NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are lower as corporate earnings wind down. Investors are also waiting to hear what Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen has to tell Congress tomorrow and Thursday about the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Strong gains in the export of aircraft, autos and farm goods shrank the U.S. trade deficit in March. The Commerce Department says the deficit declined to $40.4 billion, down 3.6 percent from a revised February imbalance of $41.9 billion, which had been the biggest trade gap in five months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose in March, but at a slightly slower pace than in the 12 previous months. Data provider CoreLogic says prices rose 11.1 percent in March compared with March 2013. Though a sizable increase, that was down a bit from February’s 12.2 percent year-over-year increase. The slower rise indicates that weak sales are restraining the housing market’s sharp price gains.
DETROIT (AP) — Another recall from General Motors. This time it’s faulty automatic transmission shifters in about 56,214 Saturn Auras from 2007 and 2008. GM says a shift cable in the midsize cars can fracture. If that happens while the car is moving, the driver won’t be able to shift into “Park” or remove the ignition key. That increases the risk of the car rolling away unexpectedly.
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Office Depot is planning to close at least 400 U.S. stores, 150 of them this year. The company says it’s consolidating some retail locations that overlapped with OfficeMax stores. Office Depot and Office Max merged last year. All of the store closures are anticipated to occur by the end of 2016.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
