Economy looks better in four spots

Progress is slowly happening in our economy and in the places where the recession hit the most. The recovery is happening slowly, but surely and it is bringing an impact on these four spots discussed in this article. The first is the agriculture/farming recovery. American farmers will export $107.5 billion in agricultural products this fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, the second highest ever after the 2008 record of $115.3 billion, the New York Times reported, citing federal estimates of farm trade and income. China has been driving most of the U.S. agricultural exports (most likely surpassing Mexico next year as the second largest foreign buyer of American products). The second spot looked at was the U.S. Corporate buying. Last August was the busiest month for mergers and acquisitions volume world wide, and the $286 billion worth of deals was the highest monthly level since 2008. The third spot looked at was Detroit and the auto industry. Detroit was an economic bright spot before the auto industry ran into trouble. Ford Motors, General Motors, and Chrysler are slightly improving. Ford churned more money in the first six months of this year than in the previous five years combined. GM, which received a $50 billion taxpayer bailout following its bankruptcy in June 2009, has filed for one of the biggest public stock offerings in U.S. history. And Chrysler is hiring new workers. The fourth spot looked at was the manufacturing growth. It has expanded very fast as factories have been adding workers and raising production to restock inventory and respond to demands from markets overseas. he Institute for Supply Management's factory index rose to a three-month high of 56.3 from 55.5 in July. Most economists predicted it would fall to 52.8 or worse. A reading of more than 50 generally signals growth. Since manufacturing is 11% of the U.S. economy, it will need to continue to help the U.S. out of the recession.