A measure of US factory activity climbed to a 15-month high at the start of the year, fueled by the strongest orders growth since May 2022 and suggesting manufacturing is starting to stabilize. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing gauge rose 2 points to 49.1 last month, according to data released Thursday. While still below the level of 50 that indicates shrinking activity, the figure exceeded all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The 5.5-point increase in the orders index marked the largest monthly advance in more than three years, helped by robust demand in the last half of 2023. ... (full story)