U.S. manufacturing expands in December

(Jan. 2, 2013) -- "Business activity was weighed down until the end of 2012 as sentiment soured against the heightened uncertainty surrounding the effect of the impending fiscal cliff," he added. "With U.S. policymakers passing legislation to avoid income tax increases on the majority of Americans, some of the uncertainty should be removed, thereby setting the stage for an improvement in the pace of overall economic activity in the coming months."