Signaling that manufacturers are leading the economy into a recovery, output from the nation’s factories, mines and utilities posted widespread August gains. In a further dose of good news, inflation remained essentially nonexistent as prices scarcely rose last month. The August gains in industrial production marked the second straight increase after the global recession dried up the appetites of customers worldwide. The Federal Reserve said yesterday that output rose 0.8 percent, beating analysts’ estimates.

Several localities across the country, including Prince George’s County, Md., and Scottsdale, Ariz., have adopted mandatory home-sprinkler regulations. No state has adopted the requirement

This year will be a tough one for homebuilders, but if they can hang tight through 2009, next year should be much better. “Once we get out of the recession, we expect to see a bounce back,“ said economist Christine Chmura of Chmura Economics & Analytics in Richmond, a speaker at yesterday’s forecast meeting of the Home Building Association of Richmond.