From the Wall Street Journal :

WSJ.com - Durable-Goods Orders Drop Amid Widespread Weakness: Orders for big-ticket items dropped in September by the largest amount in 10 months, providing further evidence that the economy is slowing. Separately, a closely watched measure of consumer sentiment tumbled in October, and home sales rose in September. Orders for durable goods, or items meant to last three years or longer, tumbled 5.9% to $167.63 billion last month, the largest drop since November, the Commerce Department said Friday. August durable-goods orders were revised to a 0.6% decline from the 0.4% slip previously estimated. The September drop marked the third decline in the past four months and reflected widespread weakness in the manufacturing sector, with orders down for everything from cars to communications equipment. The drop was much greater than the 2.4% decline economists were expecting, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC.