Capital-goods orders rise 0.9% in month

WASHINGTON -- Businesses ordered more computers, communications equipment, and other big-ticket items in August, the Commerce Department said yesterday.

Orders for capital goods, considered a good measure of business investment plans, rose 0.9 percent in August, the second gain in three months.

Overall factory orders fell 0.2 percent after rising a downwardly revised 2.1 percent in July. A sharp decline in orders for autos and auto parts dragged down the overall total. But that follows July’s jump in automotive orders, which was the biggest increase in eight years.