Big drop for consumer prices

Washington -- Consumer prices plunged by 1 percent last month, the biggest one-month decline on records that go back to February 1947.

The worry is that the recession will further depress prices, hurting such industries as housing, autos and retailing, and contribute to a downward spiral that will feed on itself.

In a separate report Wednesday, slashed construction of new homes and apartments fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000 units in October, the slowest building pace on records that go back nearly 50 years.