AP - The nation's manufacturing sector grew at a slower clip in August than in July, a trade group said Friday.

Reuters - U.S. inflation is under control right now and the economy is unlikely to suffer from 'cascading weakness,' St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole said on Tuesday.

AFP - US workers' productivity during the second quarter was slightly better than initially estimated, although it still slowed to 1.6 percent growth from the prior quarter, the government has said.

Reuters - Inventories at U.S. wholesalers rose by a slightly larger-than-expected 0.8 percent in July on bigger stockpiles of autos and electrical equipment, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed.

AP - Black and Hispanic home buyers pay more for their mortgages than do whites, according to a Federal Reserve report released Friday.

AFP - The US economy is slowing to a "subdued" pace but is not moving toward recession, a survey of leading business economists showed.

Reuters - Small-business optimism soured in August, falling to its lowest in more than three years as proprietors expect the U.S. economy to continue slowing, a survey released on Tuesday showed.

AP - The federal budget deficit, helped by a surge in government revenue, is running 14.1 percent below the pace of last year, the government reported Wednesday.

AP - The International Monetary Fund on Thursday raised its growth forecast for the world economy, but said expansion could be tempered by inflationary pressures, high oil prices and a likely slowdown in the U.S. caused by the cooling housing market.

Reuters - Output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities fell unexpectedly by 0.1 percent in August as utilities production declined with cooler weather, a Federal Reserve report showed on Friday.

Reuters - They are jumping ship or receiving the pink slip. America's real estate agents and mortgage lenders, that is.

AP - America's deficit in the broadest measure of foreign trade increased in the spring to the second highest level in history, reflecting a big jump in payments for foreign oil.

Reuters - 'The Long Tail,' a best seller about the growing importance of the niche market in today's economy, was among five books on the short list on Tuesday for the Business Book of the Year award.

Reuters - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight meeting, biding time to assess whether cooling economic growth will curb price pressures.

AP - The number of newly laid-off workers filing for unemployment benefits rose last week by the largest amount since early August, providing further evidence that economy has slowed.

FT.com - Fears about the US economy outweighed a Japanese government survey showing greater confidence among big manufacturers, sending Tokyo stocks down on Friday morning.

FT.com - Investors are trying to assess the extent to which the slowdown in the US economy will lead to a broader global downturn. This week's data releases could provide further evidence as to why concerns for the outlook for 2007 are rising.

AP - Sales of existing homes fell for the fifth consecutive month in August as the once-booming housing market slowed further.

AP - Outgoing Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki urged newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday to restore the Japanese government's tattered fiscal health and clarify his strategy to ensure continued economic growth.

Reuters - Rising energy and employee health-care costs, as well as high taxes, caused U.S. manufacturers to fall further behind their foreign rivals in terms of economic competitiveness, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Reuters - A 'whiff' of stagflation will linger about the U.S. economy through next year as growth slows and inflation holds at a level higher than the Federal Reserve would like, according to the latest UCLA Anderson Forecast report.

AP - Japan got a double dose of good economic news Friday with the release of healthy industrial production and consumer price figures that underlines continued recovery of the world's second-largest economy.

AFP - To judge by the excitement on Wall Street, the US economy is in the rudest of health. The paradox is that the economy is posting some of its slowest growth rates in five years.