Hundreds of millions of people who use Google’s Gmail services can now allow the search giant’s automated technology to begin filtering their e-mail. Google is offering a new “Priority Inbox” service that it says will save the average user the equivalent of a workweek every year of reading and deleting unwanted e-mail. The new feature, which Gmail users must activate, also includes a set of manual filters that can be adjusted by individual users. “For the past five to 10 years, everybody has been trying to push people out of e-mail, and our view is, why? Why not fix e-mail, and make it better?” Matt Glotzbach said.
Big banks thrive, small banks ill
U.S. banks are making money again, although a split picture of the industry has emerged since the financial crisis. The largest banks are thriving, mostly because they can borrow on the cheap and have rid themselves of bad debt. Yet smaller banks lack those advantages and are failing at the fastest pace in years. Overall, banks made $21.6 billion in net income in the April-to-June quarter, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said. It was the highest quarterly level since 2007. Banks with more than $10 billion in assets — only 1.3 percent of the industry — accounted for $19.9 billion of the total earnings. At the same time, the number of banks on the FDIC’s confidential “problem” list increased by 54 in the quarter.
Home prices rise in June for third month
Home prices rose in June for a third straight month as now-expired tax credits inspired a burst of home-buying. But prices are expected to fall through the rest of the year now that demand has faded. The Standard &Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday posted a 1 percent increase in June from May and was up 4.2 percent from a year ago. Seventeen cities showed monthly price gains. Still, the gains were weaker from the previous month in several markets, including San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. Home prices nationally were up 4.4 percent in the April-to-June quarter. That followed a decline of 2.8 percent in the January-to-March quarter.
China accused of illegal subsidy
The Obama administration, under congressional pressure to take a tough stance on Chinese trade policies, determined Tuesday that Beijing unfairly subsidized $514 million in aluminum products last year. The Commerce Department stopped short of making a stronger ruling on claims by U.S. leaders and manufacturers that an undervalued Chinese currency gives Beijing’s exporters a lopsided price advantage. The preliminary finding means that some Chinese aluminum importers must post cash deposits or bonds at a rate set by U.S. officials. It comes as the White House attempts to strike a delicate balance ahead of November congressional elections that will be dominated by the weak U.S. economy.
From Herald news services
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