Fiscal Cliff 'Plan B' Is Dead: Now What?

The defeat of his Plan B - Republicans pulled it when it became clear it would be voted down - is a big defeat for Speaker of the House John Boehner. It demonstrates definitively that there is no fiscal cliff deal that can pass the House on Republican votes alone.Boehner could not even muster the votes to pass something that would only allow tax rates on those making more than $1 million to go up.Boehner's...

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US home sales rise 2.1 percent in October

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes rose solidly in October, helped by improvement in the job market and record-low mortgage rates.The increase along with a jump in homebuilder confidence this month suggests the housing market continues to recover.The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million....

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US mortgage rates for past 52 weeks at a glance

Average U.S. mortgage rates were little changed this week, staying near their record lows.Here's a look at rates for fixed and adjustable mortgages over the past 52 week...

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US rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.41 pct.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. mortgage rates rose only slightly this week and continued to hover near record lows, a trend that has helped boost home sales and refinancing.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage edged up to 3.41 percent, from 3.37 last week. Three weeks ago, the rate touched 3.36 percent. That's the lowest level on records dating to 1971.The...

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Analysis: Mortgage demand too much for U.S. banks, who respond slowly

(Reuters) - Big U.S. banks are hiring mortgage bankers to meet a surge in demand for home loans and refinancings, but they are still struggling to process applications, which could undermine the Federal Reserve's attempts to stimulate the economy.Since the Fed announced its plan in September to buy up to $40 billion of mortgages a month, consumer mortgage rates have fallen more slowly and by less...

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New exhibition explores our love and hate of money

NEW YORK (Reuters) - How does money make you feel? Fearful, stressed, happy?U.S. financial guru Suze Orman has teamed with the producer of the popular Body Worlds exhibits for a new traveling show to look at how we relate to and understand money.Orman, media star and author of best-selling books on personal finance, described the finance-themed exhibit as "an extension of my life's work as a financial...

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Oregon Teen Loses Legs to Mystery Illness

An Oregon teen has lost both her legs to a mysterious infection, leaving doctors searching for answers.Tabitha Schulke, an 18-year-old woman who wanted to devote her future to helping others as a missionary, is now fighting for her life in the critical care unit of a Portland Hospital.The teen first started feeling ill on Thanksgiving morning, when she came down with flu-like symptoms, but in a strange...

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Relationship Ranch: Horses Help Couples Heal Broken Hearts

It's fascinating to watch a man trying to win back the love of his life by talking to a horse.Horse therapy has been used for decades to help treat people with physical disabilities or learning disorders, but now they are also being used in an unconventional form of couples counseling.Nancy Hamilton and Lottie Grimes are marriage therapists who run Relationship Ranch in Louisville, Colo. They are...

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NJ residents go home after toxic chemicals cleared

PAULSBORO, New Jersey (Reuters) - Residents of New Jersey evacuated after a freight train derailment last week spewed toxic vinyl chloride began returning home on Friday as tests of the air came back clean, a Coast Guard official said.Exactly one week after a bridge collapsed, derailing seven of the 82 Conrail freight-train cars crossing the Mantua Creek in southern New Jersey, residents who were...

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Supreme Court to hear "pay-for-delay" drug case

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether brand-name drug companies may pay money to generic drug  rivals to keep their lower-priced products off the market, a practice estimated to cost consumers and the government billions of dollars each year. The arrangements, known as "pay-for-delay" or "reverse payments," have for more than a decade vexed antitrust enforcers, including...

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