Despite record declines in prices, sales of new homes flattened out in August following four months of strong increases, the Commerce Department estimated today. New homes sales rose a 0.7% in August to an annual rate of 429,000 from a downwardly revised 426,000 in July, which was previously reported as coming in at 433,000. Sales dropped 3.4% from a year prior, but were up 30% from lows established in January. Through the first eight months of ‘09, sales were down 28% compared to the same period a year ago. -Marketwatch
Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) shares leaped 9.1 percent to $11.50 in premarket trading today after Unilever (NYSE: UN) agreed to acquire Sara lee’s personal care brands for $1.87 billion. Shares of Unilever slipped to $28.21. –Reuters
In IPO market news, investor appetite for initial public offerings, which had dried up in the wake of the financial crisis, is enjoying a vigorous comeback with five companies going public Thursday, marking the biggest week for IPOs in more than 18 months. Electric-car battery maker A123 Systems Inc. rose more than 50% on its first day of trading as a public company. Demand was so strong that underwriters lifted the number of shares sold by more than 50%. –The Wall Street Journal
Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) is paying claims by the families of more than 3,100 users of its Vioxx painkiller who died of heart attacks or strokes blamed on the drug, according to a law firm administering a $4.85 billion settlement fund. The fund plans to pay roughly 3,000 claims for heart attack deaths and at least 122 strokes, according to BrownGreer LLP. The company launched Vioxx in 1999 and withdrew it in 2004 when a study showed the drug doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Merck established the fund in 2007 after reserving $1.9 billion to fight 26,600 Vioxx lawsuits. -Bloomberg
Dalton Chiscolm was unhappy about Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) customer service. So, he sued the largest U.S. bank and its board in August, demanding that "1,784 billion, trillion dollars" be deposited into his account the very next day. He also demanded an additional $200,164,000, court papers show. Attempts to reach Chiscolm were unsuccessful and a Bank of America spokesman declined to comment. Judge Chin gave Chiscolm until Oct. 23 to better explain the basis for his claims, or else see his complaint dismissed. –Reuters
by Jutia Group
Filed under: 