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The U.S. economy contracted at a 1.1% annual rate in the third quarter as consumers cut spending and business investment plunged, the Commerce Department reported on Friday..

U.S. highways will be open to Mexican trucks under a deal struck late Wednesday by congressional negotiators and the White House, news services reported.

Wholesale prices declined 1.6% in October, the largest one-month drop since record-keeping began in 1947, according to a Labor Department report released on Friday..

A new month brought with it evidence that the U.S. economy is struggling more than previously thought, as new reports released Thursday illustrated the immediate impact the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had on an already struggling economy..

A series of economic reports released on Friday appear to show that while the economy has continued to struggle so far in 2001, there are signs it may pick up later in the year.

In a report that suggests the once red-hot housing market may be softening further as the economy continues to lose steam, new home sales fell 2.4% in February, the Commerce Department said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Monday that high-energy prices were damaging the U.S. economy, and he linked the rising energy costs to the risk of a recession, news services reported.

In a Friday report with strong implications for the U.S. trucking industry, the Federal Reserve said industrial production fell in February for the fifth straight month.That suggests the economic slowdown may be deepening.

Many trucking companies that usually see their freight business pick up in March, after a seasonally slow start to the year, are seeing disappointing results so far in 2001 as the economy continues to cool.

Stocks plunged on Wednesday, taking the Dow Jones industrials down as much as 395 points before recovering some, as a deepening pessimism about the global economy swept Wall Street for the second time this week.