COMPANIES

U.S. mortgage rates moved still lower in the past week, nearing a record low set in early December, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Honda Motor Co was forced to shut all four of its Chinese auto assembly plants after workers at its parts factory in southern China walked off the job, demanding a wage hike

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp and Germany's Daimler AG plan extensive cooperation in the field of fuel cells for electric cars,

Germany's Economics Minister warned on Tuesday a decision over state aid for Opel, affecting thousands of jobs, could take until early June

The European community is going through a period of market turmoil, but is unlikely to plunge into a double dip recession, Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan Motor Co and Renault said on Tuesday.

Honda Motor Co is interested to develop electric car batteries in China to tap the country's technology and vast resources.

Sales of newly built single-family homes rose faster than expected in April to their highest level in nearly two years, government data showed on Wednesday, as buyers signed contracts to benefit from a popular government tax credit.

U.S. mortgage applications to refinance home loans jumped to a seven month high last week as rates neared record lows, but purchase demand remained stuck at a 13-year low.

Single-family home prices were unchanged in March from February, but fell in the first quarter under renewed pressure before federal aid for buyers faded away, Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes showed on Tuesday.

The default rate for commercial mortgages held by banks in the first quarter hit its highest level since at least 1992 and is expected to surpass that by year-end and peak in 2011, according to a study by Real Capital Analytics.

The U.S. thrift industry reported its third consecutive quarter of profit, earning $1.82 billion during the first three months of the year.

Located on 40 acres of high-grass prairie in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, and surrounded by more than a hundred acres of meadows, woods, and open fields, the Jackson Meadow residential community.

Financing for U.S. housing still lacks private capital, a sign of a very sick system, said David Stevens, Federal Housing Administration commissioner, told a Mortgage Bankers Association convention on Monday.

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said on Monday the U.S. government-controlled mortgage finance giants will launch a standardized method for lenders to submit information on mortgages, including appraisals, by next year.

Rio Tinto says the super-tax is likely to impact adversely on the investment climate in Australia

Sales of previously owned homes rose more than expected in April to a five-month high as buyers rushed to close contracts before the expiry of a homebuyer tax credit.

House prices will manage a small gain in 2010 after the worst crash since the Great Depression but gains in coming years are likely to come slowly, a Reuters poll found.

Home sales in the nine-county San Francisco region continued to shift toward its more expensive markets in April, reducing overall sales and lifting the area's median sales price from year-earlier levels, a report by MDA DataQuick said on Thursday.

U.S. consumers are less interested in buying a foreclosed home than they were a year ago, which could slow a housing market rebound as banks prepare to sell a record number of repossessed properties, according to a survey released on Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp remains confident that its electronic throttles are sound and not behind instances of unintended acceleration that led to huge recalls, federal investigations, and lawsuits, the company's U.S. sales president said on Wednesday.

One in every seven U.S. households with a mortgage ended the first quarter behind on payments or in foreclosure, although a peak in unemployment could mean repayment stress is easing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

New York's wealthy are returning to summer beach retreats in the nearby Hamptons, but the global financial crisis has subdued their tastes and left people wary of flashing cash, real estate experts say.

Mortgage applications declined 27.1 percent last week compared to the previous week, on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.

Toyota Motor Corp, the world's biggest automaker, said it plans to recall four models of its Lexus luxury car in Japan due to steering problems, its latest move in a series of massive recalls.

The chief executive of Rolls-Royce has sold around half of his personal shareholding in the company, ahead of an expected hike in capital gains tax in next month's emergency Budget.

Authorities are investigating after four suspicious packages were sent to Toyota Motor Corp U.S. facilities in the past week that were later found not to contain threatening materials.

Mexican auto supplier Metalsa SA de CV said on Tuesday it is not engaged in talks with Tata Motors Ltd about making Tata vehicles in Mexico.

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Home sales in Southern California in April ticked down from a year earlier while the region's median home price jumped more than 15 percent over the same time as the area's housing market marked more small steps toward recovery.