AIRCRAFT ORDERS MASK WEAK BUSINESS INVESTMENT

US durable goods orders rose 1.8% in September to $345.4 billion, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, just under the 1.9% forecast. The headline gain leaned almost entirely on a 28.4% jump in nondefense aircraft orders. Strip that out and the core capex proxy — nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft — rose just 0.5%, below the 0.7% estimate and the weakest signal for business investment in the report. $XLI