Cheaper Natural Gas Helps US Manufacturers Compete Globally.

The AP reported, "The price of natural gas is plummeting at a pace that has caught even the experts off guard." A 35 percent fall "in the futures price over the past year has been a boon to homeowners who use natural gas for heat and appliances and to manufacturers who power their factories and make chemicals and materials with it." The AP reported, "For companies that make plastics, fertilizer and other chemicals derived from natural gas, the falling prices are nothing short of a windfall. The same goes for makers of products from steel to bricks to beer." 

Manufacturers Campaign Against Deeper Cuts In US Defense Spending.

There are multiple reports stating that the Aerospace Industries Association, "which represents manufacturers such as Boeing Co. (BA), United Technologies Corp. (UTX) and Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), has launched a campaign to stave off cuts in the national security budget as a special congressional committee seeks to find $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction throughout the federal government." Boeing and Pratt & Whitney said reductions beyond the 10-year, $350 billion cut in this summer's debt accord would have a devastating impact on a defense industry that Marion C. Blakey, the association's president, described as 'fragile.' What do you think?