U.S. housing starts rise for a third month

June 20, 2012 at 12:55AM

U.S. housing starts rise for a third month Builders broke ground on more single-family houses for a third consecutive month in May and rising construction permits pointed to further gains, showing the residential real estate market is weathering the U.S. economic slowdown. Work began on 516,000 one-family houses at an annual rate last month, up 3.2 percent from April and the most this year, the Commerce Department reported. A slump in construction of apartments, which is often volatile, led to an unexpected drop in total housing starts.

Walgreen to buy stake in European drug chain The U.S. drugstore chain Walgreen Co. has agreed to buy a 45 percent stake in Alliance Boots, the European pharmacy retailer, for $6.7 billion, in a deal that will allow both companies to extend their global reach. Walgreen, which could gain full control of the company by 2015, can take advantage of Alliance Boots' operations across Europe and in several emerging markets. Alliance Boots gets a foothold in the United States, long part of its strategic vision. The deal will create one of the world's largest drugstore and pharmacy retailers, with more than 11,000 stores in 12 countries.

Spain's borrowing costs spiral out of control Spain's cost of borrowing continued to rise to levels that are unsustainable in the long term, reflecting heightened fears that the country will eventually need a bailout that Europe may not be able to afford. In an auction of short-term debt, the Spanish treasury had to pay interest of 5.074 percent to attract buyers. That compared with a yield of 2.985 percent, itself a lofty level, only a month earlier. And it came after Spain's 10-year bond on Monday reached its highest interest rate since the creation of the euro.

Ryanair again tries to buy Ireland's Aer Lingus Ryanair Holdings PLC, Europe's biggest discount airline, said it will renew attempts to purchase Aer Lingus PLC with a bid valuing its Irish rival at 694 million euros ($883 million). Ryanair intends to make an all-cash offer of 1.30 euros per share, the Dublin-based company said. The discount carrier already holds a 29.8 percent stake acquired in 2006 and 2007. Ryanair has been blocked from taking control of Aer Lingus in the past by antitrust rulings.

Airline satisfaction rises, but it's still low Although there's still room to improve, major airlines are doing a better job of satisfying their passengers this year, according to a report. Still, airlines remain among the bottom three of 47 industries measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, or ACSI, despite rising 3 percent in 2012 to 67 points on a 100-point scale. Air travel remains plagued by low passenger satisfaction, rising airfares, ancillary fees and poor customer service, results of the ACSI June report showed.

Fortress is lead bidder for ResCap business Fortress Investment Group was named lead bidder for the mortgage business of bankrupt Residential Capital, beating out Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the holding company run by billionaire Warren Buffett. Fortress increased its original offer of $2.4 billion by $125 million, topping Berkshire Hathaway's bid, a ResCap attorney told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn in New York. Glenn approved Fortress' Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. as the so-called stalking horse for the auction of ResCap's loan origination and servicing business.

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