Industrial Production

WASHINGTON -- Industrial production tumbled 0.8 percent in October, suffering from widespread weakness throughout the manufacturing economy, the Federal Reserve said today. It was the first decline since April.A 4.5 percent fall in the output of motor vehicles and parts accounted for about one-fourth of the decline in the overall index, the Fed said. But it added, "output declines also were widespread among most other major market and industry groups."The central bank had reported that output edged up 0.2 percent in September after remaining flat in August.

After four tough years, these are heady days in the world of Maryland TV and film production. Last month, "Game Change," the Baltimore-made HBO docudrama on the 2008 presidential election, premiered to strong reviews and even stronger debate. This week, "House of Cards," the $100 million Netflix political drama starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, starts filming after three months and millions of dollars spent in pre-production on sets in Harford County and Baltimore. And next Sunday, "VEEP," starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and filmed in Columbia, debuts on HBO. But all the jobs, money and excitement that Hollywood has brought to Maryland during the last year in could soon disappear amid all the finger-pointing and blame-gaming over the budget impasse in Annapolis.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. industrial production rose at the slowest pace in four months during July, and early indications showed that the sluggishness continued into August.Output of factories, mines and utilities rose 0.1 percent last month, the Federal Reserve said yesterday. That followed a June gain of 0.6 percent, larger than previously reported. Weaknesses in other industries were offset by increased car and truck production as automakers braced for a possible strike.Excluding output of motor vehicles and parts, industrial production fell 0.1 percent in July.

Industrial production in the United States dropped more than forecast in February as the economic slump deepened even before the crisis in financial markets intensified. Production at factories, mines and utilities fell 0.5 percent last month, the first decrease in four months, the Federal Reserve said yesterday. A report from the New York Fed showed its manufacturing index dropped to a record low in March. Factories are cutting back as the biggest recession in housing in a generation prompts Americans to spend less on furniture, appliances and automobiles.

The release dates of several economic indicators were incorrectly reported in Monday's Business section. Figures for the Consumer Price Index will be released June 14; those for factory use, industrial production and business inventories, June 15; and those for housing starts, June 16.The Sun regrets the errors.

Industrial production risesIndustrial production in October perked up after a summer slump, helped by a large gain in light-truck manufacturing, the government said yesterday. The Federal Reserve said output at factories, mines and utilities rose a modest 0.3 percent last month, only the second increase in five months. Output had fallen 0.2 percent in September and 0.3 percent in August.Offer for Kelly plant rejectedThe Allegany County Commissioners yesterday rejected a $1.5 million offer from a group wanting to buy the idled Kelly-Springfield tire plant in Cumberland and hire 400 people to make tires.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. industrial production, reflecting a drop in factory employment, decreased 0.4 percent in August, according to the average of 12 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. The Federal Reserve System is scheduled to release its report tomorrow. The output of the nation's factories, mines and public utilities rose 0.4 percent in July. "The August production report is likely to be weak across the board," said analysts at Mitsubishi Bank in New York. The Labor Department's employment statistics for August tell most of the story.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. industrial production declined in October, the fourth drop in five months, the Federal Reserve reported yesterday.Industrial production unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent last month, reflecting falling production at utilities and mines, and a small rebound from the previous month's drop in factory output, the Fed said. In September, industrial production fell 0.5 percent.The plant-use rate, which tracks the amount of industrial capacity in use, declined for the third month in a row. The drop to 80.6 in October from 81.0 in September was the lowest reading since September 1992.

Monday Earnings reports Commerce Banc, Fannie Mae, Fleet Boston, Gannett, New York Times, Unisys, J.B. Hunt, Tractor Supply Tuesday * March retail sales Earnings reports AmSouth Banc, CDW Corp., Delta Air Lines, Dow Jones, E*Trade, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Manpower, State Street, Wells Fargo, Motorola, Washington Mutual Wednesday * Consumer Price Index for March * February balance-of-trade report Earnings reports Bank of America, Baxter, Coca-Cola, J.P. Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Tellabs, Apple Computer, Molex, Texas Instruments Thursday * Initial unemployment claims Earnings reports Ceridian, Citigroup, Continental Air, Equitable Res, Fairchild Semi, Fifth Third, Fortune Brands, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, PepsiCo, Southwest Air, Tribune, UnitedHealth Group, Sun Microsystems Friday * Housing starts and building permits for March * Industrial production for March Earnings reports Delphi Auto, Diamond Offshore, Wilmington Trust, W.W. Grainger, Compass Banc

Output from the nation's mines, factories and utilities displayed unexpected strength last month, reflecting a solid upturn in manufacturing activity, the government reported yesterday. The Federal Reserve's statistical arm said industrial production rose in December by 0.4 percent, well above the 0.1 percent most experts had been forecasting. The latest reading also sharply contrasted the 0.1 percent declines that such production showed in October and November as the economy continued to lose momentum.

NATIONAL Court blocks new EPA rules A federal appeals court sided with 14 states and blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from going forward with new regulations that activists say would lead to more air pollution from the nation's power plants and factories. pg 1a WORLD Proposed talks denounced Sunni Arab political leaders denounced an agreement between the United States and Iran to hold face-to-face talks about Iraq, saying the conversations would amount to unjustified interference by foreign nations in Iraq's domestic affairs.

Stocks nose-dived on Wall Street yesterday as lackluster reports on industrial activity and consumer confidence, along with disappointing earnings news from technology bellwether IBM, sent financial markets plunging for the third day in a row. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 191.24 points, or nearly 2 percent, to close at 10,087.51. It was the Dow's biggest one-day loss since May 2003. Yesterday also marked the Dow's third consecutive decline of more than 100 points - the first time that has happened since late January 2003 - as the widely watched indicator tumbled to its lowest level in nearly six months.

Monday Earnings reports: SunTrust Banks, Novellus Tuesday * Trade balance report for May Earnings reports: Commerce Bancorp, AmSouth Bancorporation, Gannett, Infosys, Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, Intel, Juniper Networks, Raymond James, Yum Brands Wednesday * Retail sales for June Earnings reports: Bank of America, Harley-Davidson, New York Times, AMR Corp., DirecTV, Apple Computer, Cnet, Ruby Tuesday Thursday * Business inventories for May * Producer Price Index for June * Industrial production for June Earnings reports: A.O. Smith, Citigroup, Dow Jones, Fifth Third, Marriott, Nokia, PepsiCo, Polaris Industries, Reliance Steel, Southwest Airlines, Tribune, UnitedHealth Group, Wachovia, Con Edison, IBM, Netflix Friday * June Consumer Price Index * Preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for July Earnings reports: Delphi Corp.

For most of us, leaky pipes are a major pain. For Sydney Nagel, they're a chance to plumb a long-standing physical mystery: How do drops drip? To answer this question, the 55-year-old University of Chicago physicist spends hours hovering over the lab equivalent of a trickling kitchen tap, photographing and studying his short-lived subjects. Last month, persistence paid off. Nagel and an international team of drip detectives reported in the journal Science that they had observed a new type of drop that might help engineers create ultra-thin wires and a new generation of electronic devices.

WASHINGTON - U.S. industrial production dropped in March for a second straight month, as manufacturers cut back during the war with Iraq and utilities generated less power because of warmer weather. Production at factories, mines and utilities fell 0.5 percent last month after a revised 0.1 percent decline in February, the Federal Reserve reported yesterday. The percentage of factories in production was the lowest in two decades. The production drop at utilities was the biggest in five years.

WASHINGTON - The private group of economists that monitors the ups and downs of the U.S. economy said yesterday that in light of "recent data," it will delay an announcement saying the recession that began in March last year is over. The National Bureau of Economic Research's Business Cycle Dating Committee said in a statement posted on its Web site: "Additional time is needed to be confident about the interpretation of the movements of the economy last year and this year." The statement acknowledged that the recession "may have come to an end."