Newsletter BOX: Before the Bell: Like Home Depot, Lowe's benefits from housing rebound

08/21/2013

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Like Home Depot, Lowe's benefits from housing rebound

(Reuters) - Lowe's Cos Inc reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit and sales as the housing market's recovery encouraged Americans to spend more on their homes, prompting the No. 2 home improvement chain to boost its fiscal-year outlook.

Wall Street to dip at open ahead of Fed minutes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were set to dip at the open on Wednesday as investor caution prevailed ahead of the publication of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting.

U.S. mortgage applications fall as rates push higher: MBA

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home loans fell for a second straight week and higher interest rates reduced refinancing activity, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

America Movil secures financing to buy KPN

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Mexican telecoms group America Movil said it has put in place financing to buy the rest of Dutch group KPN even though its offer may be too late to influence the sale of KPN's German unit in October.

Staples cuts outlook after weak results abroad

(Reuters) - Staples Inc reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday on dismal sales in international markets such as Europe and Australia, prompting the largest U.S. office supply retailer to cut its outlook for the year.

ECB in Athens as third-bailout talk heats up

ATHENS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank was checking up on how well Greece is meeting its international bailout obligations on Wednesday, a day after Germany's finance minister said a third aid program would be needed to keep Athens afloat.

Justice Department planning new action against financial firms: report

(Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is preparing to announce new cases related to the economic meltdown in the coming months as the Justice Department nears decisions on a number of probes involving large financial firms, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Exclusive: Tough-talking China pricing regulator sought confessions from foreign firms

BEIJING (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official put pressure on around 30 foreign firms including General Electric and Siemens at a recent meeting to confess to any antitrust violations and warned them against using external lawyers to fight accusations from regulators, sources said.

Target sees year profit near low end of view on cautious shoppers

(Reuters) - Target Corp warned on Wednesday its annual profit was likely to be near the low end of its forecast as it anticipates continued cautious consumer spending, the latest retailer to signal U.S. shoppers were holding back.

Leverage crackdown puts spotlight on Credit Agricole, Deutsche

PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A regulatory crackdown on debt could hit Deutsche Bank harder than expected and embroil Credit Agricole despite the French bank's insistence that its ownership structure reinforces its capital defenses.