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ORLANDO, Fla. — The recession under way for 14 months is already “deep and long” and is supposed to hit bottom around the middle of this year, with mild growth in the second half, a Federal Reserve senior economist told a heavy-duty industry gathering here Feb. 16.

The average retail price of U.S. diesel declined for the fifth consecutive week, dipping another 3.3 cents a gallon, according to the Department of Energy.

Listening to the television pundits trying to divine the future of our economy, I am not unlike millions of people worldwide. We are all watching Washington, waiting for a panacea to the economic woes.

David Johanneson, a 36-year veteran in the truck industry, was named chief executive officer of Navistar Financial Corp. the company said Thursday.

Consumer prices rose 0.3% in January for the first time in six months, led by an increase in gasoline prices, the Labor Department said Friday.

Germany-based truck maker MAN AG will cut costs and extend reductions in its employees’ work hours after the recession and declining sales caused its fourth-quarter profit to plunge by almost half, Bloomberg reported.

An index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4% in January, the largest increase since December 2006, the New York-based Conference Board said.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region contracted in February, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday. The contraction was at the fastest pace in more than 18 years.