U.S. manufacturing activity slowed in October as a measure of new orders dropped to a 16-month low and factories continued to experience delays with deliveries of raw materials.  The Institute for Supply Management said their index of national factory activity slipped to a reading of 60 last month from 61 in September.  A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing, which accounts for 12% of the U.S. economy.

U.S. construction spending unexpectedly fell last month amid declines in outlays on both private and public projects.  The Commerce Department said that construction spending dropped 0.5% after edging up 0.1% in September.  Year on year construction spending was 7.8% higher. The government reported last week that gross domestic product increased at a 2.0% annualized rate, stepping down from the April-June's robust 6.7% pace.

Americans’ opinions on the U.S. economy have soured noticeably in the past month, a new poll finds, with nearly half expecting economic conditions to worsen in the next year.  Just 35% of Americans now call the national economy good, while 65% call it poor, according to a poll by The Associated Press Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s a dip since September, when 45% of Americans called the economy good, and a return to about where views of the nation’s economy stood in January and February, when the pandemic was raging across the nation