BUSINESS MEMO: WORKER PRODUCTIVITY

Workers' productivity, a key to national economic vitality, grew at the fastest rate in seven years in the third quarter. At the same time, companies' labor costs actually declined -- a recipe for keeping inflation at bay.

Tuesday's report was good news for investors wary of signs of inflation that could trigger another interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve.

Productivity rose at a 4.9 percent annual rate from July through September, the Labor Department said. At the same time, unit labor costs fell at a 0.2 percent annual rate -- the biggest drop since spring 1997.