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manufacturers ' backlogs of unfilled orders rose N N in september to $ N billion helped by strength in the defense capital goods sector

excluding these orders backlogs declined N N

in its construction spending report the commerce department said residential construction which accounts for nearly half of all construction spending was off N N in september to an annual rate of $ N billion

david <unk> economist for the mortgage bankers association predicted the drop in interest rates eventually will boost spending on single-family homes but probably not until early next year

spending on private <unk> construction was off N N to an annual rate of $ N billion with no sector showing strength

government construction spending rose N N to $ N billion

after adjusting for inflation the commerce department said construction spending did n't change in september

for the first nine months of the year total construction spending ran about N N above last year 's level

the government 's construction spending figures contrast with a report issued earlier in the week by mcgraw-hill inc. 's <unk> dodge group

dodge reported an N N increase in construction contracts awarded in september

the <unk> counts money as it is spent dodge counts contracts when they are awarded

the government includes money spent on residential <unk> dodge does n't

although the purchasing managers ' index continues to indicate a slowing economy it is n't <unk> an imminent recession said robert <unk> chairman of the association 's survey committee and director of materials management at pitney bowes inc. stamford conn

he said the index would have to be in the low N N range for several months to be considered a forecast of recession

the report offered new evidence that the nation 's export growth though still continuing may be slowing

only N N of the purchasing managers reported better export orders in october down from N N in september

and N N said export orders were down last month compared with N N the month before

the <unk> managers ' report also added evidence that inflation is under control

for the fifth consecutive month purchasing managers said prices for the goods they purchased fell

the decline was even <unk> than in september

they also said that vendors were delivering goods more quickly in october than they had for each of the five previous months

economists consider that a sign that <unk> pressures are <unk>

when demand is stronger than suppliers can handle and delivery times <unk> prices tend to rise

the purchasing managers ' report is based on data provided by more than N purchasing executives

each of the survey 's indicators <unk> the difference between the number of purchasers reporting improvement in a particular area and the number reporting a worsening

for the first time the october survey polled members on imports

it found that of the N N who import N N said they imported more in october and N N said they imported less than the previous month

while acknowledging one month 's figures do n't prove a trend mr. <unk> said it does lead you to suspect imports are going down or at least not increasing that much

items listed as being in short supply numbered only about a dozen but they included one <unk> milk and milk <unk>

it 's an odd thing to put on the list mr. <unk> noted

he said that for the second month in a row food processors reported a shortage of <unk> dry milk

they blamed increased demand for dairy products at a time of exceptionally high u.s. exports of dry milk coupled with very low import quotas

<unk> <unk> in new york contributed to this article

here are the commerce department 's figures for construction spending in billions of dollars at seasonally adjusted annual rates

here are the commerce department 's latest figures for manufacturers in billions of dollars seasonally adjusted

judging from the <unk> in <unk> <unk> 's a wild sheep chase <unk> N pages $ N baby boomers on both sides of the pacific have a lot in common

although set in japan the novel 's <unk> is almost entirely western especially american

characters drink <unk> dogs <unk> <unk> b. <unk> and watch bugs bunny reruns

they read <unk> <unk> and talk about <unk> and <unk>

they worry about their careers drink too much and suffer through broken <unk> and <unk> affairs

this is japan

for an american reader part of the <unk> of this engaging novel should come in recognizing that japan is n't the <unk> society of contemporary american <unk>

it 's also <unk> to read a japanese author who clearly does n't belong to the <unk> <unk> school of writers who <unk> the notion of the unique japanese <unk> by outsiders

if a wild sheep chase carries an implicit message for international relations it 's that the japanese are more like us than most of us think

that 's not to say that the <unk> plot of a wild sheep chase is rooted in reality

it 's <unk> and often funny

a <unk> <unk> <unk> hero sets off for snow country in search of an <unk> sheep with a star on its back at the <unk> of a <unk> <unk> <unk> with a stanford degree

he has in <unk> his <unk> girlfriend whose sassy <unk> mark her as anything but a <unk> <unk>

along the way he meets a <unk> christian <unk> who offers the hero god 's phone number and the sheep man a sweet <unk> figure who wears what else a <unk>

the 40-year-old mr. <unk> is a publishing <unk> in japan

a more recent novel norwegian wood every japanese under N seems to be <unk> in <unk> <unk> has sold more than four million copies since <unk> published it in N

but he is just one of several <unk> writers tokyo 's <unk> pack who are <unk> the <unk> charts in japan

their books are written in <unk> contemporary language and usually carry hefty <unk> of <unk>

in robert <unk> 's you <unk> have macmillan N pages $ N the <unk> give way to baseball in the <unk> version we would be hard put to call a game

as mr. <unk> describes it <unk> baseball is a mirror of japan 's <unk> <unk> of hard work and harmony

<unk> is japanese for team spirit and japanese <unk> have miles and miles of it

a player 's commitment to practice and team image is as important as his <unk> average

polls once named tokyo giants star <unk> <unk> a <unk> <unk> <unk> soul as the male symbol of japan

but other than the fact that <unk> is played with a ball and a bat it 's <unk> fans <unk> return <unk> balls to stadium <unk> the strike zone <unk> depending on the size of the <unk> ties are permitted even welcomed since they <unk> <unk> the shame of defeat players must <unk> by strict rules of conduct even in their personal lives players for the tokyo giants for example must always wear ties when on the road

you <unk> have <unk> is the often amusing <unk> of how american <unk> <unk> to two per team fare in japan

despite the enormous sums of money they 're paid to stand up at a japanese plate a good number decide it 's not worth it and run for home

funny business <unk> N pages $ N by gary <unk> is anything but

it 's the <unk> complaint of an <unk> american whom sony <unk> for a year while he was on a <unk> <unk> in tokyo to the regret of both parties

in sometimes amusing more often <unk> even vicious <unk> mr. <unk> describes how sony <unk> even the most mundane aspects of its workers ' lives at the <unk> office where employees are assigned lunch partners and at home in the <unk> company <unk> run by a <unk> <unk>

some of his <unk> about japanese management style are on the mark

it 's probably true that many <unk> put in <unk> overtime just for the <unk> of solidarity that the system is so <unk> that only the assistant manager can talk to the manager and the manager to the general manager and that sony was <unk> of letting a young short-term american employee take on any responsibility

all of this must have been <unk> frustrating to mr. <unk> who went to sony with degrees in business and computer science and was <unk> to <unk> another <unk>

but sony ultimately took a lesson from the american management books and fired mr. <unk> after he committed the social crime of making an appointment to see the venerable <unk> <unk> founder of sony

it 's a shame their meeting never took place

mr. <unk> certainly would have learned something and it 's even possible mr. <unk> would have too

ms. <unk> the journal 's deputy editorial features editor worked in tokyo for three years

more and more corners of the globe are becoming free of tobacco smoke

in singapore a new law requires smokers to put out their cigarettes before entering restaurants department stores and sports centers or face a $ N fine

<unk> and private clubs are exempt from the ban and smoking will be permitted in bars except during <unk> hours an official said

singapore already bans smoking in all theaters buses public elevators hospitals and fast-food restaurants

in malaysia <unk> <unk> <unk> a deputy minister in the prime minister 's office launched a <unk> week at the <unk> institute of technology near kuala lumpur and urged other schools to ban <unk> smoking

south korea has different concerns

in seoul officials began visiting about N cigarette <unk> to remove illegal <unk> and <unk> advertising imported cigarettes

south korea has opened its market to foreign cigarettes but restricts advertising to designated places

a marketing study indicates that hong kong consumers are the most <unk> in the N major markets where the survey was carried out

the study by the backer spielvogel bates ad agency also found that the colony 's consumers feel more pressured than those in any of the other surveyed markets which include the u.s. and japan

the survey found that nearly half of hong kong consumers <unk> what it identified as <unk> values compared with about one-third in japan and the u.s.

more than three in five said they are under a great deal of stress most of the time compared with less than one in two u.s. consumers and one in four in japan

the <unk> cabinet endorsed finance minister <unk> <unk> 's proposal to build a $ N million conference center for a joint meeting of the world bank and international monetary fund two years from now

the meeting which is expected to draw N to <unk> was going to be held at the central plaza hotel but the government balked at the hotel 's conditions for undertaking necessary expansion

a major concern about the current plan is whether the new center can be built in such a short time

<unk> arafat has written to the chairman of the international olympic committee asking him to back a palestinian bid to join the committee the <unk> liberation organization news agency <unk> said

an official of the palestinian olympic committee said the committee first applied for membership in N and renewed its application in august of this year

the plo in recent months has been trying to join international organizations but failed earlier this year to win membership in the world health organization and the world tourism organization

a beijing <unk> assistant has become the first <unk> chinese to get aids through sex the people 's daily said

it said the man whom it did not name had been found to have the disease after hospital tests

once the disease was confirmed all the man 's associates and family were tested but none have so far been found to have aids the newspaper said

the man had for a long time had a chaotic sex life including relations with foreign men the newspaper said

the polish government increased home electricity charges by N N and doubled gas prices

the official news agency <unk> said the increases were intended to bring <unk> low energy charges into line with production costs and compensate for a rise in coal prices

in <unk> news south korea in establishing diplomatic ties with poland yesterday announced $ N million in loans to the financially strapped warsaw government

in a victory for environmentalists hungary 's parliament terminated a multibillion-dollar river <unk> dam being built by <unk> firms

the <unk> dam was designed to be <unk> with another dam now nearly complete N miles <unk> in czechoslovakia

in ending hungary 's part of the project parliament authorized prime minister <unk> <unk> to modify a N agreement with czechoslovakia which still wants the dam to be built

mr. <unk> said in parliament that czechoslovakia and hungary would suffer environmental damage if the <unk> <unk> were built as planned