U.S. LEADING INDEX ROSE 0.7 PCT IN FEBRUARY
  The U.S. index of leading indicators
  rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 pct in February after a revised
  0.5 pct January fall, the Commerce Department said.
      The department previously said the index fell 1.0 pct in
  January.
      The February increase left the index at 187.1 over its 1967
  base of 100, and was led by a rise in stock prices.
      A total of four of nine indicators available for February
  contributed to the increase in the index.
      Besides stock prices, they were manufacturers' new orders
  for consumer goods and materials, average work week and
  building permits.
      Five of nine indicators were negative. They were change in
  sensitive materials prices, money supply, vendor performance,
  average weekly initial claims for state unemployment insurance,
  and contracts and orders for plant and equipment.
      The main factor in the January revision was contracts and
  orders for plant and equipment, the department said.
      December also was revised to a 2.4 pct rise from an earlier
  2.3 pct rise due to a change in outstanding credit.
      The index of coincident indicators, which measures the
  current economy, rose 0.9 pct in February after a decline of
  1.3 pct in January and a rise of 0.9 pct in December.
      The index of lagging indicators, which measures past
  economic activity, decreased 0.3 pct in February after
  increasing 1.7 pct in January and falling by 0.5 pct in
  December.
      The department said it has suspended net business formation
  from the leading indicators index because it has deteriorated
  as a measure of change in the business population.