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Production at U.S. factories increased in July for the first time in three months, propelled by a pickup in motor vehicle output that masked more mixed results in other categories, Bloomberg News reported. The 0.7% increase in manufacturing production followed a revised 0.4% June decline, Federal Reserve data showed Tuesday. Including mining and utilities, total industrial output climbed 0.6% last month. Despite firming last month, manufacturing has moderated and risks losing more momentum as businesses contend with an inventory overhang and an easing in domestic demand for goods. Recent factory surveys have illustrated a pullback in orders, while weaker export markets amid a strong U.S. dollar represent another headwind. A New York Fed survey on Monday showed manufacturing in the state suffered its second-largest monthly decline on record as bookings and shipments plunged. Separate regional data and national figures over the next week will help shed more light on the extent of the industry’s pullback.

As the pandemic shuttered businesses and forced people out of work, the federal government sent a flood of relief money into programs aimed at helping the newly unemployed and boosting the economy. That included $3.1 trillion that former President Donald J. Trump approved in 2020, followed by a $1.9 trillion package signed into law in 2021 by President Biden. But those dollars came with few strings and minimal oversight, the New York Times reported. The result: one of the largest frauds in American history, with billions of dollars stolen by thousands of people, including at least one amateur who boasted of his criminal activity on YouTube. Now, prosecutors are trying to catch up. There are currently 500 people working on pandemic-fraud cases across the offices of 21 inspectors general, plus investigators from the F.B.I., the Secret Service, the Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service. The federal government has already charged 1,500 people with defrauding pandemic-aid programs, and more than 450 people have been convicted so far. But those figures are dwarfed by the mountain of tips and leads that investigators still have to chase. Agents in the Labor Department’s inspector general’s office have 39,000 investigations going. About 50 agents in a Small Business Administration office are sorting through two million potentially fraudulent loan applications.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. said Thursday that it plans to issue a dividend to all common shareholders in the form of preferred shares, after it had difficulty issuing more common shares, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The cinema chain, which skirted bankruptcy during the pandemic and became a darling of meme-stock investors, is paying the dividend in the form of preferred equity units, which it has applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “APE.” The name is a nod to the crowd of individual investors, known as apes, who helped rescue the chain from the brink of bankruptcy. One Ape unit will be granted for each existing common share, meaning that close to 517 million new Ape units will be created, the company said. Each Ape unit will constitute one hundredth of a preferred share. AMC raised billions of dollars during the pandemic by selling new common shares, though last year it ran out of more to sell. The company tried to obtain shareholder approval to enable it to issue more common shares, but had difficulty corralling its investor base to support the initiative, in part due to some investors’ fears of dilution. The company’s new move to instead offer preferred equity units is a workaround to that constraint, and frees up a substantial number of units that it could sell as it continues to face challenges due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. After offering the 517 million Ape units as a dividend to shareholders, AMC will still have close to 4.5 billion remaining units that could be sold, according to securities filings.

New orders for U.S.-manufactured goods increased solidly in June and business spending on equipment was stronger than initially thought, pointing to underlying strength in manufacturing despite rising interest rates, Reuters reported. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that factory orders rose 2.0% in June after advancing 1.8% in May. Manufacturing continues to grow, though its momentum has slowed as higher interest rates cool demand for goods. Spending is also reverting back to services. An Institute for Supply Management survey on Monday showed factory activity growing at a moderate pace in July, with a measure of new orders declining further as manufacturers worried about excess inventory. The increase in orders occurred nearly across the board in June. Some of the rise reflected higher prices. Orders for computers and electronic products surged 1.7%. Orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components rebounded 2.8%. There was also a 5.2% jump in orders for transportation equipment, which reflected a surge in orders for defense aircraft and parts. But orders for primary metals fell 1.0%.