IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Machine orders drop

Orders for Japanese machinery fell for a fourth month in January, the longest losing streak in at least 20 years, as exports crashed and profits evaporated.

Bookings, an indicator of capital investment in the next three to six months, declined 3.2 percent from December, the Cabinet Office said yesterday in Tokyo. The median estimate of economists surveyed was for a 4.8 percent drop.