BUSINESS MEMO: CONSTRUCTION INCREASE

With big gains from houses to highways, spending on construction projects nationwide leaped ahead by 2.7 percent in January, the sharpest increase in nearly two years.

With weather better than normal early in the month, builders kept busy on a wide variety of projects that pushed total construction spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $751.8 billion, a record monthly high, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

January's stronger-than-expected performance marked the fourth straight month of sizable gains and caused many economists to marvel at the strength of the construction sector given that the Federal Reserve has boosted interest rates by a full percentage point since June. The industry is particularly sensitive to lending costs.