Data verify strength of economy
New government reports released yesterday added to the emerging portrait of a U.S. economy that this year has had the best combination of strong growth and low inflation in a decade.</br></br>Consumer spending and business investment--two factors that led the way for growth this year--remain strong. And the latest reading from the University of Michigan's survey of consumer sentiment found American households increasingly happy about their current and prospective economic circumstances, a sign that spending is not about to slack off.</br></br>Analysts said the latest figures indicate the economy is expanding at about a 4 percent pace in the final three months of the year, and that growth for all of 1994 should turn out to be almost that strong.</br></br>The Commerce Department said consumer spending on goods and services--which accounts for two-thirds of the gross domestic product--rose 0.6 percent in November to an annual rate of $4,739 trillion, up 5.9 percent from a year ago. Even after adjustment for inflation, spending was up 0.5 percent last month and 3.6 percent over the past 12 months.</br></br>Separately, the Commerce Department reported that new orders for long-lasting goods such as cars, machinery and steel increased a hefty 3.4 percent last month, reversing a 0.9 percent drop in October. The October decline partly was the result of production problems in the auto industry, for which orders and shipments are one and the same.