American Companies Are Poised to Boost Capital Spending

American companies are poised to put idle cash to work as demand rebounds in 2013 after spending slumped amid the slowdown in China and Europe’s recession.

Manufacturers project they will invest more next year than this year, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s semiannual survey released yesterday. Orders for capital equipment excluding defense and aircraft rose 2.9 percent in October, the biggest increase since February, Commerce Department data showed Nov. 27.