"Are We Going to War?" Durable Goods Edition

The latest figures from the Census for Durable Goods show further deterioration and a huge spike in spending on Defense:

New orders for manufactured durable goods in December decreased $4.7 billion or 2.6 percent to $176.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This was the fifth consecutive monthly decrease and followed a 3.7 percent November decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 3.6 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 4.9 percent.

Month over Month (Seasonally Adjusted)

Year over Year (Full Year 2008 vs. 2007)