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6B
Wednesday, April 2, 2003
WOW! Sf
THE BATTALK
Construction falter in last twc
months, war jitters blamed
lume 1<
By Rebecca Gomez
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Manufacturing activity dipped
in March for the first time in
five months, according to a
report released Tuesday that
suggests war jitters are holding
the economy back.
The negative manufacturing
numbers were released on the
same day the federal government
reported that construction spend
ing dropped in February — pro
viding further proof that the econ
omy stalled in the first quarter of
2003, some economists said.
Economists say the progress
of the war will determine, in
large part, whether the economy
recovers or retrenches.
“Clearly, going into the war,
the economy was losing
momentum,” said Lynn Reaser,
chief economist at Banc of
America Capital Management
in St. Louis. “Businesses
believed there was no reason to
take a risk in investments with
the onset of war at hand.”
An index that measures the
health of the manufacturing
industry fell in March and
showed that new orders and pro
duction at factories dropped.
The Institute for Supply
Management’s manufacturing
index fell to 46.2 last month
from 50.5 in February. A read
ing below 50 means business
contracted.
Analysts had expected war
fears to cut into manufacturing,
though not by that much, and
had forecast a reading of 49.
The Institute for
Supply Management, a private
business group, wouldn’t release
the cutoff date of the March sur
vey, making it difficult to gauge
how much the start of the war on
March 19 affected responses.
But Norbert J. Ore, who over
sees the survey, said the index
reflects prewar worries more
than attitudes about the actual
conflict.
“I think we’ll see some
recovery of this for the month of
April as people see more clearly
what the turn of events will yield
for them,” Ore said. “This was
really built around the threat of
what was going to happen.”
Separately, the Commerce
Department reported construc
tion spending declined by 0.2
percent in February, as the gov
ernment cut back sharply on
public works projects such as
schools, highways and streets,
and sewer systems.
However, construction
spending still came in at a sea
sonally adjusted annual rate of
$872.2 billion, a brisk level.
Residential construction con
tinues to be one of the strug
gling economy’s few bright
spots, while the commercial
side lags, with businesses
reluctant to spend money on
new buildings in the face of
economic uncertainty.
The market seemed to shrug
off the relatively dour econom
ic reports. The Dow Jones
industrial average closed up
77.73, or 1 percent, at
8,069.86. The broader market
was also higher. The Nasdaq
Construction
spending
Here is a look at monthly
construction spending ■■
Seasonally adjusted M
Pet
$880 billion
860 V
840 * f :
820 I .
800
780 f '
760 I- i-
740 I
Jov. Rick
John White ar
A&M Univei
Wednesday.
JNye, first
chairman of
chlirman am
Corn., a Dalh
720
700
MAMJ JASONO
Bii
2002
SOURCE: Department of Comnerc* I
composite index rose 7.13
0.5 percent, to 1,348.30.
Standard & Poor’s 500 k
advanced 10.30, or 1.2perct'
to 858.48.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Columbia astronaut
honored by Astros
Dodge Dakota
Dodge Neon
Dodge Stratus Coupe
GRAB LIFE BY THE HORNS
HOUSTON (AP) - In a ce
mony filled with tears and er
tional songs, the seven asr
nauts who died in Feba;
aboard space shuttle Coluir
were honored Tuesday by:
Houston Astros before thes
of the team's season opens
Children of Columbia's
simultaneously threw ceremc
al first pitches before the start
the Astros' game against t
Colorado Rockies at Minn
Maid Park.
During the tribute, NAS
employees and astronau:
marched onto the field, many:
them holding a large America
flag. Singer Patti LaBelle pe
formed "Way Up There," a sort
about space exploration th 1
NASA commissioned last ye;
while video images and phot;
graphs of the shuttle crew we
shown on a baseball park's
TV screen.
Several of the family membe
wiped away tears as thf
watched the images.
The Astros will we
Columbia's mission patch t
The Te>
shot ta
VP
A search
mission
their uniforms' right sleeves!down candid;
the entire 2003 season. A&M vice p
diversity on /
Indonesian land- madeinJuiy
slides kills atleast 2/work in Au g i
Linda Parrish
JAKARTA, Indonesia The new v
Landslides triggered by flaifo, diversity
floods in eastern indones leadership in
killed at least 27 people andlfp US _ w jd e pr<
five others missing, police s< McClendon, /
^helloods and landsli* L We ™"'
swept away 17 houses on Flotf
island, about 1,000 miles east,
the capital of Jakarta, sa
Paulinus Domi, head of thelotf
district of Ende. Poll:
said they were searching for ti | T
missing late Tuesday. N # (
other details were immediate
available -|
Flooding and landslides ban I ^
killed nearly 80 people on sew 1 W JL V-J Cj
al Indonesian islands since tf
current rainy season began
late November.
of success ani
skills to builc
The search
THE AS
Militants gaining
strength through waf
KARACHI, Pakistan - Riding 1
wave of anti-American sent
ment, outlawed Islamic extrert
ist organizations that were rout
ed by the U.S.-led war i (
Afghanistan in 2001 are makiuj
a comeback.
Recruitment in Pakistan
potential terrorists appears H
be on the rise. Militant leaded
freed from house arrest W
returned to the mosques *
rally the faithful against #
United States.
Muslim radicals are feedingc f
anger over the war in Iraq |£
regroup and revitalize, raisiui
the threat of more anti-U.S. k
rorism around the world.
In a day i
U.S. forces fc
sight of
Wednesday, 1
American hel
l^ast seven s
Pentagon said
| U.S. offici
tion of a pair
Guard divisio
units were m
apparent eff
defenses.
Bombs sh<
and Marine
separate, com
city from the
clearly poin
Saddam Huss
Gen. Vincent
The rapid
sands of troc