U.S. manufacturing contracts; construction spending surges

U.S. manufacturing contracted in November for the first time in 36 months as the sector buckled under the weight of a strong dollar and deep spending cuts in the energy sector. The Institute for Supply Management said its national factory index fell to 48.6 last month, the first contractionary reading since November 2012, from 50.1 in October. While a reading below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing, the index remains above 43.1, which would signal a recession.