News In Brief

Orders for durable goods climbs 8.3% in November

Orders to factories for ''big-ticket'' durable goods, climbed 8.3 percent last month, the biggest increase in more than four years, the Commerce Department reported Friday. More than half the increase was attributed to a surge in demand for defense equipment, particularly aircraft and ships. But even without the defense increase, new orders rose 3.3 percent. The November gain was the first since August.