Roland Li

U.S. existing home sales fell to 4.59 million in February, 0.9 percent below upwardly revised sales figures in January, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia produced 9.87 million barrels of crude oil per day in January, the second-highest level in three decades, according to official data released Tuesday.

Oprah Winfrey, the talk show host and tastemaker maven, has sold her full-floor penthouse at 207 East 57th Street in Manhattan for $7.9 million.

At the height of the boom, commercial banks and investors gorged themselves on real estate, building unsustainable towers of debt that finally collapsed in 2008. But with the housing market improving, they may soon return for second helpings.

The owners of the New York Mets settled a lawsuit Monday with Irving Picard, trustee for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, for $162 million, avoiding a potential costly trial.

Marubeni Corp., a large Japanese diversified trading company, is in talks to buy a 10 to 12.5 percent stake in a huge iron mine owned by Australia's Hancock Prospecting, a source told Dow Jones.

Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) jumped as much as 21 cents Thursday after the video game maker announced the release date of Diablo III, the latest release in its popular roleplaying game series.

U.S. mortgage rates rose with the improving economy, but remained near historic lows in the week ending March 15, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI), the second-largest U.S. tobacco company, said Wednesday it would eliminate 10 percent of its workforce, or around 540 workers, by the end of 2014 in order to save money and refocus its business.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(NYSE: WMT), the world's largest retailer, will allow customers to convert DVDs and Blu-ray discs to digital files starting April 16, the company said Wednesday.

One of the oldest neighborhoods in Manhattan may soon get closer to nature. SHoP Architects and mall operator Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE:HHC) unveiled an emerald proposal for the Pier 17 mall on the South Street Seaport last Thursday that will ease the historic district into the present.

The U.S. is seeking additional oil output from Saudi Arabia to fill a lack of supply arising from upcoming Iranian sanctions, but likely won't need the boost until July, when the EU plans to embargo Iranian crude oil.

New York University School of Law has purchased an Upper West Side condo at 845 West End Avenue for $3.6 million, according to city records filed Thursday. The school will use the apartment for faculty, who will rent the unit, according to Michael Orey, spokesman for NYU Law.

US Airways, the fifth-biggest U.S. airline by traffic, has registered a slew of internet domain names that suggest a merger effort with bankrupt American Airlines is imminent.

New York is the most competitive city in the world, according to a new survey by Citigroup and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Commodities traders Cargill and Glencore are both interested in acquiring Viterra, Canada's biggest grain company, according to reports, setting up a potential deal that would further consolidate the food industry.

A gradual rise in the local scene culminated on Tuesday with the release of Now, Now's second full-length album, Threads. The band, now the trio of Dalager, drummer Bradley Hale and guitarist and backup vocalist Jess Abbott, have gone from recording in basements to playing arenas (albeit as support), but the greatest challenges are ahead.

The Geneva-based trade body will uphold a ruling that Boeing got billions in dollars in unfair subsidies from the U.S. government, Reuters reported.

Leaders of China and India, two of the world's biggest economies, are responding to a decline in their nation's blistering rates of growth by focusing on virtually identical ways to stimulate bank lending and regain financial momentum.

The Canadian government blocked on Thursday an impending lockout and strike that would have paralyzed Air Canada, the country's largest airline.

The national carrier also faces a strike -- set for midnight Monday -- by mechanics, baggage handlers, cleaners and electricians.

U.S. 15-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to a new record low of 3.13 percent in the week ending March 8, according to Freddie Mac.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG), the largest U.S. mall owner, said Thursday it is acquiring a 28.7 percent interest in Klepierre, a shopping center operator based in Paris, for about $2 billion.

U.S. home prices fell 1 percent in December, a sharper decline compared to the previous month, Lender Processing Services Inc. (NYSE: LPS) said Wednesday.

Poland's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 4.5 percent Wednesday, the ninth consecutive month of no change, as inflation remained high.

The U.S. government will cut fees on federally insured mortgages and move to expand home-loan relief to military veterans, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday.

Switzerland has a message for Americans looking for tax shelter: Go home. The Swiss Parliament's lower house voted to amend a tax treaty with the U.S. Monday to make American taxpayers with Swiss accounts easier to identify.

With recorded music sales continuing to deteriorate, concerts are an increasingly crucial source of revenue for artists, who have long relied on ticket and merchandise sales for a reliable livelihood. But secondary elements of the industry – labels, promoters and secondary sellers, have sought to wrest a higher percentage of the cut. Additional fees have become the norm for online ticketing, but competition for prime shows has accelerated in the digital age.

Tesco Plc (LON:TSCO), the UK's largest retailer, said Monday it would add 20,000 local jobs over two years.