NEW YORK (AP) -- Further weakness in the manufacturing sector and construction industry underscored concerns that the U.S. economy has fallen into recession, though most analysts believe a downturn will be mild and relatively short-lived.

The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that manufacturing contracted for a second consecutive month in March as manufacturers grappled with weakening order books and rising prices for raw materials.

The institute's manufacturing index registered 48.6 last month, a bit stronger than the 48.3 reading for February, which had been the weakest in five years.

Readings below 50 indicate contraction, while those above 50 show growth.

In Washington, the Commerce Department said that construction spending fell again in February as home building tumbled for a record 24th straight month.

The department said overall construction activity dropped 0.3 percent in February, reflecting weakness not only in home building but also in nonresidential activity. Only government building projects showed a gain for the month.

Gary R. Thayer, senior economist with Wachovia Securities, said the latest figures provided "more

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures extended their slide Tuesday as the dollar gained ground, making commodities such as energy futures less attractive to investors seeking a hedge against inflation. But trading was choppy as a debate among investors over oil's direction played out in the marketplace.

Retail gas prices, meanwhile, slipped slightly from the record they set one day earlier.

Investors who previously bought commodities such as oil as a haven against inflation and a falling dollar sold Tuesday as the greenback strengthened against the euro and other currencies. The stronger dollar also made oil more expensive to overseas investors.

Many analysts say oil investors have taken most of their price cues in recent months from gyrations in the dollar.

"The dollar's stronger, and (therefore) oil's weaker," said Brad Samples, an analyst with Summit Energy Services Inc., in Louisville, Ky.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 60 cents to settle at $100.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier falling as low as $99.55. Oil futures fell $4.04 a barrel on Monday.

But oil prices surged as high as $102.55 at times Tuesday as the early dip below the psychologically

Retirement is more than just numbers. You need to look at all the puzzle pieces before you can put them together, says Money Magazine’s Walter Updegrave.

Question: I’m 55 years old and would like to retire at 60. I’ve got $30,000 in a money market account and $170,000 in my 401(k). I’ll have a pension of $1,500 a month and I’ll collect Social Security of about $1,800. Do I have enough to retire at 60? –Liz, Los Angeles, Calif.

Answer: Trying to figure out whether you can afford to retire - at 60 or any other age, for that matter - is essentially a process of putting together pieces of a financial jigsaw puzzle.

Some of the puzzle pieces are the income you’ll collect in retirement - your $1,500-a-month pension and your $1,800 monthly Social Security check. Others are the assets from which you can draw income - the $30,000 you have in a money-market account, the $170,000 in your 401(k) and whatever growth you’ll have in those accounts from additional savings plus investment earnings over the next five years.

The idea is to assemble the various pieces and then see whether a picture of retirement life emerges - that is, one that reflects a post-career standard of living that’s acceptable to you.

Problem is, it’s virtually impossible to develop even the fuzziest image of retirement life in your case