Sep 25, 2008 2:38 pm US/Eastern
CBS4 Your Money: New Home Sales Decline
Sales Of New Homes In The U.S. Fell In August To A 17-Year Low And Orders For Durable Goods Dropped
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The intensification of the financial crisis in recent weeks is curbing Americans' access to borrowing, making the outlook for consumer spending sluggish at best.
Overseas, the Bank of Hong Kong added a half-a-billion dollars into its financial sector after thousands of nervous customers wanted to pull their money out of from one financial institution called The Bank Of East Asia.
The bank said yesterday its exposure to bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and American International Group Inc., taken over by the U.S. government, is about $61 million, less than 0.2% of assets.
Closer to home, the U.S. Labor Department reported new requests for unemployment benefits were up to a 7-year high with 32,000 thousand new applicants.
The department also reported today that new home sales dropped to their lowest level in 17 years.
In major corporate news, General Electric announced it was lowering its earning outlook for the year.
In commodities, oil was down slightly to $104 a barrel, as gas prices around South Florida were dropping slightly to an average of about $3.79 a gallon for unleaded regular.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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