Orders for U.S. business equipment fell in February for the second time in three months, signaling corporate investment will be slow to gain momentum following an unusually harsh winter that put a damper on demand. Bookings for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft fell 1.3 percent after a 0.8 percent gain in January that was smaller than initially reported, data from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Demand for all durable goods --items meant to last at least three years -- climbed a more-than-forecast 2.2 percent, reflecting the biggest gain in automobile demand in a year. Frigid ... (full story)