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The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods increased 1.1 percent, slightly below Wall Street economist’s forecast for a 1.5 percent gain.

But November’s gain was revised up to 2.2 percent from a previously reported 1.8 percent and there were signs in the report of a firmer pace of overall factory activity.

During the full year 2011, factory orders gained 12.1 percent after a 12.9 percent rise in 2010.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft - a closely watched category because it is taken as a sign of businesses’ future spending plans - climbed a solid 3 free business cards.1 percent in December. That followed declines of 1.5 percent in November and 0.9 percent in October.

Shipments for this category also increased by 3.1 percent in December after matching decreases of 0.9 percent in each of the two prior months.

Business spending had been a driver of the recovery since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, which pushed the U.S. economy into a deep recession.

During December, there were widespread gains in key order categories from computers to fabricated metal products and transportation equipment. Orders for electrical equipment were down from November, one of the few categories that declined.

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The factory gauge, based on a survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, rose to 52.1 from a revised 49.7 in December, Markit said in a report on its website today. The median forecast of 28 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a reading of 50, the level that divides expansion from contraction.

Separate reports today showed manufacturing indexes for Europe, China and India also rose in January. Still, the debt crisis in the euro area, the U.K.

It depends in part on education levels, according to a report put out Monday by the Congressional Budget Office.

Federal workers with a master’s degree or less are better compensated on average than their similarly educated private sector peers, CBO found.

Those with professional degrees or doctorates, however, do less well than they might working for a large business.

The CBO measured the differences in salary and benefits between the two workforces.

Federal and private-sector workers with bachelor’s degrees earned the same hourly wage on average. But those working for the federal government enjoyed average benefits that were worth 46% more. (See where the top-paying companies are.)

Federal workers with no more than a high school education are paid 21% more on average than their private-sector peers, and have average benefits worth 72% more.

White House to propose small raise for federal workers

The premium working for Uncle Sam disappears, however, for those with advanced degrees such as law degrees and Ph.D.s. Their average wages were about 23% less than they might be in the private sector, while their benefits were roughly on par.

In fiscal year 2011, the CBO estimates that the government paid 16% more in salary and benefits combined than it would have for a comparable workforce in the private sector.

The 2.3 million federal civilian employees represent less than 2% of the total U.S. workforce. Fully a third of federal workers are in professional occupations, such as science and engineering — almost twice that of private-sector workers.

Union membership is nearly three times higher than in the private sector, where 8% of workers belong to a union.

Colleen Kelly, president of NTEU — the largest independent union of federal employees — took exception to the CBO’s findings. Kelly cited Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing a pay gap of 26% in favor of private sector workers.

Obama focuses on income inequality

The CBO noted in its report that it incorporated BLS data but used a different methodology. And it acknowledged that its estimates of the differences in benefits between the two sectors are more uncertain than its estimates of the differences in wages.

The CBO report was conducted at the request of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee.

Compensation for federal government jobs has become a hot-button issue in the highly fractious debate over how to curb deficits.

Federal workers’ pay has been in lawmakers’ crosshairs for the past year. In December 2010, Congress and President Obama signed off on a two-year federal pay freeze.

Since then, there have been proposals to extend the freeze and reduce the size of the federal workforce though attrition.

Most recently, however, the White House said the president will propose a 0.5% pay increase for federal workers for 2013. That’s not enough to keep pace with inflation, and it is below the more than 2% increase in private wages over the past year. But federal workers welcomed the proposal as a step in the right direction. 

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Ener1 (), which makes a variety of energy storage devices under different subsidiaries, is the parent company of EnerDel, the car battery division that received the government grant to help build a manufacturing plant in Indianapolis.

Unlike bankrupt Solyndra, the advanced solar panel maker that became a lightning rod for critics of Obama’s stimulus spending when it closed its factory and liquidated, Ener1 promised its business will proceed as usual.

The company said the "voluntarily initiated" bankruptcy filing won’t impact any of its subsidiaries, including EnerDel.

"The restructuring will not adversely impact their employees, customers and suppliers," the company said in a press release, noting there will be no layoffs as a result of the action.

The company blamed the bankruptcy on a slower than expected demand for electric vehicles.

Making a battery to replace oil

Analysts have also said any electric car battery maker faces stiff competition from Asian firms, which are largely considered to be well ahead of the curve due to their long experience making batteries for electronics. Ener1 was thought to offer one of the best chances for an American company to compete in this field.

The company said that’s still the case, and that the restructuring will allow it to reduce its debt and free up $81 million for capital spending.

"Our business partners have an appreciation for our future business opportunities," CEO Alex Sorokin said in a statement low interest rate personal loans. "We expect the new funding to provide ample liquidity for our subsidiaries to meet their ongoing obligations to employees, customers and suppliers."

The Department of Energy, which awarded the grant, agreed.

"While it’s unfortunate that Ener1, the parent company, has entered a restructuring process, the new infusion of $80 million in private capital demonstrates that the technology has merit," DOE said in a statement.

Ener1 received the grant in 2009 as part of a $2.4 billion stimulus effort to jump start the electric car industry.

The program was different from the Energy Department program that funded now-bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra and Beacon Power, a maker of energy storage devices. Nonetheless, critics jumped at the chance to highlight another government grant gone bad.

"Sadly, the Department of Energy’s jobs record seems to grow worse by the day," Florida Representative Cliff Stearns, a Republican, said in a statement. "It is American taxpayers who are paying the price."

But during his State of the Union speech, President Obama struck a defiant tone, refusing to apologize for the decisions his administration has made, which includes the funding of hundreds of clean energy companies or companies engaged in clean technology research.

"Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail," said Obama. "But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy." 

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Herman Nackaerts says “we hope that Iran will engage with us on all concerns regarding a possible military dimension of Iran’s nuclear program.”

He says his team is “looking forward to the start of a dialogue _ a dialogue that is overdue since very long.”

Nackaerts spoke Saturday as his team arrived at Vienna’s airport for a flight to Tehran.

Iran has for years dismissed suspicions that it worked in secret on components of a weapons program. Diplomats say it has signaled willingness to discuss all issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency team, but they are skeptical of a breakthrough.

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For the first time in the Fed’s history, the central bank released forecasts for the federal funds rate, its key tool for stimulating the economy, and released an explicit goal for the rate of inflation.

In addition, the Fed also released projections for inflation, economic growth and the unemployment rate, as it typically does four times a year.

So what does that all mean for the economy?

First the good news: Things would appear to be looking up for the job market. The central bank said it expects the unemployment rate to fall to between 8.2% and 8.5% in 2012, an improvement over what it had predicted back in November.

But the Fed is also predicting the economy will grow between 2.2% and 2.7% this year, slightly slower than it had previously thought.

"We continue to see headwinds emanating from Europe, coming from the slowing global economy and some other factors as well," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Fed to keep rates low until 2014

Because economic growth remains sluggish, most of the policymakers at the Fed think the federal funds rate should remain near zero for the foreseeable future.

That said, they’re deeply divided when it comes to the timing for a rate increase. The interest rate forecasts showed five of the Fed’s 17 officials believe economic growth is slow enough to keep interest rates low until 2014. Six members thought rates should be hiked sooner than that, while another six believed low rates should remain in place until sometime after 2014.

Six of the 17 members expect the rate to be above 1% in 2014, while nearly all the members expect the fed funds rate to be around 4% in the long run.

Forecasting a low federal funds rate out to 2014 is thought to have a stimulative effect on the economy, by lowering interest rates on everything from mortgages to car and student loans.

But it’s not set in stone. Bernanke said repeatedly that the Fed will continue to monitor economic data and adjust its forecasts accordingly. If the economy starts to improve more rapidly, the Fed could raise interest rates sooner than currently projected.

"People should realize that these forecasts are highly dependent on economic conditions," said Dean Croushore, an economics professor at the University of Richmond. "These are only good forecasts if the economy actually grows as slowly as the Fed thinks it will over the next two years."

Experts are also quick to point out that the Fed’s forecasting record is far from stellar, and the wide range of internal viewpoints showed even at the central bank, uncertainty reigns.

"There’s such a range of opinions," said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst. "Really putting those projections out there is going to do nothing more than reveal the human frailties of the Fed’s forecasting abilities."

Bernanke even conceded that point Wednesday.

"Our ability to forecast three and four years out is obviously very limited. There’s no question about that," he said.

Famous Fed flubs

Meanwhile, the central bank announced its new goal is to keep inflation around a 2% annual rate.

But this year, inflation is expected to remain below the new target, hovering between 1.5% and 1.8%.

If inflation remains low, the Fed could have some room to enact more stimulative policies, beyond the already $2.3 trillion in asset purchases it has made through two rounds of quantitative easing.

At the press conference, Bernanke essentially left the door open for QE3, remarking repeatedly that the Fed still has the ability to do more to bring the unemployment rate down.

"If the situation continues with inflation below target and unemployment declining at a rate which is very, very slow, then… the logic of our framework says we should be looking for ways to do more," Bernanke said.

The Fed’s press conferences, which started last year, and the new forecasts are all part of Bernanke’s goal to make the Fed more transparent.

"The Committee seeks to explain its monetary policy decisions to the public as clearly as possible," he said, reading from a statement. "Such clarity facilitates well-informed decision making by households and businesses, reduces economic and financial uncertainty, increases the effectiveness of monetary policy, and enhances transparency and accountability, which are essential in a democratic society." 

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The former stockbroker, Kenneth Neely, worked for St. Louis-based Stifel in its St. Peters office from October 2002 until January 2007 and later worked at another broker-dealer, AXA Advisors in Clayton, from December 2007 to July 2009.

In November 2009, the Missouri commissioner of securities accused Neely of committing multiple violations of selling unregistered and nonexempt securities, transacting business as an unregistered agent and making untrue statements in connection with the sale or offer of securities in a St. Charles real estate investment trust and a fraudulent investment club.

According to the state of Missouri, Neely told friends and church members that his investment club would pay up to 20 percent in interest a year. However he failed to tell the investors that the securities were unregistered. He did this during the time he worked at Stifel and later at AXA, the state said.

Neely was convicted in February 2010 on mail fraud charges and sentenced to 37 months in prison. He is serving his sentence at a federal correctional facility in Indiana.

On Tuesday, the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office announced Stifel’s settlement after a two-year investigation by the enforcement section of the Missouri Securities Division.

“These events occurred more than five years ago. We welcome the opportunity to put this matter behind us,” Stifel said in a news release. “All of the affected clients will receive restitution … We would note that Neely’s illegal activities occurred outside the scope of his employment with Stifel.”

While agreeing to the facts surrounding the case, Stifel neither admits nor denies the regulator’s allegations, the consent order said.

According to the state, Stifel failed to detect or investigate red flags during Neely’s employment, including a customer’s check sent to Neely’s home address and a customer’s concerns relating to Neely’s investment club. The state alleged that Stifel failed to reasonably supervise Neely, his private securities transactions and emails.

“Every firm has a duty to supervise and to take steps to detect fraudulent activity by its agent, and this action reinforces that investors should always exercise caution when looking at potential investments,” Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said in a statement.

Stifel will pay $531,385 in restitution and interest to 10 investors in Missouri, California, Florida and Maryland. Additionally, Stifel will pay $500,000 to the Missouri Investor Education and Protection Fund and $70,000 for the costs of the Securities Division’s investigation.

As part of the settlement, Stifel’s registration with the state is censured, and the firm is required to hire a consultant to study its supervisory and compliance activities. A report from the consultant is due in three months.

New York-based AXA, Neely’s other former employer, signed a similar consent order with the state in December 2010.

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“After strengthening the council’s relationships with various regional partners on both sides of the river over the past five years and helping to define the key priorities we need to focus on over the next decade, Patrick has determined it is time for a new challenge,” Rich Connor, president of the Leadership Council, said in a written statement. He said McKeehan made many significant contributions to the region and organization.

McKeehan could not be reached for comment. He came to the Leadership Council in 2006 after stints with the Missouri Department of Economic Development, the St payday loan no faxing. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association, the Ford Hazelwood Task Force and the St. Louis Regional Automotive Partnership.

Connor said a search committee for a successor would be convened quickly. He said Scott Schanuel, a private consultant formerly with Belleville Economic Progress Inc., would serve as executive director on an interim basis.

The Leadership Council is a coaltion of businesses that has promoted economic development in Madison and St. Clair counties since 1983.

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