Ray of light: US factory orders rise for first time in 7 months

Score a positive data point for the U.S. economy.

I'm not even talking about the G-20 approving additional funds for the IMF or the suggestion that there will be an agreement on fiscal stimulus. I'm referring to an actual, specific, worthy-of-a-minor-fist-pump uptick in one of the economy's main indicators: U.S. factory orders increased 1.8 percent in February, the industrial measure's first rise in seven months, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday.