New orders for durable goods fell 0.3% in August, according to a Department of Commerce report released Thursday, their third straight month of decline.

Tuesday’s announcement by the New York-based Conference Board of its consumer confidence index said what many on Wall Street had been predicting for two weeks – the terrorist attacks compounded fears about mounting job cuts and a free falling stock market.

President George W. Bush signed a $15 billion bailout package Saturday, the largest industry-wide air package in history. br clear = all>

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy was “sluggish” even before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11..

As rescue crews sift through rubble in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., U.S. passenger airlines are picking up the pieces of their industry and preparing to face an anticipated slowdown in air travel.

Trucking associations in both the United States and Canada are looking for solutions to delays of several hours or more for truckers attempting to enter the country – delays engendered by heightened security along the U.S. border in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

The number of Americans out of work rose 0.4% in August to 4.9%, the highest level since September 1997, a government report said Friday.

The U.S. worker is becoming more productive, according to a government report released Wednesday morning.

Leading economic reports released Friday, as well as a University of Michigan study of consumer sentiment, all showed that the U.S. economy has yet to pull out of its slowdown.

The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that commercial drivers pass more rigorous medical exams to get behind the wheel, news services reported.