Housing construction falls during February

The number of new housing projects builders broke ground on in February plunged by 11 percent, the sharpest decline in nearly a decade, as bad weather and an uncertain economic climate took its toll on the residential construction market.

Housing construction dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.62 million units in February, representing a 11 percent decline from the month before, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

In Lawrence, builders bucked the trend. They started 21 new homes in February compared to 20 in January, according to a city report.

Lawsuit: Jury rules in favor of Bayer in drug case

A jury Tuesday cleared Bayer Corp. of liability in a $560 million lawsuit that accused the pharmaceutical giant of ignoring research linking the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol to dozens of deaths.

The jury deliberated for 2 1/2 days before returning the verdict. It was the first of about 8,000 cases against Bayer to go to trial.

The lawsuit was brought by Hollis Haltom, an 82-year-old engineer who said a muscle-wasting disease caused by Baycol severely weakened his legs. His lawyers had produced e-mails and internal documents to argue that Bayer didn’t adequately warn doctors about the possible side effects of the drug before it was pulled off the market.

Energy: Aquila announces debt reduction total

Aquila Inc. ended a five-month silence on its financial situation when it updated investors on its efforts to sell off assets and focus on the utility business, company spokesman Al Butkus said Tuesday.

The company told investors last week that it has sold $1.3 billion in assets and reduced its debt by $1 billion.

Telecommunications: Sprint to expand local phone business

Intensifying competition in the phone business, Sprint Corp. plans to take advantage soon of a regulatory rule and sell local service along with long-distance and wireless calling, a Sprint executive said Tuesday.

The nation’s No. 3 long-distance carrier will offer local calling by leasing networks owned by the regional Bell companies, Len Lauer, chief of the company’s wireless division, said at the CTIA Wireless 2003 trade show.

Lauer said Sprint would release details “within a few weeks.”