News to You
Housing starts and building permits in August rose to their highest levels in nine months, but the gains were led by multifamily and apartment construction. Housing starts for single-family homes fell 3 percent. Click here to view the official report The Census Bureau. Even with the recent positive news about housing, investors should not ignore that fact that other housing fundamentals are still showing weakness in the overall sector.
Video -- Housing Starts Highest in 9 Months
The Twitter story just keeps getting more outrageous. The micro-blogging site has been growing in popularity every month. Your friends, co-workers, and even grandmother are sending tweets on a daily basis. According to reports, Twitter is apparently worth a lot more than people previously thought. Apparently the company has raised around $50 million in a funding round that values the start-up at $1 billion. Is the company really worth this amount of money?
American Airlines (AMR), the world's second-largest carrier , is trying to flex its muscle power. The airline has raised $2.9 billion in cash and financing for the expansion of four U.S. hubs. Despite the burst of financing, the company is still planning to eliminate some flights .
It may not seem like it, but Americans are actually $2 trillion wealthier . US households' net worth rose by $2 trillion to $53.1 trillion in the second quarter, the first increase since before the recession began in 2007.
Shares of Oracle (ORCL) took a hit after the software maker reported that fiscal first-quarter sales fell below Wall Street's expectations.
Oracle: Too Bullish On Sun Deal?
There's some more trouble brewing between eBay (EBAY) and the founders of Skype. Joltid, which is owned by Skype's founders, filed a copyright suit against the internet telephone service. Can't we all just get along?
Today, the Department of Labor released their latest read of Joblessness showing seasonally adjusted "initial" unemployment claims declined by 12,000 last week.
Jobless Claims: There is Still a Continuing Glitch
Fedex (FDX) said that business is picking back up. Unfortunately, that uptick wasn't able to pull first-quarter earnings back into the green. The shipping giant saw a 53 percent decline in profits during the first quarter. The company is expecting profits to increase next year, so it raised its outlook.
Other Juicy Tidbits
Anyone hoping to buy Bernard Madoff's Long Island beach house has probably missed the chance. A buyer has signed a contract for Bernard Madoff's Long Island beach house for more than its $8.75 million asking price.
What's Changed Since Lehman's Collapse? -- This week we marked the first anniversary of one of the more monumental financial events in recent history. What's different? What's still the same?
Obama's Presidency Isn't Too Big to Fail
Financial Innovation Under Fire -- Leave it to Wall Street to give innovation a bad name. Is there a way to protect consumers and still be creative?
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