New orders for key manufactured capital goods in the United States saw a significant decline in April, marking the largest drop in six months, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday.
Orders for manufactured durable goods fell by 6.3 percent month-on-month in April, while overall transportation orders plummeted by 17.1 percent during the same period.
The slowdown in corporate spending on equipment is seen as an indication that U.S. President Donald Trump's fluctuating tariff policies are creating uncertainty, complicating business planning and investment decisions.
In response to these challenges, several American retailers, including footwear brand Skechers, have begun discussions with investment banks about the possibility of going private, aimed at protecting their earnings from the volatility induced by tariffs and market fluctuations.
US capital goods orders plunge amid tariff uncertainty
The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.
The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.
Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.
"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.
Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.
Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.
"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.
Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight
