Orders for manufactured goods rose 1.4% in February, reversing the declines seen in the previous two months and surpassing economists' expectations of a 1% increase, Commerce Department figures show. Durable goods orders saw a revised increase of 1.2%, orders for non-durable goods were up by 1.6%, and nondefense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft, rose by 0.7%.

Beacon Roofing Supply has agreed to purchase Smalley & Co., a waterproofing distributor with 11 locations in the Mountain West. "The team's technical know-how is at the top of the industry, and we look forward to closing this acquisition so that we can welcome Smalley employees to Beacon and begin serving customers with our expanded products and services," says Martin Harrell, president of waterproofing at Beacon.

Motion & Control Enterprises has acquired Daughtridge Sales, a distributor of pressure and temperature instrumentation products in North Carolina, a move that expands MCE's flow control footprint in the mid-Atlantic region. Daughtridge will continue to operate under its name and be led by Lige Daughtridge.

It will take months for water levels to return to normal in the Panama Canal after last year's drought, said Argelis Moreno Lopez of the Panama Canal Authority. The wet season will begin at the end of April and "will reverse the situation and go back to normal at the end of the year or next year," said Lopez.

Harnessing copious amounts of data for business decisions requires a nuanced approach and a determination not to fall victim to "analysis paralysis," writes Amy Groden Morrison of Alpha Software. Morrison cites examples from different industries, such as how embedded sensors and wearables provide better health care insights.

Mexico has seen 73 investment announcements since the first of the year in the supply chain and manufacturing industries, totaling $31 billion, compared to $36 billion in all of 2023, according to officials. Ecommerce company Mercado Libre announced a $2.4 billion investment, with Walmart behind that at $2.1 billion.

Some marketers fail to see the power and reach of social media marketing and still rely on traditional marketing, writes Daisy Domenghini of VaynerMedia EMEA, who cites that 22.5% of marketers responding to Marketing Week's 2024 Career & Salary Survey said social media is the most overrated skill in a marketer. "Social media directly guides what many think of as the key elements of classic, traditional marketing -- to drive growth, to understand the customer, to build customer propositions that resonate, to communicate with consumers, and to position brands," writes Domenghini.

Uncertainty costs middle-market companies an average of roughly $21 million annually, or about 4.4% of revenue, according to the 2024 Certainty Project Report by PYMNTS. Larger companies tend to have much more certainty in operations, while nearly half of CFOs from smaller firms report significant uncertainty, particularly in changing customer demand and supply chain and regulatory issues, which can lead to missed opportunities and lower profit margins.

Federal Reserve voting members, including San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, expect up to three interest-rate cuts in 2024 but emphasize the strength of economic growth warrants no immediate action. Despite differing views within the Fed and markets, officials highlight the importance of monitoring economic and inflation developments before adjusting rates.

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