By Robert Hughes
New orders for durable goods staged a partial rebound in May, rising 15.4 percent following declines of 18.1 percent in April and 16.7 percent in March. If transportation equipment is excluded, new orders for durable goods increased 4.0 percent in May following an 8.2 percent fall in April and a 1.8 percent decline in March. Durable-goods orders had been holding above the $200 billion level since April 2011 before posting sharp declines in March and April (see first chart). New orders for May totaled $194.4 billion, about 3 percent shy of the