Business and Finance
INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT leveled off in July, indicating that the economy continues to stumble. Factory production slipped 0.1% and utility output fell 0.4%, but mining posted a 1% gain. The nation's industrial operating rate fell to 83.4% of capacity, down from 83.6% in June, which could temper some of the inflation pressure stemming from higher oil prices.</br></br>Cutting U.S. dependence on foreign oil by up to 550,000 barrels a day is envisioned under a Bush strategy calling for voluntary conservation and higher domestic output. The plan would replace much of the crude the U.S. imported from Iraq and Kuwait.</br></br>---</br></br>Stock and bond prices closed slightly higher after Bush damped early optimism about a possible resolution with Iraq. The Dow Jones industrials rose half a point to close at 2748.27. The dollar ended mixed.</br></br>---