Durable goods orders up 5.9%

Orders for expensive durable goods rose a strong 5.9 percent in November, reversing a slump in orders to US factories a month earlier, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Military business led the pickup. The increase contrasted with a steep 4.7 percent fall in orders for big-ticket items - everything from cars to refrigerators - recorded in October.

The October figure was revised from an originally reported 5.1 percent drop. The Commerce Department said last month's order rise was the largest single-month increase since an 8.2 percent gain in November 1984.