Hitting the mall: Spending rose in September. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images hide caption
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A GM assembly line in Lansing, Mich. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images hide caption
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at the company's factory in Everett, Wash. Orders for aircraft drove the increase in demand for durable goods last month. Saul Loeb /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A sign of the times at a building site in Ohio earlier this year. John Kuntz /The Plain Dealer /Landov hide caption
A "sold" sign in San Francisco in August. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
How bright is their future? Students at Barnard College's graduation ceremony last May. Timothy A. Clary /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
"Black Friday" 2011 in Manhattan: Retailers hope to see shoppers out again in force this holiday season. If confidence stays high, they may get their wish. Michael Nagle/Getty Images hide caption
In China's Anhui province, a worker unloads steel bars at a factory. A slowdown in China and other major nations threatens to pull the global economy into recession, the International Monetary Fund warns. /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The welcome sign at a job fair earlier this year in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Higher prices at the pump meant the amount of money consumers spent went up last month. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images hide caption