WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. housing starts and permits unexpectedly fell in July, pulled down by steeper declines in multifamily units, a government report showed on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures pared gains on Tuesday after a government report showed new housing starts and permits unexpectedly fell in July.

PERTH/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australia and China struck their biggest trade deal ever on Tuesday as the world’s two most valuable listed oil companies, Exxon Mobil and PetroChina, agreed a $41 billion liquefied natural gas deal.

Mike Santoli and Liz Ann Sonders grade their measures for economic recovery.

Sexual harassment at work can take the form of flirting, invitations for drinks.

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Home Depot reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as cost cuts partly offset weak sales, and the world’s biggest home-improvement chain raised its earnings forecast for the year.

A federal subsidy designed to make health insurance more affordable for laid-off workers has led to a doubling in the number of people who have opted to continue their former employer’s coverage.The coverage, known as COBRA, allows people who leave their jobs to continue their former employer’s health coverage for up to 18 months. In the past, they were required to pay the entire premium, plus a 2% administrative fee, making COBRA unaffordable for most unemployed workers.But the economic stimulus package signed into law in February subsidizes 65% of COBRA premiums for some recipients — workers laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and the end of this year. That means the average family can continue COBRA coverage for $377 a month, vs. more than $1,000 a month without the government subsidies, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.The result has been a doubling of enrollments, according to an analysis by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm. From March through June, the…

Home Depot 2nd-quarter profit falls on closing of Expo business but beats Street, ups outlook

ROSEMEAD, Calif. — Southern California Edison says two solar-powered plants will be built east of Los Angeles to supply the utility with enough energy for 170,000 homes.

WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices dropped sharply in July, and over the past 12 months fell by the largest amount in more than six decades of record-keeping.