WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in July, an industry group said on Thursday, suggesting a tax credit-related housing market decline was close to bottoming. The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in July, increased 5 ...More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was partly to blame for leaving the wrong impression that the central bank could have saved Lehman Brothers from failure in 2008. Bernanke, testifying on Thursday before a congressional commission examining the causes of the worst financial crisis in 80 years ...More
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low on Thursday and extended its liquidity safety-net in response to a lopsided recovery and worries about vulnerable banks. ECB staff also raised their growth forecasts for this year and next but ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said while ...More
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. retailers posted sales that beat modest expectations in August as consumers sought out bargains during the key back-to-school selling season. The warmest August in more than a quarter of a century also helped lift sales of what summer apparel remained on store shelves. Off-price retailer TJX ...More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fewer than a third of Americans would choose manufacturing if they were starting their careers now, according to a new survey that finds pessimism about the long-term direction of U.S. industry. The survey of public attitudes finds technology and energy are the most popular career fields ...More
(Reuters) - U.S. securities regulator is looking into a Wall Street trading practice in which unusually large numbers of orders to buy or sell stocks are placed in a fraction of a second, only to be canceled almost immediately, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The Securities and Exchange ...More
