U.S. chief executive officers are "cautiously optimistic" about their own company, their industry and the national economy. A survey by the Conference Board, a private research group, says its CEO Confidence Index improved to 56 in the fourth quarter from 50 in the third quarter. CEO confidence last peaked at 73 in the first quarter of 2004.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac expects a slowdown in the housing market in 2006, stating that "conditions are favorable for a soft landing." Freddie Mac forecast housing starts falling as much as 9% to 1.9 million units in 2006, and for home sales to slow in 2006 by 5% to 7.1 million units. It also sees 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaging 6.4% over the year, and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages remaining about a percentage point lower.

Philadelphia Federal Bank Survey finds only 31% of companies surveyed nationwide plan to raise capital spending this year, far below estimates in Merrill Lynch survey of investment fund managers. A year ago, the same Philly Fed question got a 48% favorable response. Capex plans are strongest for non-computer equipment at 38%; structures are lowest at 24%. Spending plans on computers, electronic and telecommunications would make Wall Street analysts cry; they have projected a minimum 11% growth.

Capital spending in the semiconductor industry could increase by 5% to $48 billion in 2006, says researcher IC Insights, mostly because new-equipment spending was flat in 2005. The analysts forecast little capex volatility ahead and are projecting quarterly spending showing slow and steady growth throughout the year.

Equipment buyers at metalworking firms are expected to boost purchases of machine tools by a substantial 17% after a 13% pickup in 2005, bringing the dollar value back to where it had been in 2000 before a four-year decline.

The personal computer industry closed 2005 with strong unit sales growth of 15%, but 2006 is likely to bring downward pressure on purchasing, according to the Standard & Poor's semi-annual PC industry survey. "Typically, upgrade or refresh cycles in the PC industry last about 8 to 10 quarters," says analyst Megan Graham-Hackett. Since the tenth quarter was in the third quarter of 2005, she says "we now believe unit growth rates will come under pressure, with likely deceleration ahead."

Rising manufacturing capacity and falling prices caused global shipments of the sleek flat-panel liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions to soar. Sharp, a leading producer, says the robust demand has surprised even manufacturers. Several, including Sony, are being forced to slow output or shut plants of traditional cathode-ray television sets. The typical 32-inch LCD-TV retails for about $1,700; smaller models go as low as $500. Models now range from 15-inch to 42-inch in screen size. Sharp sees purchasing rising to 29.4 million units from 19.6 million in 2005. Market researcher iSuppli is slightly less bullish, forecasting 31.2 million units will ship in 2006.

Personal computer manufacturer Dell still is leaning toward using computer chips from its longtime supplier Intel Corp., says Kevin Rollins, chief executive officer. "We want to provide the very best technology to our customers," Rollins said in a response to a question at a January meeting of the Boston College Chief Executives' Club, "So far, that's been Intel." There had been Wall Street speculation that Dell would start using chips from Advanced Micro Devices.

Purchases of integrated circuits in China increased 32% to $40.8 billion in 2005, and further double-digit growth is seen this year. The global IC market grew only 8% last year so China now controls 21% of the world's IC consumption, up from 6% in 2000. Market researcher IC Insights sees the Chinese mart at $124 billion by 2010.

Slowing home construction will reduce lumber purchases by 2% to 62.4 billion board feet, according to the annual forecast by the Western Wood Products Association. The Portland, Ore.-based trade group calculates that 2005 lumber demand was 63.6 billion board feet in 2005, an increase of 3% over the previous record of 61.8 billion board feet in 2004. Foreign-made lumber controlled 40% of 2005 supply but the lumbermen's trade group says imports are expected to slip this year.

Fujitsu will invest $1.05 billion over the next two years to build a new fabrication plant for the production of logic semiconductors using 65-nanometer process technology and 300 millimeter wafers. The fab will be built at the company's Mie chip plant in central Japan, and its capacity is expected to reach 10,000 wafers a month. Shipments from the plant are scheduled to start in July of 2007.