The news on the second quarter continues to darken as business inventories fell 0.2 percent in April which is 1 tenth below Econoday's consensus. Inventories at retailers also fell 0.2 percent with wholesale inventories down a very sharp 0.5 percent. Factory inventories were positive but only barely, at 0.1 percent. Declining inventories are a possible signal of business caution and a certain negative for second-quarter GDP.

Business Inventories