Economic Report Worse Than Expected

December 24, 2002 By Herb Weisbaum www.komotv.com SEATTLE - The Commerce Department has just released a new report on the economy, and it is worse than expected.

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket goods fell 1.4 percent in November, dealing a setback to the nation's manufacturers, which have been struggling to get back on their feet after being knocked down by last year's recession. The unexpected drop in new orders for costly manufactured goods marked the weakest showing since September.

Sun Microsystems wins a round in its court case against Microsoft.

A federal judge says Microsoft must include rival Sun Microsystems' Java programming language in its Windows operating system. The injunction will be enforced while Sun pursues its antitrust case against Microsoft.

Sun had argued during a hearing earlier this month that Microsoft has gained an unfair advantage by shipping Windows with an outdated version of Java that's inconsistent for its users. U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz said in his ruling that the public wants to be assured that free enterprise remains genuinely free. Microsoft says it will appeal.

McDonald's will soon be serving up a new burger. A memo sent to franchisees says the fast-food giant will change its seasoning mix to improve flavor and stimulate sales. The memo also states that McDonald's will maintain its Dollar Menu.

FAO Incorporated will close 70 "under-performing" stores by March as it attempts to return to profitability. The company says of those closings, 55 will be Zany Brainy stores. FAO also owns FAO Schwarz and The Right Stuff.

Crude oil futures have rallied to two-year highs as worries about supplies from Venezuela and Iraq intensify. The rally in crude helped lift heating oil and gasoline futures to their highest levels since December 2000 and June 2001 respectively.

The theme park business has had a rough year. An industry survey finds that attendance at North American theme parks fell by almost two percent from last year -- that's more than 3-million fewer visitors. The decline is blamed on the sluggish world economy that kept international visitors at home.

Expect to fewer business lunch meetings next year. USA Today reports that cost cutting employers are telling their workers to cut back on taking clients out to lunch. Add to that the fact that over-worked employees at down-sized companies have less time "do lunch." The paper says "half of full-time employees spend less time on lunch than they used to" with about a third of all workers doing something other than eating during their lunch break.