Data Offer Mixed Reading on U.S. Economy By Tim Ahmann WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Orders for long-lasting U.S. goods slipped unexpectedly in October, but new home sales rose, consumer sentiment brightened a bit this month and claims for jobless aid fell, a mixed bag of reports showed on Wednesday. The raft of data, coming just ahead of the traditional kickoff of the U.S. holiday-shopping season on Friday, offered little direction to markets. "It looks to me like the economy is growing at a reasonable pace," said Doug Lee, head of the forecasting firm Economics from Washington. "It's not a spectacular pace but we are into the fourth year of an expansion and growing close to trend is not a bad thing." Orders for durable goods -- big-ticket items meant to last at least three years -- fell 0.4 percent in October, despite strong military demand, a Commerce Department report showed. Forecasters had expected a gain of 0.5 percent. But in a separate report, the department said new homes sales rose 0.2 percent to a 1.23-million unit annual sales pace, the third highest on record. Economists, who had looked for sales to tail off slightly, pinned the strength on low mortgage rates. A University of Michigan index measuring consumer confidence rose to 92.8 in November from 91.7 last month, although it came in below a preliminary reading of 95.5 and disappointed analysts who had forecast a rise to 96.0. In one clear piece of good news, the Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits dropped to their lowest level in two months, pulling a closely watched four-week average to its lowest point in four years. U.S. stock prices gained, helped by oil's extended stay below $50 a barrel, while prices for Treasury bonds finished slightly lower. The dollar failed to find support and hit a new record low against the euro and a 4-1/2 year low versus the yen. MILITARY MIGHT The durable goods report, a key measure of the health of the manufacturing sector, showed strong demand for military aircraft but widespread weakness elsewhere, with orders for computers, cars and civilian planes all slumping.     Continued ... Quelle "Data Offer Mixed Reading on U.S. Economy" : reuters.com Main page for "Data Offer Mixed Reading on U.S. Economy"