WASHINGTON — Factory orders dropped for the second straight month in September as businesses cut back on purchases of steel, computers and other equipment amid the economic downturn, the government said. The Commerce Department said factory orders fell by 2.5 percent from August, much worse than the 0.7 percent drop analysts expected. That’s on top of a revised 4.3 percent decline in August. For the full story visit www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-econ5-2008nov05,0,6581012.story