IBT Staff Reporter

The U.S. apartment vacancy rate rose to an almost 30-year high of 8 percent in the fourth quarter, and rents dropped in the biggest one-year slump in 2009, according to real estate research company Reis Inc.

Demand for U.S. mortgages held last week near six-month lows as the highest long-term borrowing costs since August stifled refinancing, a Mortgage Bankers Association survey showed on Wednesday.

Canada's housing sector is expected to remain unusually strong in the first half of the year, then trend towards a more balanced market, Royal LePage, a leading real estate broker, said on Thursday.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell more sharply than expected in November, but a surge in new factory orders offered assurance the economic recovery remained on track.

Chinese people who live in government-sponsored housing in a prosperous southern province may be evicted if caught repeatedly spitting in public, according to a draft plan.

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) is to study the impact of meat output on climate change in the light of debate about meat's contribution to greenhouse emissions, the Paris-based body said on Thursday.

Poland's state-owned utility Energa and state-controlled lignite miner Adamow inked a deal to build windfarms with a total output of 80 megawatts, Energa said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama's top domestic test this year is to cut unemployment, but his push for more spending on jobs reflects political need more than economic necessity and any new stimulus is likely to be small.

The Dow and S&P 500 edged higher on Thursday after a better-than-expected read on weekly jobless claims, a day before the release of key monthly non-farm payrolls data.

The Federal Reserve should not wait too long to exit its extraordinary support for financial markets or risk sowing the seeds of the next crisis, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said on Thursday.

The number of U.S. workers filing new jobless claims edged up by a slim 1,000 last week and a gauge of underlying labor market trends hit a nearly 16-month low, evidence the job market continues to heal.

The number of U.S. workers filing new jobless claims edged up by a slim 1,000 last week and a gauge of underlying labor market trends hit a nearly 16-month low, evidence the job market continues to heal.

The world's biggest food group Nestle (NESN.VX) said it had sufficient scale in confectionery and only expected small buys, having ruled out rivaling Kraft Foods' (KFT.N) bid for British chocolate maker Cadbury (CBRY.L).

Motorola Inc said it will sell a new inside-out Android flip-phone with a keyboard and display on the outside, and is considering joining the latest craze for tablet computing devices.

A monthly barometer of online U.S. employment demand fell in December from November amid a year-end pause in recruitment activity, a private research group said on Thursday.

MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM.N), a provider of tools and industrial services, reported a quarterly profit that edged past Street estimates by 1 cent, helped by a recovery in demand from large accounts.

The rubbish dump outside the Thai town of Mae Sot steams with rancid rotting fish and other debris, a squalid haven for hundreds of refugees from Myanmar that aid groups say could swell in size this year.

Google Inc sweetened its bid for On2 Technologies with a cash portion that boosts the deal value by 20 percent to $134 million, months after shareholders of the video compression technology company balked at the initial price.

A suicide bomber struck a crowded market in restive southeast Afghanistan on Thursday, killing nine people including a senior Afghan commander, while another blast hit a neighbouring province's governor's office.

Charles Schwab Corp , the largest U.S. online brokerage, is cutting its fees by about $4 per trade, a rare pricing change that could pressure rivals to follow suit.

Charles Schwab Corp , the largest U.S. online brokerage, said on Thursday most clients will soon pay about $4 less per equity trade, a rare pricing change it said was meant to make trading more affordable.

The security scare that shut Newark airport for hours and delayed thousands of passengers was caused by a man who slipped into a secure area to give a woman one last goodbye kiss, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Stocks were little changed on Thursday after the government said jobless claims rose slightly, with investors in a holding pattern ahead of key monthly non-farm payroll data on Friday.

GameStop Corp said on Thursday holiday season sales failed to improve from the previous year, and cut its fourth quarter profit forecast, blaming a woeful combination of a weak economy, bad weather and product shortages.

The world's leading steelmakers Arcelor Mittal (ISPA.AS) and POSCO (005490.KS) have plans for $14 billion of new investment in India, despite a history of delays in their existing projects.

Artillery shells killed at least 11 people in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday after rebels fired mortar bombs at the presidential palace and guards there returned fire, witnesses said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday he had the full support of his cabinet, labelling a call from two former ministers for a secret Labour party ballot on his future a storm in a tea cup.

Motorola Inc (MOT.N) said it will sell a new inside-out Android flip-phone with a keyboard and display on the outside, and is considering joining the latest craze for tablet computing devices.

Home buyers in much of the United States paid thousands of dollars below asking prices in November, but had less negotiating power than in October, real estate website Zillow.com said on Thursday.