THE ECONOMY

Economy Struggles to Maintain Sluggish Growth: New data shows that U.S. manufacturing activity slowed for the eighth straight month in March and construction spending fell in February. The National Assn. of Purchasing Management reported that its manufacturing index rose to 46.9 last month from 45.2 in February, continuing to lag below a reading of 50, which is considered the starting point for a manufacturing expansion. At the same time, economists said, construction spending is showing signs of strength--enough perhaps to help shore up the overall economy in the next few months. The Commerce Department figures showed that weak spending on commercial and government building projects dragged down overall spending by 0.9% in February.