U.S. manufacturing may be stabilizing; housing gains steam

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gauge of U.S. business investment spending plans rose in May, a tentative sign that the manufacturing sector was stabilizing after hitting a soft patch in recent months. Other data on Tuesday showed new home sales increased to a more than seven-year high in May. Manufacturing is lagging an overall rebound in the economy after output shrank at the start of the year. Despite the weakness in factory activity, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise intere