…..Manufacturing growing slower. Construction spending increased. Yield curve flattens. SCOTUS nomination may go nuclear. Car sales drop last month, except for Tesla – now bigger than Ford. Household debt climbs back near 2008 peak. Student loans don’t buy what they used to. Financial Review  by Sinclair Noe for 04-03-2017   DOW – 13 = 10,650 SPX – 3 = 2358 NAS – 17 = 5894 RUT – 16 = 1369 10 Y – .05 = 2.34% OIL – .33 = 50.27 GOLD + 3.80 = 1254.00   The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity slipped to a reading of 57.2 last month from 57.7 in February, which was the highest since August 2014. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 percent of the U.S. economy.   The U.S. Markit manufacturing purchasing manager’s index fell to 53.3 in March from 54.2 the previous month.   In a separate report, the Commerce Department said construction spending increased 0.8 percent to $1.19 trillion in February. That was the highest level since April 2006 and followed an upwardly revised 0.4 percent drop in January. Construction spending increased 3.0 percent from a year ago. In February, private construction spending rose 0.8 percent to its highest level since May 2006 after being unchanged in January. Spending on residential construction surged 1.8 percent to its highest level since July 2007. Investment in homebuilding has now increased for five straight months. Spending on private nonresidential ...