Dennis Moore

President Obama Wednesday, eager to prevent another political showdown over expiring legislation, called on Congress to quickly renew the surface transportation law that expires at the end of September.

WASHINGTON — New orders for manufacturers rose 2.4% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Excluding transportation, new orders were up 0.9%.

New orders for manufacturers rose 2.4% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Excluding transportation, new orders were up 0.9%.

WASHINGTON — Personal spending rose 0.8% in July and personal income rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department said Monday.

Personal spending rose 0.8% in July, the biggest increase since August of 2009, and personal income rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON — New orders for durable goods rose 4.0% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

New orders for durable goods rose 4.0% in July, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — State transportation officials are warning of dire consequences for both improvement projects and the bond issues they may use to finance them if Congress allows federal aid for state and local highway and transit projects to end Sept. 30.

WASHINGTON - Garvee bond ratings are at risk from the increasingly unpredictable budget and policy process in Washington, Standard & Poor's warned in a report released Friday.

WASHINGTON — Existing home sales fell 3.5% in July to a seasonally adjusted 4.67 million, the lowest level since November, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Initial jobless claims rose 9,000 to 408,000 in the week ended Aug. 13, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON — The consumer price index rose 0.5% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Thursday, after an unrevised 0.2% decline in June.

Initial jobless claims rose 9,000 to 408,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ended August 13, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The consumer price index rose 0.5% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis the Labor Department reported Thursday, after an unrevised 0.2% decline in June.

WASHINGTON — The producer price index rose 0.2% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, following an unrevised 0.4% drop in June.

The producer price index rose 0.2% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That followed an unrevised 0.4% drop in June.

WASHINGTON - Lurking in the legislative weeds on Capitol Hill is another threat to states' and localities' ability to fund bond-financed and other transportation projects.

WASHINGTON — Import prices rose by 0.3% in July, while export prices declined 0.4%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The moves follow a revised 0.6% decline in import prices in June.

Import prices rose by 0.3% in July, while export prices declined 0.4%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. That follows a revised 0.6% decline in import prices in June.

Moody's Investors Service is proposing changes to its methodology for rating public power companies, which are not happy about the potential effect on their bond ratings.