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Construction of new homes in February rose at the fastest pace in more than three years and the housing market is expected to remain strong in the months ahead, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

February’s 0.3% rise in retail sales, as reported Wednesday by the Commerce Department, was the largest jump in four months but still short of the 1% analysts had been expecting, Bloomberg News reported.

Manufacturing in the Chicago area grew in February, a survey by the Institute for Supply Management reported Thursday, marking the first expansion in 19 months.

The gross domestic product, the total value of all goods and services produced in the United States, rose at a revised 1.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2001, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The manufacturing sector’s slump extended into its 18th month in January, but appears to be ready to expand in the months ahead, according to the a survey released by the Institute for Supply Management on Friday.

The contraction of manufacturing in the Chicago area reversed in January for the first time in four months, a survey by the Institute for Supply Management found Thursday..

In another sign that the recession that began in March may be ended, the U.S. economy unexpectedly expanded in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Wholesale prices, which form the producer price index, fell 0.7% in December, the third straight monthly decline, the Labor Department said Friday..

The U.S. index of leading economic indicators, an important gauge of future economic activity, rose for the second straight month in November, the Conference Board said Wednesday.

The Senate on Tuesday gave final approval to a compromise with President Bush imposing safety requirements Mexican trucks will have to meet before they can gain wider access to highways in the United States.