American businesses are building fewer buildings and buying fewer machines, but they have continued to spend on a key ingredient of future productivity and economic growth: research and development. Private fixed investment in R&D surged at a 17% annual rate in the second quarter, adjusted for inflation and seasonal variations, according to the Commerce Department. That was the strongest burst of R&D spending growth since the...

Source: Wall Street Journal October 27, 2016 14:00 UTC