Bloomberg said the latest data from the Commerce Department on June orders for equipment signals U.S. business investment will probably cool in the second half of the year and contribute less to economic expansion.

Bloomberg noted that bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future corporate spending, dropped 1.4%, the third decrease in the past four months, according to the Commerce Department data.

“Business investment has definitely shifted lower,” said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets. The European debt crisis and fiscal cliff “will put downward pressure on orders, which will translate into weaker growth in the U.S.”

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