DES MOINES, Iowa — An ethanol-fueled boom in prices will prompt American farmers to plant the most corn since the year the Allies invaded Normandy, but surging demand could mean consumers still may pay more for everything from chicken to cough syrup.

Farmers are expected to plant 90.5 million acres of corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual prospective plantings report released Friday. That would be a 15 percent increase over 2006 and the most corn planted since 1944.

Mother Nature will play a large part in the actual acreage planted. Muddy fields are already slowing plantings in some states.

Corn should be planted by mid-May for good yields and soybeans can be planted as late as June, which could be a fallback plan for farmers if corn doesn't get planted in time.

The move to plant corn is in large part due to a rush to produce corn-based ethanol, which is blended with gasoline.

CONSUMER, CONSTRUCTION SPENDING UP

WASHINGTON — Consumers' spending and income showed bigger-than-expected gains in February, and construction posted the first increase in nearly a year, hopeful signs that the economic slowdown will not worsen.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending, bolstered by strong income gains, was up 0.6 percent last month, while consumer income rose a similar 0.6 percent. Both figures were double what analysts had expected.

Separately, the department said construction spending rose by 0.3 percent last month, the first increase in 11 months, since a 1 percent jump in March 2006.

Since then, construction has either fallen or been flat each month as the industry was jolted by a sharp slowdown in housing activity.

For February, strong gains in construction of hotels, shopping centers and state and local government projects offset the 11th consecutive decline in residential construction.

OIL PRICES REMAIN NEAR HIGHS FOR YEAR

NEW YORK — Oil prices settled lower Friday as investors took profits after Thursday's rally and ahead of the weekend. Prices remained near highs for the year, however, as supply fears persisted over the political standoff involving Iran's capture of 15 British marines and sailors.

Light, sweet crude futures for May delivery fell 16 cents to settle at $65.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract closed at a six-month high on Thursday.

Brent crude for May delivery rose 22 cents to settle at $68.10 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.

Tim Evans, an energy analyst with Citigroup Global Markets, pointed out that a weak expiration in April gasoline could have weighed on oil prices. April gasoline futures fell 2.4 cents to settle at $2.1115 a gallon.

Crude prices are still high, Evans said, as traders have gained an "appreciation for how quickly political events can affect prices."

U.S. ANNOUNCES TRADE SANCTION AGAINST CHINA

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration, facing increasing anger over soaring trade deficits, announced Friday it would impose sanctions against Chinese paper imports, opening up a new avenue for beleaguered American manufacturers to seek government protection.

The action, announced by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, reverses 23 years of U.S. trade policy by treating China, which is classified as a nonmarket economy, in the same way other U.S. trading partners are treated in disputes involving government subsidies.

The decision involved a case brought by NewPage Corp., a Dayton, Ohio-based paper company. It contended that its coated paper, used in printing glossy catalogues and annual reports, was facing unfair competition from imports from Chinese companies receiving improper subsidies from the Chinese government.

Commerce imposed penalty tariffs ranging from 10.9 percent to 20.4 percent on imports of glossy paper from China. The tariffs will take effect next week on a preliminary basis and will become final after a further Commerce review is completed in June.

BERNANKE COMMENTS ON COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT

WASHINGTON — Troubles plaguing lenders and borrowers with risky mortgages may challenge the notion that widespread access to credit is always a good thing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested Friday.

Bernanke's comments came as he talked about a decades-old law, called the Community Reinvestment Act, that aims to make sure that banks serve all their customers, including those in low- and moderate-income communities.

The Fed chief said the law, enacted in 1977, has produced some benefits, including helping to bolster home ownership rates among the poor, "but the results are not uniform."

The law doesn't apply to lenders that aren't banks, many of which are responsible for providing certain risky mortgages to people with low incomes and blemished credit histories.

PLANS FOR '.XXX' DOMAIN ON HOLD

LISBON, Portugal — A key Internet oversight agency put the brakes on plans to construct an online red-light district, rejecting for a third time a proposal to create a voluntary ".xxx" address for pornographic Web sites.

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers on Friday cited fears that it would find itself having to regulate content and concerns that such a domain name did not have the support of the adult-entertainment industry.

The company seeking the domain name, ICM Registry LLC, had been allowed to revise a previously rejected proposal. Although ICANN wants to close the current round, which began in 2004, a new proposal could be offered in the next round of applications.

U.S. BAN ON INTERNET BETTING DOESN'T COMPLY WITH WTO

GENEVA — The U.S. has failed to change its ban on Internet betting to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling that said the legislation unfairly targets offshore casinos, the global trade body said Friday.

The ruling opens the door to possible commercial sanctions against the U.S.

In a 215-page decision, a three-member WTO compliance panel sided with the twin Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, which has argued that Internet gambling is a lucrative source of revenue and provides an income for hundreds of islanders.