While Market Shakes, Economy Is Shown Reviving

Housing and durable goods orders data released Wednesday showed that the U.S. economic recovery continues to gain ground, and the reports should help allay fears that the economy risks stumbling back into recession, economists said.

Investors had other things on their mind on a day when news of major accounting fraud at WorldCom(WCOM Quote) was putting a dent in the stock market.

Durable goods orders , or orders for long-lasting goods such as missiles and washing machines, grew 0.6% in May, beating economists' expectations for a 0.5% increase and the previous month's 0.4% increase, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Excluding transportation and semiconductors, new orders increased 0.6%. Year to date, new orders for 2002 were 2.9% below the same period a year ago. ...