UNITED STATES

Groundbreaking for new U.S. homes jumped in August to a four-month high, a tentative sign of stability in the housing market after steep declines brought by the end of a homebuyer tax credit.

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell for the first time in three weeks, real estate website Zillow.com said on Tuesday.

Bank of America Corp said on Tuesday the pace of its mortgage modifications under the government's primary aid program to forestall foreclosures continued to slow in August.

As homeowners and real estate agents continue to whine about how long a short sale process takes, US Congressmen are planning to move a bill that would require lenders to respond within 45 days

Lennar Corp, the third-biggest homebuilder in the United States, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and a decline in orders that was less severe than Wall Street had feared.

China's top automaker SAIC Motor Corp has reached out to General Motors Co GM.UL to explore the prospect of taking a stake in the automaker when it goes public this fall, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

Europe's truckmakers anticipate profits will rebound faster than expected in 2010, thanks to emerging markets where enormous growth rates pushed aside painful memories of the industry's worst ever slump.

The United Auto Workers union will aim to ensure that its members share in General Motors GM.UL, Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Chrysler profits in contract talks next year, President Bob King said on Monday.

Senior officials from the United Auto Workers union will travel to Italy next week for a meeting with Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne and a pitch to bring jobs to the United States for its suppliers.

Top Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp said on Monday it and Baosteel will jointly build a lab to research and develop new steel products to make cars lighter.

Cyber-bullying may be even harder on the victims than physical beatings or name-calling, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Armed with a fake tan, government-funded researchers have found they can get women to cut back on sunbathing.

U.S. doctors increasingly are ditching pen and paper and sending prescriptions to pharmacies electronically, lured by up to $27 billion in government funds aimed at speeding the switch to electronic medical records.

The first genetically modified animal aimed at consumers' dinner plates faces an uncertain future following a federal advisory panel on Monday that gave a mixed assessment on whether such food -- a salmon -- is safe to eat.

U.S. inspections of overseas pharmaceutical plants would increase and regulators would gain new recall power under proposals unveiled by Democrats in the House of Representatives on Monday.

A new blood-thinning drug moved closer to U.S. approval on Monday, leading a pack of stroke-fighting medicines vying to compete in an estimated $10 billion a year market.

The bespoke black glass bottle filled with 40-year-old single malt whiskey is a pleasure to own, especially if it is a limited edition.

The first genetically modified animal could move one step closer to U.S. dinner tables on Monday, when a federal advisory panel recommends whether such food -- a salmon -- is safe to eat.

The price of gold climbed to a new all-time high of $1,284 per ounce on Monday morning, suggesting that investors are very concerned about inflation that is apparently eroding the value of paper-currencies.

A new report by the Washington-based Urban Institute Health Policy Center has said that an estimated 5 million uninsured children in the United States who were eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

We all know that sunlight can help our body generate vitamin D which a vital nutrient to ward off asthma and Parkinson's diseases later in life. A 60-year study by US researchers finds that vitamin D added to an asthma action plan may improve asthma control.