Cheney, Enron officials discussed U.S. policy
Enron Corp. representatives met six times with Vice President Dick Cheney or his aides to discuss the nation's energy policy, including a discussion in mid-October just before the company's sudden collapse.
In a letter to Congress, vice presidential counsel David Addington disclosed the number of meetings between the Bush White House and the former energy giant. The company became the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history Dec. 2.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is seeking details of the meetings and information about any telephone calls or e-mails between the vice president's office and Enron.
Manufacturing: Factory orders fall; economists optimistic
A big drop in demand for military airplanes pushed factory orders down in November, but a wide range of goods from computers to cars posted gains, suggesting better days may lie ahead for the battered manufacturing sector.
Even though the Commerce Department's report Tuesday showed that orders to U.S. factories fell by 3.3 percent in November, economists were encouraged because orders for many other categories, including the hard-hit high-tech sector, rose.
Credit: Auto loans spur consumer borrowing
Americans increased their borrowing in November by the largest amount on record. A big rise in auto loans spurred by zero-interest rate financing offers led the way.
Consumer credit soared by a seasonally adjusted $19.8 billion in November, or a 14.6 percent annual rate, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.
The dollar increase was the biggest since the Fed began record-keeping in January 1943 and the percentage increase was the largest since November 1995.
Wall Street: Investors cautious amid varied outlooks
Divergent signals on the state of business left investors cautious and prices mixed Tuesday on Wall Street. Upbeat comments from Microsoft and Tiffany encouraged the market, but disappointing statements from Gateway, Ciena and AOL Time Warner limited stocks' ability to advance.
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