One indicator says go, another notes doldrums

The Index of key economic indicators, used to gauge the future course of the economy, rose in October for the sixth time in seven months, the government said.

But the Commerce Department also reported that another of its indexes - the index of coincident indicators, designed to move in tandem with the economy - fell in October to its lowest level in more than 5 1/2 years. The former index shows pending economic recovery, the latter that the US economy is still in the throes of a severe recession.