ECONOMY

Durable Goods Orders Up Sharply: Orders to U.S. factories for durable goods jumped 8.6% in 1993, the biggest advance in five years, which included a broad-based 2.2% increase in December, the Commerce Department reported. The department said the annual increase was the steepest since orders rose 9.6% in 1988, despite the sixth consecutive drop in defense orders. In December, orders set a new record, totaling a seasonally adjusted $142.8 billion, up from the previous high of $139.7 billion a month earlier. It was the fifth consecutive monthly advance, the longest string since 1987. In another economic report, the Labor Department said the number of Americans applying for initial unemployment benefits declined by 56,000 last week, due in part to the effects of frigid weather, a federal holiday and the Northridge earthquake.