Business in brief: Less government spending causes construction dip

WASHINGTON – A sharp slowdown in government-built schools and infrastructure caused U.S. construction spending to fall slightly in November.

The Commerce Department said Friday that construction spending slipped 0.3 percent in November, after having climbed an upwardly revised 1.2 percent in October and 0.6 percent in September.

Much of the decline came from a 1.7 percent retreat in government expenditures. Publicly built school spending fell 2.5 percent, while the transportation, health care and public safety sectors also fell.

Private construction spending rose a modest 0.3 percent in November. Homebuilding climbed 1 percent in November, offsetting the declines in the office, commercial and health care-related construction.

Total construction spending has improved a mere 2.4 percent from a year ago to $974.9 billion.

Construction activity has lagged broader economic growth for much of 2014, hampered by limited gains in homebuilding. Few potential buyers can afford new homes, a reflection of meager wage growth, tight credit standards and builders focused on pricier housing developments.

FCC’s net neutrality vote is expected in February

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators are expected to vote next month on rules to govern how Internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast deal with the flow of content on their high-speed networks.

The five-member Federal Communications Commission will consider then a proposal from Chairman Tom Wheeler on so-called net neutrality rules, agency spokeswoman Kim Hart said Friday. She was confirming reports in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal on the planned timing of the vote.

Details of the draft proposal weren’t disclosed. President Barack Obama has asked the FCC to put Internet service providers under the same rules as those imposed on telephone companies 80 years ago. The aim is to protect net neutrality, the concept that all online traffic should be treated equally and given the same access.

Uber says New Year’s Eve was resounding success

True to its pre-holiday predictions, the ride-sharing service Uber had its best day and gave 2 million rides globally over New Year’s Eve.

The company announced Thursday that its 2,000 employees and “hundreds of thousands of incredible driver partners” had given 2 million rides.

More than 100,000 drivers and riders were actually in an Uber car at the stroke of midnight, the company said.

Sony tries to ease pain of PlayStation disruption

LOS ANGELES – Sony offered disgruntled gamers a “holiday thank you” to ring in the New Year, extending PlayStation Plus memberships and offering a one-time discount after a Christmastime cyberattack left its networks offline.

The thank you includes five extra days added to a member’s subscription, Eric Lempel, vice president of Sony Network Entertainment, wrote in a blog post Thursday.

The company will also grant a one-time 10 percent total cart purchase discount for the PlayStation Store for all PlayStation Network members sometime this month.

The hacker group Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for disrupting Sony’s PlayStation network and Microsoft’s Xbox Live network on Christmas Day with attacks that overwhelmed servers.