Industrial Production Rises: Industrial production rose a...

Industrial Production Rises: Industrial production rose a strong 0.4% in December, the Federal Reserve announced. Analysts attributed virtually all of the strength to abnormally cold weather and the end of a major aircraft strike. Nevertheless, analysts said they expect industrial output to continue to grow slowly and thus avoid a recession in the early months of 1990. Record cold weather over much of the nation boosted utility output by 6.3% while the settlement of the Boeing Co. strike in late November returned production there to normal the following month, the Fed reported. In another report, the Fed said the operating rate at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities rose 0.2 percentage point to 83.3% in December.