Patrick Temple-West

NEW YORK — Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% in February, surpassing economists’ estimates for the largest gain in three months, the Commerce Department reported today.

Maryland lawmakers continued negotiations on fiscal 2011 budget bills Thursday as local bond-financed projects, which some members consider earmarks, became a point of contention.

Initial jobless claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 460,000 for the week ending April 3, the first growth in three weeks, as seasonal volatility due to the Easter holiday affected claims reporting in some states, the Labor Department reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 460,000 for the week ending April 3, the first increase in three weeks, as seasonal volatility due to the Easter holiday affected claims reporting in some states, the Labor Department reported today.

The Virginia Resources Authority expects to price $109.9 million of new-money clean water bonds next week.

The city of Florence expects to competitively issue $99 million of refunding and new-money bonds for its water and sewer system on April 20.

WASHINGTON – Consumer borrowing decreased by $11.5 billion, or 5.6%, in February to a seasonally adjusted $2.448 trillion, reversing course after borrowing increased in January, the Federal Reserve reported today.

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee said economic conditions, rather than the calendar, will likely determine when the Fed will begin to tighten monetary policy, and that the risk of acting too soon outweighs the risk of acting too late, according to minutes of the FOMC’s March 16 meeting released Tuesday.

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee said economic conditions, rather than the calendar, will likely determine when the Fed will begin to tighten monetary policy, and that the risk of acting too soon outweighs the risk of acting too late, according to minutes of the FOMC’s March 16 meeting released today.

WASHINGTON — Triple-A rated Montgomery County, Md., the state’s most populous county, on Monday was put on review for a possible downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $1.8 billion of outstanding debt.

Pending home sales rose 8.2% to a reading of 97.6 in February, far exceeding economists’ estimates and a positive sign for the housing market heading into the spring season, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.

WASHINGTON - Employers added 162,000 jobs in March, the largest payroll gain in three years, aided by federal employment as the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, the Labor Department reported today.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s convention center hotel project, which has been delayed for years, may finally be getting closer to financing, with a possible $250 million bond sale later this spring following a favorable court ruling last week, district officials said.

Construction spending fell 1.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $846.2 billion, the fourth consecutive monthly decline, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Initial jobless claims fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 439,000 for the week ending March 27, tying the lowest level of the year, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Construction spending fell 1.3% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $846.2 billion, the fourth consecutive monthly decline, the Commerce Department reported today.

WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 439,000 for the week ending March 27, tying the lowest level of this year, the Labor Department reported today.

New factory orders for manufactured goods increased 0.6% in February, while orders in January were revised higher to the largest monthly increase in almost three years, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.

The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has $645 million in deferred maintenance needs and may tap the bond market for the renovations, said a board of trustees report published last week.

New factory orders for manufactured goods increased 0.6% in February, while orders in January were revised higher to the largest monthly increase in almost three years, the Commerce Department reported today.