Economy Continues to Weaken

WASHINGTON — Orders for big-ticket items plunged at the fastest rate in seven months in August while the pace of new-homes sales dropped to its lowest level in more than 17 years, the government said Thursday in separate reports. The reports underscored the weakness in the economy going into the financial turmoil that rapidly escalated in September. Orders for durable goods, long-lasting items like cars and refrigerators, dropped 4.5% in August as demand for machinery, cars, aircraft and other items fell, the Commerce Department said. The news did not bode well for the manufacturing sector, which has fared OK this year as strong export demand has cushioned the blow of the deteriorating domestic economy. But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned this week that export growth will likely ease given softening economies abroad.