Business News

Tax credit gives home sales best boost in decade

In this Nov. 17, 2009 photo, A 'sold' sign is seen outside a home in Los Angeles. October home sales are up 10.1 percent, beating expectations, as tax credit spurs sales. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Enlarge Photo
AP
AP - Mon Nov 23, 6:32 PM ET

WASHINGTON - First-time buyers taking advantage of a special tax credit gave sales of existing homes in October their biggest surge in a decade, raising hopes for a turnaround in the housing market and pleasing Wall Street.

Economy News

  • U.S. cities grapple for new jobs in economic upswing Reuters - 8 minutes ago

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a depressed neighborhood in the City of Angels, hundreds of good jobs appeared to fall from the sky last week.

  • Fed asks U.S. banks to submit TARP repayment plans: report Reuters - 40 minutes ago

    (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve this month asked nine banks that were part of "stress tests" conducted earlier this year to submit plans to repay money injected under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the situation.

  • Goodbye jobs, hello mom and dad, say young adults AP - 1 hour, 14 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON - Faced with limited job options, many young adults are turning to an old standby to weather the recession: moving back in with mom and dad.

Stock Markets News

  • Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, participates in a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York in this file image from September 23, 2009. "Bonus" has become a dirty word on Wall Street, prompting image consultants to advise the biggest financial firms to use euphemisms that carry less stigma as the season of lavish payouts approaches. A look at Goldman Sachs' quarterly filings with regulators reveals that the term "discretionary bonuses" has been replaced with "discretionary compensation" in the past nine months. Picture taken September 23, 2009. REUTERS/Chip East/Files (UNITED STATES POLITICS BUSINESS)
    Asia markets lower amid China warning to banks AP - 14 minutes ago

    BANGKOK - Asian stock markets were mostly lower Tuesday despite gains on Wall Street as China's warning to banks to control lending dragged down financial stocks in Hong Kong.

  • A HP Invent logo is pictured in front of Hewlett-Packard international offices in Meyrin near Geneva August 4, 2009. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
    HP triples stock buyback plan, profit up 14 percent Reuters - Mon Nov 23, 7:36 PM ET

    SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co tripled the size of its share repurchase program to $12 billion as China sales and better profit margins on its services boosted quarterly earnings.

  • How the major stock indexes fared on Monday AP - Mon Nov 23, 6:04 PM ET

    The stock market ended a three-day losing streak Monday, closing broadly higher as a weaker dollar and upbeat home sales numbers encouraged investors to take on more risk.

Earnings News

  • FILE - In this March 8, 2009 file photo, the Hewlett-Packard Co. facility in Palo Alto, Calif., is shown. Hewlett-Packard Co. releases quarterly earnings after the market close Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
    HP profit jumps on cost cuts, new market expansion AP - 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

    SAN FRANCISCO - Hewlett-Packard Co.'s cost-cutting and push into new markets is helping soften the blow from weakness in the company's mainstay businesses.

  • Brocade 4Q profit drops on costs; backs guidance AP - Mon Nov 23, 9:33 PM ET

    SAN JOSE, Calif. - Networking gear maker Brocade Communications Systems Inc. said Monday its fourth-quarter profit fell 6 percent as hefty costs offset a surge in revenue, but reiterated its guidance for fiscal 2010.

  • Valspar fiscal 4th-quarter profit climbs AP - Mon Nov 23, 6:15 PM ET

    MINNEAPOLIS - Paint and coatings maker Valspar Corp. said Monday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit climbed as the company trimmed the cost of sales and research and development expenses.

Industries

  • GM sues over millions spent on steering repairs AP - Mon Nov 23, 4:29 PM ET

    DETROIT - General Motors Co. has sued a supplier, saying it has spent more than $30 million fixing problems in the steering systems of the Chevrolet Cobalt, its best-selling small car, and other vehicles.

  • A car drives past a sign pointing the way to Opel's plant in the western German city of Bochum on November 4. European governments pulled back on Monday from a subsidy war feared by EU commission officials as US auto maker General Motors prepares severe job cuts in Europe.(AFP/DDP/File/Volker Hartmann)
    EU governments pull back from Opel subsidy war AFP - Mon Nov 23, 3:23 PM ET

    BRUSSELS (AFP) - European governments pulled back on Monday from a subsidy war feared by EU commission officials as US auto maker General Motors prepares severe job cuts in Europe.

  • Valeant Pharma begins selling generic IBS drug AP - Mon Nov 23, 3:46 PM ET

    ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - Valeant Pharmaceuticals said Monday it began selling a generic version of Librax, a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome drug.

Opinion

  • Health Care: GE Gets Radical BusinessWeek - Mon Nov 23, 8:08 AM ET

    It's been a hard year to work at General Electric . Salary freezes have hit its famously performance-driven employees, with some managers taking pay cuts. The price of GE stock, which once made millionaires out of even hourly workers, has gone nowhere as the rest of the market has risen. A 68% dividend cut -- the first in 71 years -- has stung execs who rely on a heavy dose of restricted shares.

  • Warming Signs in U.K. Commercial Property BusinessWeek - Fri Nov 20, 8:08 AM ET

    About a year ago, observers of the UK commercial property market would not have been shocked to see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding around the corner.

  • Zigzagging to Business School BusinessWeek - Fri Nov 20, 8:08 AM ET

    I am not your typical MBA student. I chuckle thinking about the havoc I will wreak on the incoming class pie charts that the admissions office will prepare at the Georgetown McDonough School of Business (McDonough Full-Time MBA School Profile), where I will start this fall. How will they categorize a gay Bosnian Muslim refugee, a former chemist who writes about sexuality in Islam while counseling college students?

Most Popular Business News

  • In this Nov. 17, 2009 photo, A 'sold' sign is seen outside a home in Los Angeles. October home sales are up 10.1 percent, beating expectations, as tax credit spurs sales. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
    October home sales rise 10.1 pct from September AP - Mon Nov 23, 4:18 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

  • The Mistral French amphibious assault ship/helicopter carrier/hospital ship docks on the Neva River in downtown St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, with one of the city landmarks, St. Isaac's Cathedral, in the background. Russia is planning to buy a Mistral-class ship worth 400-500 million euros (around $600-$750 million) from France. Russian Navy and defense industry experts are expected to inspect the ship during the visit. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
    France shows off cutting-edge navy ship in Russia AP - Mon Nov 23, 9:50 AM ET

    ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - A cutting-edge French warship sailed into St. Petersburg Monday to show off its capabilities to potential buyers in the Russian navy, whose pursuit of an amphibious assault capacity is frightening some neighboring countries.

  • A home is seen for sale in the Washington suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland, October 27, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Bourg
    U.S. existing home sales pace highest in 2-1/2 yrs Reuters - Mon Nov 23, 11:51 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in October at a faster-than-expected pace to the highest in more than 2-1/2 years as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit, a survey showed on Monday.