For the first time in a year, U.S. companies are planning to boost payrolls and investments, indicating the nascent economic recovery will be sustained into 2010, a private survey showed.The percentage of businesses expecting to hire staff over the next six months exceeded the share projecting more firings by 4 points, the first positive reading since July 2008, according to figures from the National Association for Business Economics issued today in Washington. The spread in favor of those looking to spend more on new equipment was even larger.
The survey also showed that companies have begun raising prices of their products:
[P]rice increases are starting to become more prevalent as demand improves. Twenty-three percent of the companies surveyed by NABE this month said they raised prices since the prior survey, up from 8 percent in July. Just one out of every 10 said they had to cut what they charged customers, down from two out of 10 three months ago.
Dr. Duru