Industrial production in the U.S. dropped in October, weighed down by declines at utilities, mines and automakers that signal manufacturing started the fourth quarter on soft footing.

Working households may soon have an alternative to the modern dilemma of how to take delivery of stuff ordered online: have it dropped off in your car.

Consumer confidence rose more than forecast in November, reaching a seven-year high and indicating Americans will be in the mood to step up holiday spending.

United Parcel Service Inc. sees the boom in online retailing as an opportunity, not a threat, as the delivery company devises new tactics to make e-commerce more profitable, Chief Executive Officer David Abney said.

American consumers ate out and shopped for clothes in October, enjoying a windfall from cheaper gasoline and prompting a rebound in retail sales heading into the holiday-shopping season.

A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, operator of the world’s biggest container line, said third-quarter profit increased as it cut costs and boosted box volumes.

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than forecast last week, representing a pause from a recent run of readings close to a 14-year low.

BNSF Railway Co., the carrier owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is blocking some shippers from adding tank cars to its system in a bid to prevent a worsening of the gridlock that sparked regulators’ ire.

The average price of regular gasoline at U.S. pumps dropped 13.38 cents to $2.942 a gallon in the two weeks ended Nov. 7, falling below $3 for the first time in almost four years, Lundberg Survey said.

Surging railroad tank-car orders at companies owned by billionaires Warren Buffett and Carl Icahn are defying an oil price drop that threatens to slow the U.S. drilling boom.