Business News - AP

WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes are expected to post a modest increase in October, reinforcing data this week that showed the real estate market is regaining its footing after a dramatic collapse.

BEIJING - Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday after more evidence that recovery in the world's biggest economy is set to be slow and bumpy.

SINGAPORE - Oil prices hovered near $76 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors mulled whether signs of a sluggish U.S. economy and weak crude demand justified a further sell-off this week.

CHICAGO - The Miles family is changing it up this year in the annual American race to make it to the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of booking plane tickets, they opted to take the 1,100-mile trip by train.

WASHINGTON - The third anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Colombia free trade pact came and went this month with the Obama administration still negotiating the fine print, Congress showing little interest and business groups frustrated by the lack of action on trade deals.

NEW YORK - A brighter economic forecast from the Federal Reserve helped the stock market pare losses that followed uninspiring reports on consumer sentiment and housing.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve doesn't expect the recovery will be strong enough to quickly drive down the jobless rate, and acknowledged its efforts to keep the rebound going could feed a new speculative bubble.

WASHINGTON - The apparent end of the recession and stabilizing financial markets have not cured the banking industry, as souring and past-due loans have reached the highest levels in 26 years, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

DETROIT - A deal for General Motors Co. to sell Saab to a specialty carmaker has collapsed, leaving the storied Swedish brand born from jets in 1947 close to extinction.

NEW YORK - Facebook has created a dual-class stock structure designed to give founder Mark Zuckerberg and other existing shareholders control over the company.

Oil prices fell to around $76 a barrel Tuesday with new data showing a slow U.S. economic recovery and consumer confidence that remains lukewarm at best.

PORTLAND, Ore. - H.J. Heinz Co.'s says its business is thriving in emerging markets but the recession continued to drag down its U.S. and European sales during the second quarter as shoppers limited spending or chose lower-priced products.

WASHINGTON - The head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday promised swift action to get dangerous products off the market, acknowledging that the agency didn't move quickly enough on a record recall of more than 2 million cribs linked to four deaths.

NEW YORK - Barnes & Noble Inc. and Borders Group Inc., the nation's two largest brick-and-mortar book sellers, both posted quarterly losses Tuesday and forecast a difficult holiday season, saying competition from discount chains and online retailers is stiffening.

WATERBURY, Vt. - Green Mountain Coffee Roasters sweetened its offer for Diedrich Coffee by $2 per share on Tuesday, matching a rival bid from Peet's Coffee & Tea.

PHILADELPHIA - A gym owner-turned-investment fund manager was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that left investors short $35 million once the fraud unraveled.

US Airways will delay delivery of 54 new Airbus jets until at least 2013 and take other steps to boost its cash reserves until travel demand rebounds.

WASHINGTON - Republicans are using everything short of forklifts to show Americans that Democratic health care legislation is an unwieldy mountain of paper. They pile it high on desks, hoist it on a shoulder trussed in sturdy rope and tell people it's longer than "War and Peace," which it isn't.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - French officers on Tuesday showed off a cutting-edge warship to a potential buyer — the Russian navy, whose pursuit of an amphibious assault capacity is frightening some neighboring countries.