Small May factory output decline hints at recession bottom

Production at U.S. factories remains at problematic levels, but the rate of decline appears to by slowing -- a mild improvement -- and in this economy and market, you take what you can get.

Output at U.S. factories declined 0.5 percent in April, for the slowest decline pace in six months, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced Friday, as the nation's industrial sector appears to be forming a bottom. Factory output declined 1.7 percent in March.