The May 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business conditions improved signifi - cantly for New York manufacturers. The headline general business conditions index jumped eighteen points to 19.0, its highest level in nearly four years. The new orders and shipments indexes also posted sharp gains, rising to 10.4 and 17.4, respectively. The unfilled orders index rose to a level close to zero. Price indexes were slightly lower, suggest - ing a small degree of slowing in price increases, with the prices paid index falling three points to 19.8 and the prices received index falling four points to 6.6. ... (full story)