NEW YORK (AP) — Another milestone for the stock market. The S&P 500 index has briefly traded above 2,000 points for the first time, in the first hour of trading. In other trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 98 points to 17,099.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department says fewer Americans bought new homes in July. The report is evidence that the housing sector is struggling to gain traction more than five years into the economic recovery. New-home sales fell 2.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 412,000. The report also revised up the June sales rate to 422,000 from 406,000.
TOKYO (AP) — Sony’s PlayStation Network service for video games was unusable from Sunday until this afternoon, Tokyo time, after being flooded by an online attack. Separately, an American Airlines flight carrying Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley was diverted to Phoenix while the online attack was happening following a threat on Twitter.
MIAMI (AP) — Burger King is in talks to buy doughnut chain Tim Hortons and create a new holding company headquartered in Canada, a move that could shave its tax bill. Such an overseas shift, called a tax inversion, has become increasingly popular among U.S. companies and a hot political issue. Shares of Burger King and Tim Hortons both jumped before the opening bell.
BEIJING (AP) — Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing. Mugabe is hoping the long-time ally and economic giant can help the African nation’s ailing economy. Mugabe, criticized by the West for human rights violations, was welcomed with a 21-gun salute at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.
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