U.S. stocks slide further on downbeat home-sales data, earnings

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:05:02 -0400
U.S. stocks slide further on downbeat home-sales data, earnings

U.S. stocks move lower for the first time in three days after data paint
a pessimistic portrait of the housing sector and automakers Ford Motor
Co. and Daimler AG offer downbeat reports.

Economic Report: Existing-home sales fall 2.6% to 10-year low

Resales of U.S. single-family homes and condos fall 2.6% in June to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million, the lowest level in 10
years, the National Association of Realtors reports.

Credit Suisse easily beats forecasts; quarterly profit off 62%

Credit Suisse posts a 62% drop in net profit for the second quarter, but
the results far exceed market expectations thanks to a strong flow of
funds into its wealth-management business as well as negligible new
write-downs.

Ford swings to $8.7 billion loss as SUVs pile up

Ford Motor Co. reports a second-quarter loss of $8.7 billion, as the
automaker's SUVs and trucks, so crucial to the bottom line, pile up in
dealerships as consumers turn to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

Qualcomm, Nokia climb after ending patent fight

Shares of both Qualcomm and Nokia rose on Thursday after the two
companies put to rest a long-running dispute over patents covering
wireless technologies.