News In Brief

US plants got fewer orders in October, but home sales up

Orders to US factories dropped for the third consecutive month in October, with the 2.5 percent decline the steepest since April, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. It said new orders totaled $185.1 billion in October, down $4. 7 billion from the September level.

In another report yesterday, the government said that sales of new single-family homes rose 2.1 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 680,000. The October increase followed an 18.3 percent jump in September.