Patrick Temple-West

WASHINGTON - Housing starts dropped to 519,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate as building permits edged higher to 550,000, the Commerce Department reported today.

WASHINGTON — Industrial production and capacity utilization were unchanged in October, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Producer prices rose less than economists expected in October, expanding 0.4% as gains were damped by lower auto prices, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Industrial production was unchanged in October, while capacity utilization was 74.8% for the month, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Producer prices increased 0.4% in October as core prices unexpectedly declined 0.6% on lower prices for new autos, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Triple-A-rated Prince George’s County, Md., postponed a $25 million qualified school construction bond transaction scheduled for Tuesday because of the need to disclose to investors last week’s arrest of County Executive Jack Johnson and whether it would impact the deal.

WASHINGTON — Business inventories rose 0.9% in September as sales were up 0.5%, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Economists expected a 0.8% gain. The inventories-to-sales ratio was unchanged at 1.27.

WASHINGTON — Retail sales exceeded economist expectations in October, jumping 1.2% on stronger auto sales, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON – Business inventories increased 0.9% in September as sales increased 0.5%, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON - Retail sales jumped 1.2% in October, well above economists’ estimates, the fourth consecutive monthly gain and the largest since March, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

WASHINGTON — The South Carolina Infrastructure Bank, the state’s main issuer for highway project funding, expects to competitively sell $225 million of new-money and refunding bonds on Tuesday, following a downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service to A1 from Aa3 due to weakened debt-service coverage.

WASHINGTON — Pension reform is a top priority for South Carolina’s treasurer-elect, who comes to office as the triple-A state’s pension ­funding level sinks further below the ­national average and as municipal ­investors and regulators are scrutinizing pension funds more closely.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. international trade deficit declined by $2.5 billion to $44 billion in September on lower imports, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

WASHINGTON – The government posted a $140.4 billion deficit in October, the first month of fiscal 2011, the largest deficit in four months, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. international trade deficit declined by $2.5 billion to $44.0 billion in September on lower imports, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Wholesale inventories increased more than economists expected in September, rising 1.5% as businesses increased their stocks of nondurable and apparel goods, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Wholesale sales for September were up 0.4%.

WASHINGTON — Wholesale inventories increased 1.5% in September, higher than expected, as businesses increased their stocks of nondurable and apparel goods, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Voters in at least four states approved ballot referendums last week that could negatively affect credit quality, while voters in at least three other states endorsed credit-strengthening measures, like larger rainy-day funds, rating agencies said in two recent reports.

WASHINGTON – Consumer borrowing increased by $2.1 billion in September, a 1.1% annual rate, the first increase since January, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

WASHINGTON — Initial jobless claims rose for the first time in three weeks, expanding by 20,000 new filings for unemployment benefits during the week ended Oct. 30 to finish at 457,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.