Business Briefing

Factory orders rise in February

Orders placed with U.S. factories rose in February for the 10th time in the last 11 months, while inventories and backlogs climbed by the most in more than a year, a sign that factories will keep leading the economic expansion.

Bookings increased 0.6% after a revised 2.5% gain in January that was larger than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said. Excluding demand for transportation equipment such as cars and airplanes, which tends to be volatile, orders rose 0.7%, the seventh consecutive advance.

Building-project spending drops

Builders cut back on new projects at a faster-than-expected pace in February and drove down construction spending to the lowest level in eight years. It was a fresh sign that the troubled real estate market remains a sore spot for the economic recovery.

The Commerce Department reported that spending on construction projects around the country fell 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $846.23 billion. That was the lowest level since November 2002.

Economists had predicted builders would pare spending by 1%. Spending fell for home building, commercial ventures including hotels and motels, and big government public works projects, such as highways and streets.

The 1.3% drop followed a 1.4% decline in January. It was the fourth straight month that construction spending fell.

INSURANCE

Treasury names 2 to AIG board

The Treasury Department said it had named Donald Layton and Ronald Rittenmeyer to the board of directors of American International Group Inc. as part of the government’s efforts to recoup taxpayer money in the rescued insurer.

Layton most recently served as chairman and chief executive of E-Trade Financial Corp., and Rittenmeyer is the retired chairman of Electronic Data Systems Corp.

COURTS

Ruling may force change at EBay

EBay Inc. isn’t responsible for the sale of fake Tiffany & Co. jewelry on its website, an appeals court ruled, while returning Tiffany’s lawsuit to the trial court for further action on a false-advertising claim.

The New York appeals court upheld EBay’s 2008 trial victory on trademark infringement. But it said ads in which the online auction and retail site promotes sales of Tiffany merchandise may be misleading and in violation of federal law.

That ruling may force EBay to change its advertising policy to include disclaimers that some trademark goods, such as Tiffany jewelry, may be counterfeit.

BANKING

BofA won’t hike some card rates

Bank of America Corp. said it wouldn’t raise interest rates on existing credit-card balances held by its 2 million small-business customers as part of a campaign to simplify products.

Customers also will get 45 days’ notice before rates change on future balances and won’t incur a fee if they exceed their credit limit, the bank said.

Entrepreneurs often rely on credit cards to help float their firms, and the Federal Reserve is studying whether tighter restrictions placed on consumer cards this year should be extended to small businesses.

-- times wire reports