Then, in one leap, these same gender pioneers are depicted as fresh advertising meat for network executives eager to sell them "big-ticket goods and services."

And the Commerce Department reported that orders for big-ticket manufactured goods fell for the third straight month.

Orders for big-ticket durable goods bounced back in March after two consecutive months of declines, the government said yesterday.

Because women are making more of the decisions, the producers of big-ticket goods and services are increasingly trying to appeal to them.

Another report showed that factory orders for big-ticket durable goods increased 1.2 percent after two months of declines.

Orders to factories for big-ticket goods fell much less than expected in August, the Commerce Department said.

Spending on big-ticket durable goods such as cars and computers fell 5.3 percent in January.

A separate report showed that orders to factories for big-ticket goods fell 1.2 percent in February.

New orders for big-ticket durable goods rose 1.2 percent in November, to $124.7 billion, the second straight monthly rise, the Government said.

A Government report of the biggest decline in more than seven years for big-ticket manufactured goods also seemed to help settle the stock market.