Real Estate

Existing Home Sales in U.S. Climbed 10.1% Last Month to 6.1 Million Rate Sales of existing U.S. homes jumped 10 percent in October to the highest level since February 2007 as Americans rushed to take advantage of a tax credit, cheaper properties and lower mortgage rates.

New York to Sell $351 Million Bonds as Moody's Urges Lasting Deficit Plan New York seeks bank bids today for $351.3 million of bonds after Moody’s Investors Service said the state’s credit rating may fall if spending cuts aren’t part of plans to close a $3.2 billion budget deficit.

National Australia Bank to Consider U.K. Assets as RBS, Lloyds Plan Sales National Australia Bank Ltd. said it’s studying assets that may come up for sale in the U.K. after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc said they would sell units and branches to meet state aid rules.

Commercial Property Prices U.S. May Fall as Much as 55% From 2007 Peak Commercial real estate prices may fall as much as 55 percent from October 2007’s peak and the recovery will be slow amid rising unemployment and tepid consumer spending, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Lloyds Banking Group Will Issue as Much as $13 Billion of CoCo Securities Lloyds Banking Group Plc, the U.K.’s biggest mortgage lender, will issue about $13 billion of enhanced capital notes, new bonds designed to boost the bank’s ability to absorb losses.

Bills Yielding Zero as Stocks Soar Give Investors Bernanke Moment of 1938 For the first time in seven decades, Treasury bills are paying no interest while stocks continue to appreciate -- a divergence in U.S. financial markets that might be perilous if Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke didn’t know all about 1938.