WASHINGTON — Orders for durable goods like aircraft and electronics fell unexpectedly in August, and sales of new homes rose less than expected. The weak reports renewed concerns about whether the economy can sustain a recovery with consumer spending held back by job losses, tight credit and falling home values.

Still, economists said the figures — which follow weaker-than-expected data Thursday on existing home sales — also reflect a volatile economy emerging from the worst recession since the 1930s.

Orders for durable goods dropped 2.4 percent in August, after rising a revised 4.8 percent in July, the Commerce Department said yesterday.

Economists had expected a 0.5 percent increase, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. It was the second drop in three months in orders for goods expected to last at least three years.

FDA CHASTISES ITSELF FOR OVERRULING ITS OWN SCIENTISTS

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has taken the unprecedented step of acknowledging that it buckled to "extreme" pressure from Capitol Hill in its approval of a knee repair device last year.

While FDA officials call the situation an anomaly, experts said yesterday there is nothing to stop similar political lobbying from influencing future decisions.

In a sweeping critique Thursday, FDA leadership said the agency failed to protect its scientists from outside pressure after they twice rejected ReGen Biologics' Menaflex device.

The Hackensack, N.J.-based company won approval last December after enlisting the support of four New Jersey lawmakers, who urged then-FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to intervene on the company's behalf.

Approval came despite protests by FDA scientists that Menaflex — which reinforces damaged knee tissue — provided little, if any, benefit to patients.

The report marks the first time the FDA has openly criticized its own conduct.