U.S. home prices fell in October for the 10th consecutive month, posting their largest drop since early 1991, according to a key index released Wednesday. The record 6.7 percent slide in the Standard &Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index also marked the 23rd consecutive month that prices either fell or grew more slowly than the month prior. The previous record decline was 6.3 percent, recorded in April 1991. The index tracks prices of existing single-family homes in 10 metropolitan areas. It is considered a strong measure of home prices because it examines price changes of the same property over time.
Oil prices rise amid supply fears
Oil prices jumped Wednesday on supply concerns, stoked by a new round of Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq and a growing belief that domestic oil inventories fell last week. Turkey’s military said its warplanes bombed eight suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq on Wednesday. It was the third Turkish strike inside Iraq in less than two weeks. Oil traders worry that the rebels could cut oil supplies from Iraq in retaliation.
Iran approves gas field pact
Iran and Malaysia signed a $16 billion agreement to develop two Iranian gas fields, state-run television reported Wednesday, describing the deal as the largest energy contract in Iran. Iran’s Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) and Malaysia’s SKS Ventures signed the multibillion dollar contract to develop Golshan and Ferdows gas fields in southern Iran. The contract was formally signed by Ali Vakili, director of POGC, and Mokhtar Al-Bokhari, director of SKS Ventures, in Tehran on Wednesday, according to the report.
Lobbyist boom slowing down
A decade-long boom for corporate lobbyists in Washington is showing signs of quieting, just as tougher congressional rules threaten to muffle the multibillion-dollar industry even more next year. The new rules mandate more detailed disclosure of lobbying activities, industry oversight by the Justice Department and penalties of up to $200,000 for violations. They will force corporations and trade groups to provide more precise spending records. The lobbying reforms come as corporate spending habits appear to be shifting. Since the late 1990s, total expenditures grew by about 80 percent and, in some years, at an annual clip of 12 percent, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Buffett purchase backs factories
When tycoon Warren Buffett’s investment company said on Christmas Day it would pay $4.5 billion for a 60 percent stake in industrial conglomerate Marmon Holdings Inc., he gave the U.S. industrial segment a vote of confidence. Marmon has more than 125 businesses and is owned by trusts of the Pritzker family, which developed the Hyatt Hotel chain. The company has its hands in businesses across the transportation, energy and construction markets. “(The deal) is most certainly a vote of confidence for ‘nuts and bolts’ businesses,” said Steven Kaplan of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
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