicators. Any reading over 50% indicates expansion

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector receded in May, according to a closely followed index released Wednesday. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing gauge fell to 53.5% in May from 60.4% in April, marking the third straight decline and the biggest one-month drop since 1984. It’s also the lowest reading in one year. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast the index to drop to 57.1%. Three months ago the index peaked at a seven-year high of 61.4%.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks added to losses on Wednesday after the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index came in weaker than expected. [Snip] Wall St had been little changed as a fresh round of proposed acquisitions offset a report on the labor market that was also below consensus expectations.

Gold has surged to a new all time high today, breaking $1450. It's now back down slightly, to around $1448. Gold's surge kicked off today on the back of this morning's weak ISM Services number, which indicated a slowdown in growth in the sector. In particular, business activity in the ISM fell from a 66.9 to a 59.7. It's likely the market is reacting to this weakening in the U.S. economy by assuming there may be another round of quantitative easing to come, hence the spike in gold.

Dear President Botstein [Bard College], cc: Board of Trustees c/o Amie McEvoy and Department of Student Activities, and posted online We understand from http://clubs.bard.edu/ism/ that the International Solidarity Movement is using Bard College facilities and Bard College’s Web site. This organization may endanger the physical safety of your students should they take part in its activities abroad. Here is the executive summary, and independently verifiable details appear below. (1) The ISM’s willfully reckless activities have already cost the life of one college student, Rachel Corrie of Olympia WA (Evergreen College). The ISM stated in context with Ms. Corrie’s death that...

Craig and Cindy Corrie's quest for media attention and globe-trotting instead of justice for daughter Rachel"There's not a lot of money in revenge." --Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride...The death of Rachel Corrie has certainly given her parents the opportunity for worldwide travel to places like Argentina, as well as to Israel and many American cities where they are the center of media attention. If they sought genuine justice against those who were most directly responsible for their daughter's death, as any person of honor would do, these travel and media opportunities would dry up pretty quickly. The media has...

Regional Fed Surveys Suggest Imminent ISM Manufacturing Drop Calculated Risk Sep. 16, 2010, 4:44 PM Note: Usually I don't watch this very closely, but right I'm looking for signs of a slowdown in manufacturing. Eventually a watched pot does boil ... By request - now that the Empire State and Philly Fed manufacturing surveys for September have been released - here is an update to the graph I posted last month:For this graph I averaged the New York and Philly Fed surveys (dashed green, through September), and averaged five surveys including New York, Philly, Richmond, Dallas and Kansas City (blue,...

OAKLAND, Calif. – Hundreds of protesters condemning Israel's recent raid on an international flotilla bound for Gaza are picketing at the Port of Oakland, where an Israeli ship is due to arrive. The demonstrators gathered Sunday to prevent the incoming ship from being unloaded. The dock's day shift of longshoremen agreed to not cross the picket line. Meanwhile Sunday, Israel said it will immediately allow all goods into Gaza except weapons and items deemed to have a military use under its decision to ease its three-year-old blockade of the Palestinian territory. Israeli officials had decided last week to ease the...

Does the International Solidarity Movement's role in Rachel Corrie's training and supervision make it liable for her death?We are not an attorney and cannot give legal advice, but laws against manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide are fairly straightforward. If A acts in a manner that a reasonable person would know to pose a danger to B (e.g. driving while drunk, playing "chicken" with a motor vehicle, celebratory gunfire or other reckless behavior with a firearm), and such action results in B's death, then A is guilty of manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide. An employer who directs an employee to do...

A news release from the Corrie family after yesterday's court session in Haifa notes testimony that Rachel Corrie "arrived dead at the hospital." If she was already dead, why were doctors at An Najah Hospital "treating" her ? [Photos of Corrie at An Najar are posted on the blog] As I have reported before, ISM Media Coordinator in 2003, Michael Shaik stated definitively both to me and in other media:" An ambulance rushed her to A-Najar hospital where she died." So--let's get this straight. Your daughter repeatedly kneels in front of an Israeli military bulldozer on a demolition mission; she...

The International Solidarity Movement knowingly and willfully endangered Rachel Corrie's life Deceased peace activist Rachel Corrie deserves justice, but her parents Craig and Cindy are looking for it in the wrong place: an Israeli courtroom. They are also calling as witnesses members of the organization whose recklessness (or worse) caused their daughter's death. The indicated link defines reckless endangerment as, a crime consisting of acts that create a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person. The accused person isn't required to intend the resulting or potential harm, but must have acted in a way that showed a disregard...

International Solidarity Movement's highest priority was to take pictures of her death WANTED: Young, attractive, idealistic female college student to star in a movie about Zionazi oppression of the downtrodden Palestinian people. Acting skills are not particularly important because "if some of these foreign volunteers get shot or even killed, then the international media will sit up and take notice" (George Rishmawi, International Solidarity Movement leader). We cannot prove that the International Solidarity Movement actually recruited Rachel Corrie with the intention of making her the star in a snuff film but, when the opportunity to do so arose, the ISM...

Jerusalem (CNN) -- A 23-year-old American activist stands in front of an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza. The bulldozer drives over her, crushing her to death. These are the facts. Rachel Corrie, along with colleagues from the International Solidarity Movement, was trying to prevent Israel from bulldozing homes in Rafah, close to the Egyptian border. Her activism cost her her life in March 2003. A colleague said at the time, "Many times the bulldozer came up to us and buried us with dirt, but they always stopped." Corrie's parents want to know the truth about their daughter's death, whether the killing...

  As Catholics, it comes as no surprise to us that the human brain is hard-wired for religion. We believe in a God who created us in His image so that we would come to know and love Him. But for Enlightenment thinkers, who had committed themselves to the "liberation" of human thought from the shackles of religious dogma, the news would not have been welcome at all.   If political society, as Hobbes wrote, abhors a vacuum, the same is true of religious belief. One cannot destroy without creating something else in its place. The new society or...

Dec. 3, 2009, 10:57 a.m. EST Services side of economy contracting again ISM non-manufacturing index falls to 48.7% By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The service sectors of the U.S. economy contracted in November after two months of expansion, the Institute for Supply Management said Thursday. The ISM's non-manufacturing index fell to 48.7% from 50.6% in October. Readings under 50% indicate more firms said business was worsening than said it was improving. Read the full report. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting the index to rise to 51.5%. See our complete Economic Calendar and forecasts for this week's data....