Home Starts, Industry Output Up

The economy got a double dose of good news today as the government reported that February housing starts rebounded from a two-month slump and that industrial output grew for the fifth straight month.

The Commerce Department said housing starts, which had fallen sharply after the October stock market crash, jumped 8.9% in February. Industrial output was up 0.2%. The housing news alleviated concern that the nation was heading for another housing slump after a 15.5% decline in starts in December and a 1.9% drop in January.