Treasuries and commodities rose for a second day Thursday after the Federal Reserve pledged on Wednesday to keep interest rates low and said it is considering more bond purchases.  Ten-year Treasury bond yields slid six basis points to 1.94% after decreasing the most in two weeks Wednesday.  Nickel and copper climbed by at least 2.5% to lead gains in 19 of 24 materials in the GSCI Index.  The dollar weakened against 13 of 16 major peers.  The Standard & Poors 500 Index slipped 0.6% to 1,318.45.

Treasuries also gained as a $29 billion auction of seven-year notes sold at a record low yield of 1.359% yesterday.  The previous all-time low auction yield was 1.415% in November.  The bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, was 2.73, compared with an average of 2.82 for the past 10 auctions. 

Orders for durable goods climbed more than forecast in December, pointing to a rebound in business investment that will help support the world's largest economy in early 2012.  Bookings for goods advanced 3% after rising 4.3% the prior month, the biggest back-to-back gains in almost a year, according to Commerce Department data released yesterday.  Orders climbed 10% last year after a 15.5% gain in 2010.  The report also showed unfilled orders increased 1.5%, the biggest jump since March 2008 and a sign assembly lines will keep humming.

Sales of new homes unexpectedly declined in December for the first time in four months, capping the slowest year on record for homebuilders.  Purchases of single-family residences decreased 2.2% to a 307,000 annual pace, figures from the Commerce Department showed.  Last year marked the worst year for the industry in records going back to 1963.  The median price of a new home purchased last month declined 12.8%, the biggest drop since February 2009, to $210,300 from December 2010.  The supply of new homes at the current sales pace rose to 6.1 months' worth from 6.0 months in November.