Total inventories across all levels of business fell for the 10th straight month in June. The 1.1% decline was bigger than the 0.9% decline expected by the consensus of economists, and follows a downwardly revised 1.2% drop (was down 1.0%) in May. Inventories can be a big swing-factor in GDP growth, and the revision to May and the lower-than-expected number for June would seem to point to a downward adjustment to the second quarter GDP numbers when the next revision comes out. Overall, lower inventories is a good thing, since it points to the need to replenish them in the future and in the process boost economic growth. June also saw a 0.9% rise in overall sales from May, which is a very welcome sign and a reversal of a very nasty trend that has lowered sales by 18.0% over the last year. The combination of rising ...