On Tuesday August 24, 2010, 5:54 pm EDT
Low prices and rates can't
slow fall in home sales
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home
prices in many parts of the country scream bargain, and mortgage rates haven't
been this low for decades. So why are houses across the nation sitting on the
market for so long?
Sales of previously
occupied homes in the United States fell 27 percent in July, the weakest
showing in 15 years, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. It was
the largest monthly drop in the four decades that records have been kept.
Potential buyers are
hesitating because they think home prices still have further to fall. Potential
sellers -- those with the stomach to put their homes on the market at all,
anyway -- are reluctant to lower their prices.
Stocks drop after sharp
fall in July home sales
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks
fell for a fourth day after another disappointing report on housing deepened
worries that the economic recovery could be fading. Bonds yields fell as
investors sought out more stable investments.
The Dow Jones industrial
average lost 134 points Tuesday following news that sales of previously
occupied homes fell last month to their lowest level in 15 years. The 27
percent drop from the previous month was the biggest since record-keeping began
in 1968.
The Dow dipped briefly
below 10,000 for the first time in seven weeks and has now lost 375 points
since its four-day slump began last Thursday. The yield on the two-year
Treasury note reached another record low as cautious investors piled back into
the bond market.
US investigates gas tank
fires in Grand Cherokees
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S.
safety officials have opened an investigation into three million Jeep Grand Cherokees
over reports that problems with gas tanks could cause fires in some crashes.
The preliminary
investigation, begun Monday by the National Highway Safety Traffic
Administration, is the first step in determining whether a recall of the
popular Chrysler-made SUV is necessary. The investigation covers Grand
Cherokees in model years 1993 to 2004.
US agency steps up probe of
stalling Corolla cars
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S.
safety regulators have stepped up their investigation into complaints of
stalled engines on Toyota Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks, but government
officials stopped short of announcing a recall.
The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration upgraded its investigation last week and is
looking at two possible causes behind the stalling: Improper coating on circuit
boards and a crack in the surface of a glass coating. Both could have happened
during production of the cars.
The new probe, called an
engineering analysis, covers 1.8 million Corolla and Matrix cars from model
years 2005 to 2007.
Microsoft finally fueling
Yahoo's search engine
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
Microsoft Corp.'s technology is now processing all the search requests on Yahoo
Inc.'s website in the U.S. and Canada, completing a long-awaited leap that
creates a more formidable challenger to Google Inc. in the most lucrative part
of the online advertising market.
Tuesday's shift marks the
biggest step yet in a partnership that Microsoft and Yahoo forged 13 months ago
after spending years trying to catch up to Google on their own, only to fall
further behind.
Microsoft eventually will
fuel Yahoo's search engine throughout the world, but the transition in other
countries won't occur until next year and 2012.
Barnes & Noble posts 1Q
loss, cuts annual guidance
NEW YORK (AP) -- Barnes
& Noble Inc. posted a first-quarter loss on legal expenses related to its
proxy fight with billionaire financier Ron Burkle and cut its annual earnings
outlook on costs related to the fight.
The results missed
expectations and shares fell on Tuesday. But the struggling book seller
reported it was making inroads with its online bookstore and e-book reader
Nook. Some analysts said that was a sign of optimism as the company can make up
for falling sales in retail stores online.
The largest U.S.
traditional book seller said it lost $62.5 million, or $1.12 per share, in
quarter ending July 31. Last year during the same period it earned $12.3
million, or 21 cents per share.
Burger King 4Q net income
falls 17 pct; sales slip
CHICAGO (AP) -- Burger King
Holdings Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income fell nearly 17 percent as sales
slipped and costs for ingredients and packaging climbed.
The fast-food chain said
Tuesday that it earned $49 million, or 36 cents per share during the period
that ended in late June. That compares to last year's net income of $58.9
million, or 43 cents per share.
The company also got a
smaller tax benefit than last year.
Revenue slipped 1 percent
to $623 million.
Johnson & Johnson gets
FDA warning on marketing
TRENTON, NJ. (AP) -- A
Johnson & Johnson business that makes joint replacements has been warned by
the Food and Drug Administration that it is illegally marketing two products.
The FDA notified Johnson
& Johnson's DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. that it is selling one product that was
never approved for sale and is selling another product for uses that have not
been specifically approved.
In a letter to the company,
the FDA wrote that DePuy is marketing its Corail Hip System for two unapproved
uses, and promoting those uses in an online brochure.
LyondellBasell ending Iran
operations
WASHINGTON (AP) --
LyondellBasell Industries NV will terminate all its operations in Iran, a
country long subject to U.S. government sanctions where the big European-based
plastics maker has had some non-U.S. subsidiaries doing business.
The company also will cease
all business with Syria and Sudan, where it had more limited operations, David
Harpole, a LyondellBasell spokesman in Houston, said Tuesday.
President Barack Obama
signed a bill last month imposing tough new sanctions against Iran over its
alleged nuclear weapons program. Penalties against companies violating the
sanctions could follow.
By The Associated Press
The Dow Jones industrial
average fell 133.96, or 1.3 percent, to 10,040.45. The Standard & Poor's
500 index fell 15.49, or 1.5 percent, to 1,051.87, while the Nasdaq fell 35.87,
or 1.7 percent, to 2,123.76.
Benchmark crude for October
delivery fell $1.47 to settle at $71.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. The price of oil has retreated about 13 percent in the past three
weeks.
In other Nymex trading,
heating oil fell 1.97 cents to settle at $1.9357 a gallon, gasoline dropped
3.16 cents to settle at $1.8494 a gallon and natural gas lost 2.7 cents to
settle at $4.039 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, crude oil fell
$1.24 to settle at $72.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.