Dow up for month

Wall Street locked in its first winning month since spring and the Dow Jones Industrials’ second-best October on record Thursday.

For the month, the Dow rose 10.6 percent but came in behind the 13.8 percent gain of October 1987. The Nasdaq rose 13.5 percent in October, while the S&P advanced 8.7 percent. The last time Wall Street’s gauges ended a month higher was March.

But October’s gains failed to lift the market from dreadful lows reached earlier this year. The Dow has a year-to-date loss of 16.2 percent, while the Nasdaq has plunged 31.8 percent and the S&P has slid 22.9 percent.

Consumer Spending

Economy posts better quarterly growth rate

The U.S. economy raced ahead at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the summer, powered by hearty consumer spending, especially on big-ticket items such as cars.

The rebound in third quarter gross domestic product, considered the best barometer of the nation’s economic health, came after a mediocre 1.3 percent growth rate posted in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. But economists worry that the growth spurt could be followed by a winter lull.

Even with the bounce back, many economists predict the economy pummeled by the roller-coaster stock market, worries about a possible war with Iraq and eroding consumer confidence is losing momentum in the current October-December quarter.

Topeka

Management company seeks to sever track ties

With debts totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, the corporation that operates the city-owned Heartland Park Topeka is trying to sell its motorsports business, a spokesman said.

Glen Wells, a representative of Heartland Park Corp., said Wednesday the company was confident of finding a buyer soon. The city of Topeka owns the 750-acre property and the facilities on it, while the right to operate it is owned by Heartland Park Corp.

Wells said the track experienced a decline in revenue because of a couple of years of bad weather during events and the switch of the NHRA event to the spring from the fall, when the Kansas Speedway now holds a major race weekend.

International

Vivendi to sell U.S publishing firm

French media giant Vivendi Universal said Thursday it has agreed to sell U.S publisher Houghton Mifflin to a group of financiers including the Blackstone Group, a private U.S. investment group.

Vivendi valued the deal at an estimated $1.73 billion, including debt. Although the deal has yet to be finalized, the announcement means that both parties are working toward a final sale.

Houghton Mifflin is the publisher of “The Lord of the Rings” as well as a wide range of educational textbooks. Vivendi purchased Houghton Mifflin in 2001 for $2.2 billion including debt.

Insider trading scandal

Stewart earnings drop

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., struggling with an insider trading scandal involving its namesake chief executive, reported a sharp drop in quarterly earnings Thursday.

During the last quarter, the multimedia empire reported a profit of $2.76 million, or 6 cents per share, down 42 percent from $4.77 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier.