Manufacturing

WASHINGTON - An index of U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly rose in March for the second straight month, suggesting that factory weakness is a diminishing threat to the economy's record-long expansion. The National Association of Purchasing Management's factory index rose to 43.1 last month from 41.9 in February. In January, the index fell to 41.2, the lowest level in a decade, as manufacturers cut production to reduce overstocked inventories. March's index was also the first since December to be above 42.7, the level that NAPM says historically corresponds to conditions of a recession.

MedImmune Inc. failed to address multiple problems - including bacterial contamination - identified last year at a FluMist manufacturing plant in Europe, "substantially increas[ing] the risk of product failures" in batches of its nasally inhaled influenza vaccine, according to a warning letter released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday. Last week, the Gaithersburg biotechnology company said the federal agency was withholding approval of its application to expand FluMist's use to include most children younger than age 5 until the concerns are resolved.

In a shake-up at its biggest division, Black & Decker Corp. has dismissed the head of manufacturing for its power tools business and laid off about 70 salaried employees, mostly at its Towson headquarters. The company blamed the slowing housing market and increasing competition for the restructuring. The moves come a week before the company announces third-quarter results. In July, the company warned investors that earnings for the year would be lower than expected. It blamed not only the slumping housing market - 20 percent of company sales are tied to homebuilding - but also an additional $95 million it had to spend on raw materials as costs spiked.

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.

A holding company headed by the former chief executive of chemical maker W. R. Grace said yesterday that it has purchased Baltimore-based Davis Instruments Manufacturing Co. Inc. for an undisclosed price. Privately held Davis, founded in Baltimore 88 years ago, distributes measurement and control equipment. Several years ago it entered a new arena by providing calibration services, which is to manufacturing equipment what a tuneup is to a car. "We have a vision of dominating the calibration-service market nationally and we needed to find a financial partner to aid us and help us with financial aspects," said Lee Rudow, 35, president of Davis.

WASHINGTON - Home construction rose in November; manufacturing pulled out of a three-month slide; and inflation was tame as low borrowing costs and discounts kept the U.S. recovery going. There's no evidence of a "double dip" back into a recession, Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric Co., said in a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's earnings outlook. "If the consumer pulled back, that would [affect] everyone. We don't see that in our data," Immelt said.

WASHINGTON -- The sluggish U.S. economy ended the second quarter on an upbeat note as manufacturing surged in June, and sales of new single-family homes staged a stronger-than-expected rebound in May, reports showed yesterday.Bonds fell on the news -- pushing interest rates higher -- because it suggests that the Federal Reserve may need to boost borrowing costs later in the year to guard against a rise in inflation if the economy continues to rebound."These numbers are fairly jarring," said Peter Kretzmer, an economist at NationsBank Corp.

Baltimore still ranks lower than most other cities surveyed by the Greater Baltimore Alliance when it comes to manufacturing jobs, although for the most part the area held steady throughout the past year, according to a study released yesterday."

WASHINGTON - U.S. manufacturing expanded in June at the slowest pace in 17 months as companies began to feel the effects of six interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve in the past year. The National Association of Purchasing Management said yesterday that its monthly factory index fell to 51.8 last month from 53.2 in May. June's reading was the lowest since January 1999, when manufacturing began to climb out of a yearlong slump in export sales to Asia and Latin America. "The cumulative impact of the interest-rate increases is beginning to bite," said Kenneth Mayland, president of Clear View Economics LLC in Cleveland.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. manufacturing contracted in August for the third month in a row, suggesting that the slowdown in Asia and other emerging markets is taking a toll on orders at the nation's factories, an industry survey showed.The National Association of Purchasing Management's (NAPM's) manufacturing index hovered in the danger zone last month, posting a smaller-than-expected increase to 49.4 from 49.1 in July.An index below 50 means that a majority of the manufacturers surveyed said their business deteriorated.