An Uptick in Spending

Since the last recession ended, business investment, particularly in new technology, has remained a weak spot in the economy. Businesses have been reluctant to make new capital commitments without being sure that the economy would continue to grow.

At long last, that may be changing. The latest survey of technology investment by the consultants Wendover and Global Insight, which is being released today, indicates there was an uptick in planned investment in new technology in the third quarter. Among the industries showing gains in spending were wholesale trade, up 75 percent; retail trade, up 43 percent; utilities, up 37 percent; and manufacturing, up 28 percent.

The levels remain well below where they were during the recession, but the direction is encouraging, according to Christopher Swann, an economist at Global Insight. “The bleeding has stopped,” Mr. Swann said. “Maybe we are going to start to heal ourselves now.”

Stocks

The market rally continued, especially among technology stocks. Motorola said it planned to divest its struggling semiconductor operations from its cellphone and communications equipment businesses, a step that has long been favored by Wall Street.