THE ECONOMY

Factory Orders Up; Productivity Revised Downward: The listless manufacturing sector got a boost from a spurt of aircraft orders in November, while productivity gains in the rest of the economy were slimmer than previously reported, the government said. Orders received by factories rose a modest 0.6% between October and November to a seasonally adjusted $243.74 billion. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said productivity in the non-farm economy rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.9% between July and September instead of the 2.4% increase previously reported.