NEW YORK -- U.S. manufacturing activity grew for a fourth straight month in February, but the pace of expansion slowed notably, a private industry group reported Monday.

NEW YORK - For the nation's lumber companies, automakers, home builders and other manufacturers, the final half of 2008 may be as sluggish as the first.

NEW YORK - The nation’s manufacturing sector registered its highest level of activity in nearly four years in October, according to an industry report, suggesting that the solid economic growth of the third quarter is continuing in the fourth.

NEW YORK - The nation's manufacturing sector expanded strongly in October, with the fourth consecutive month of growth boding well for the overall economy in the final quarter of the year.

A pair of upbeat reports reinforced rising optimism about the nation’s economic recovery: The manufacturing sector expanded in November for a fifth consecutive month and at its fastest rate in nearly two decades, while October construction spending was the best month on record.

NEW YORK - The U.S. manufacturing economy unexpectedly contracted in December, ending a streak of 10 consecutive months of growth and sinking to its lowest point in almost five years, a private research group said Wednesday. The decline suggests that the overall economy may be weakening faster than some economists predicted.

WASHINGTON - Manufactured homes are a popular choice for low-income families, but new regulations from mortgage giant Fannie Mae could price some of those would-be homeowners out of the market.

State senators voted Friday to approve generous new tax credits for firms that agree to manufacture their solar equipment in Arizona.

NEW YORK - A surprisingly weak reading on the manufacturing sector sent stocks mostly lower Tuesday as investors feared that the economy has indeed run into a soft patch. The report overshadowed an improvement in consumers' view of economic conditions.

WASHINGTON - Construction spending was brisk in December as home-building activity hit a record monthly high, but manufacturing slowed in January. The latest batch of economic reports highlighted the economy's struggles with an uneven recovery.

NEW YORK - Wall Street managed a moderate advance Monday as a spate of takeover deals gave investors enough confidence to buy into the market despite a report showing that U.S. manufacturing is more sluggish than expected.

Monica Francis is fascinated with semiconductors. The science behind how electricity works with molecules, it all seems like a miracle not to mention a good way to pay the bills.

Ed Koopman, site general manager of the Boeing Co.’s Mesa helicopter works and the company’s prime spokesman in the East Valley, will retire July 1, ending a 43-year career with Boeing and its predecessor, McDonnell Douglas.

The advisory board of the Arizona Aerospace Institute is on track to complete its business plan by the end of this year and hopes to have a staff in place to begin operations within six months, a board member said Tuesday.

NEW YORK — The nation’s manufacturing sector expanded at a slower rate in September than in the previous month — and at a lower pace than analysts expected — suggesting that there’s room for the Federal Reserve to consider another rate cut later this month.

WASHINGTON - A gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity that fell to a 26-year low Monday followed similarly weak readings in Europe and China, fueling fears of a deepening global downturn.

This is the vision: a new manufacturing age, when increased efficiency, innovation, technology and service are what give U.S. products an edge, and when a professional class of American manufacturing workers gets the bonus of a safer workplace and increased job satisfaction and pay.

Breast cancer patients in Arizona could be among the first beneficiaries of breakthrough studies in survival rates from the disease conducted through a partnership of the Translational Genomics Research Institute and a group of international scientists, an institute leader said Wednesday.

Arizona State University officials say a merger between a Tempe company known for its high powered telescopes and a corporation that is a world leader in scientific test and measurement equipment is the best example yet of how its BioDesign Institute can transfer research into the marketplace.

When Jason Baker landed a machine tool programming job seven years ago, he thought his career was set.

Scottsdale-based Dial Corp. wants to make its products as environmentally friendly as possible, so the company has teamed up with the Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability to figure out how to do it.

WASHINGTON - Wholesale prices for name-brand drugs jumped an average 7.1 percent in 2004 - the largest hike in five years and more than twice the rate of inflation, according to a study released Tuesday by AARP.

WASHINGTON - U.S. factories saw demand for their products drop sharply, while the country’s service sector contracted, fresh evidence of an economy hobbled by housing and credit crises.