Sales of previously occupied homes jumped unexpectedly in February by the largest amount in nearly six years as first-time buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures and other distressed properties.
With a redeveloped downtown, a busy port and renovated architectural treasures, this city has worked hard to shake its image as a struggling sister of San Francisco across the bay.
South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, hoping to keep good relations with trading partner China but instead generating a storm of criticism.
Sudan's president traveled to Eritrea Monday, choosing one of Africa's most politically isolated nations for his first trip abroad since an international court sought his arrest on charges of war crimes in Darfur.
The controversy over South Africa barring the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg later this week is a reminder that China is deeply involved in Africa.
After an unsuccessful first attempt, the Treasury Department is poised to announce Monday details of its plan to help get so-called toxic assets off of the balance sheets of the nation's largest and often most troubled financial institutions.
Investors have reignited Wall Street's rally after hearing the government's plan to help banks remove as much as $1 trillion in bad assets from their books.
Wall Street closed out its first two-week gain in almost a year Friday barely. After a mixed start, stocks veered lower in the afternoon as financial stocks fell and investors collected profits from the advance that saw the Dow rise 14 percent over seven trading days.
