Economy Briefs

GOLD

Price falls on pessimism that rally can last

Gold fell Tuesday as traders begin to doubt that prices can stay near the high they reached this summer.

Credit Suisse analyst Ric Deverell released a report Tuesday saying the commodities market has entered a “dangerous new phase.”

Mr. Deverell said this summer’s rally in gold seems to have been overheated. Gold has been overlooked as an investment in part because more traders want park their money in U.S. Treasury securities, which many consider as safe as gold and easier to cash in when needed, he wrote. The popularity of Treasurys took the wind out of gold’s rally this month, Mr. Deverell said.

Gold for December delivery fell $41.70, or 2.5 percent, to $1,616 an ounce. December silver lost 95.6 cents, or 3 percent, to close at $29.839.

Gold hit a high of $1,891.90 an ounce Aug. 22. It’s down 14 percent since early September. Silver is down 31 percent.

FACTORY ORDERS

Businesses ordered more long-lasting goods

Businesses ordered more computers, communications equipment and other big-ticket items in August, a hopeful sign for the slumping economy.

Orders for capital goods, which are considered a good measure of business investment plans, rose 0.9 percent in August, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was 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. Automakers are returning to full production after output was interrupted by Japan’s March 11 earthquake.

AUTO

Ford to pay workers bonus in new contract

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will pay its U.S. factory workers a $6,000 signing bonus and add thousands of U.S. factory jobs as part of a four-year contract deal reached Tuesday with the United Auto Workers union.

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