First Inklings of a Recovery?

The evidence is tenuous and certainly premature as a sign for an overall recovery, but it does seem as though the economic activity below stems from the objectives of the stimulus program:

The first Ford Motor Co. plant to make a new line of fuel-efficient engines will help the company deliver the kind of fuel economy that customers demand, officials said Friday.

The plant in suburban Cleveland, idled since 2007, was chosen to make the 3.5-liter, V-6 EcoBoost engines that will be standard on the Ford Taurus SHO and optional on the Lincoln MKS and MKT, and Ford Flex cars.

EcoBoost engines combine direct injection technology and turbo-charging for improved fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. Ford says they can achieve up to 20 percent better fuel and 15 percent lower CO2 emissions, compared with larger displacement engines, without sacrificing power....

Pressured by Washington and last year's spike in gasoline prices, the troubled auto industry has accelerated what was a gradual push toward smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. (link)

Next is Republic Windows and Doors, the company where the workers did a sit-down strike protesting the loss of their jobs. Republic Windows and Doors went bankrupt, but now there is good news:

The sale of what had been Republic Windows and Doors to a California company, Serious Materials, for $1.45 million, was completed in bankruptcy court this week, with company officials promising United Electrical Workers Local 1110 to rehire all the laid-off workers at their former rate of pay.

"We see this opportunity to expand our operations in direct relation to the stimulus package, which includes the greening of federal buildings and the weatherization assistance program," said Sandra Vaughan, the chief marketing officer for Serious Materials, which also manufactures energy-efficient windows and building products in Boulder, Colo., and Vandergrift, Pa. (link)

Perhaps.