U.S. housing starts and permits fell in November, but remained at levels consistent with a gradually improving housing market. Groundbreaking declined 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.028 million units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. October's starts were revised up to a pace of 1.045 million units.
North America
U.S. judge OKs Seattle artist's 'Angry Birds' lawsuit
A U.S. judge has allowed a Seattle artist's intellectual property lawsuit to go forward over her claims she was cheated out of possibly millions of dollars from the sale of "Angry Birds" pet toys she designed, her attorney said on Tuesday.
Apple wins digital music U.S. antitrust trial
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) won an antitrust trial on Tuesday when a U.S. jury decided the company did not act improperly when it restricted music purchases for iPod users to Apple's iTunes digital store.
No credible sign of plot on theaters over Sony movie: U.S. officials
Two U.S. security officials cast doubt on a threat against theaters planning to show Sony Corp's (6758.T) controversial movie about an assassination of the leader of North Korea, but police across the country vowed on Tuesday to take extra precautions.
In Canada's oil sands, a boomtown starts feeling the chill
The boomtown in the heart of Canada's oil sands region is getting nervous. Fort McMurray, surrounded by the boreal forest of northern Canada, has long drawn thousands with jobs that paid six-figure salaries to a region that produces more crude than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere.
Latest News
A U.S. government lawyer faced tough questioning in an appeals court on Monday as he sought to defend a judge's ruling that Apple Inc conspired with five publishers to raise e-book prices.
Corporate lobbyists, news organizations and academics joined forces with Microsoft Corp on Monday in the software company's legal battle with the U.S. government over access to customer data stored overseas.
Sony Pictures Entertainment advised its current and former employees to be on the alert for fraudsters looking to use their stolen data, which included detailed personal information.
U.S. manufacturing output recorded its largest increase in nine months in November as production expanded across the board, pointing to underlying strength in the economy.
Federal Reserve officials will decide this week whether to make a critical change to their policy statement that would widen the door for interest rate hikes next year and effectively bet the United States will continue to shine in a gloomy global economy.
Pet supply retailer PetSmart Inc succumbed to calls from some shareholders for a sale on Sunday with an agreement to be bought by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners Ltd for $8.7 billion, in the largest leveraged buyout of the year.
Nasdaq OMX Group announced late Friday the results of its annual re-ranking of the Nasdaq 100 index, which will cause a reshuffling of several constituents.
The U.S. Federal Reserve would give the clearest signal next week that its easy money stance is ending if, as some expect, it drops its two-year long pledge to keep interest rates close to zero for a "considerable time".
For the past 18 months, Americans from Albany to Oregon have voiced growing alarm over the rising number of oil-laden freight trains coursing through their cities, a trend they fear is endangering public safety.
