The number of people who signed contracts to buy homes fell sharply in April, hitting its lowest point since fall and renewing fears that a recovery in the housing market is far off. An index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes sank 11.6 percent last month to a reading of 81.9, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. A reading of 100 would be considered healthy. The last time the index reached at least 100 was in April 2010. That was the final month when people could qualify for a home-buying tax credit of up to $8,000. Signings are still nearly 8 percent above June’s reading of 75.9, the lowest since the housing bust.
PayPal fights Google over phone pay
Google Inc.’s ambitious plan to supplant credit cards with smartphones has thrust the Internet search leader into a legal tussle with online payment pioneer PayPal, which contends Google stole its ideas by hiring away two key executives. PayPal painted a picture of betrayal and corporate espionage in a lawsuit filed late Thursday in a California state court, just hours after the unveiling of the “Google Wallet” payment service in New York. The 28-page complaint alleges the service evolved from research that eBay Inc.’s PayPal had been working on for the past decade. PayPal fingers two central culprits in the alleged intellectual heist — one of its former executives, Osama Bedier, and former eBay executive Stephanie Tilenius. In its response Friday, Google contends it merely identified talented candidates to run its mobile payments service and then made them tempting offers.
Fiat to buy U.S. Chrysler stake
Italian automaker Fiat SpA said Friday that it will buy the Treasury’s remaining stake in Chrysler Group LLC, freeing the automaker of U.S. government ownership. The Turin, Italy-based company notified the U.S. Treasury Department that it will exercise an option to buy the government’s 6 percent stake. The price will be negotiated within 10 business days, or by around June 10. It was unclear from Fiat statement’s Friday just when the sale would happen. But Fiat is moving quickly to take a controlling stake in Chrysler, which it has run since the company left bankruptcy protection in 2009.
Some Skype users unable to sign in
Internet phone service Skype says a “small percentage” of its users have been unable to sign in to its service but it is taking steps to resolve the problem. Skype said on its website that a corruption issue on computers using Windows, Linux or Macintosh operating systems are behind the access denials. The company, which is being purchased by Microsoft Corp., said it has released a version of Skype for Windows and plans to update Skype for Mac on Friday. Linux users were told to follow instructions for a manual update. Skype said individuals on cell phones, televisions or other devices should be able to continue to sign in as normal.
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