US factory orders fall in December on commercial aircraft bookings

Group 1 - U.S. factory orders fell by 0.7% in December after a 2.7% increase in November, primarily due to a significant decline in commercial aircraft bookings, although demand in other sectors remained strong, driven by investment in artificial intelligence [1][2] - Commercial aircraft orders experienced a sharp decline of 24.8% in December following a substantial increase of 98.2% in November, indicating volatility in this category [5] - Orders for computers and electronic products rose by 3.1%, while orders for electrical equipment, appliances, and components increased by 0.3%, and machinery orders climbed by 0.5% [5] Group 2 - Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending plans, increased by 0.8% in December, revised from an initial report of 0.6% [7] - Shipments of core capital goods rose by 1.0%, up from a previously reported increase of 0.9%, indicating a positive trend in business investment [7] - Despite a slowdown in business investment in the fourth quarter, an acceleration is anticipated in the current year due to tax cuts [6]