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Inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.7% in September, compared with a 0.6% rise in August, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Business sales jumped 1.4% in September. As a result, the inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, decreased to 1.25 in September from 1.29 in the prior month.

U.S. consumers increased their debt in September by a seasonally adjusted $ 11.4 billion, the second straight strong gain, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday. The increase in September was stronger than the roughly $ 10 billion gain expected by Wall Street economists. The gain in August consumer credit was revised up slightly to $ 18.3 billion increase from the initial estimate of $ 18.1 billion. For the third quarter, consumer credit increased at a 4% annual rate. As in the prior month, the increase in September credit came from a jump in non-revolving debt such as auto loans, personal loans [...]

NEW YORK The number of job openings slipped slightly in September, suggesting the labor market is still recovering at a slow pace, data showed on Tuesday. Job openings – a measure of labor demand – fell to 3.56 million from 3.66 million in August, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The hiring rate also decreased to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent. (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Factory orders rebounded 4.8% in September, almost completely reversing a drop in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The gain was very close to expectations. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 4.7% rise. Orders in August were revised up slightly to a 5.1% fall from an initially reported 5.2% decline. In September, orders for non-durable goods rose 1.0%. Shipments rose 0.8% while inventories increased 0.3%. Durable goods were revised to a 9.8% gain from 9.9% reported last week. The gain in durable-orders was largely due to a rebound in bookings for commercial aircraft. Orders for non-aircraft, non-defense [...]

U.S. consumer spending rose solidly in September as households stepped up purchases on automobiles and a range of other goods, setting up a firmer base for consumption this quarter. The Commerce Department said on Monday consumer spending increased 0.8 percent after a unrevised 0.5 percent gain in August. Economists polled by Reuters had expected spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity to increase 0.6 percent in September.

A gauge of planned U.S. business spending was flat in September, a sign that heightened uncertainty is weighing on factories although new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods increased during the month. The Commerce Department said on Thursday that non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, was unchanged last month at $ 60.3 billion. That was short of economists’ expectations for a 0.7 percent gain. Many economists believe companies are holding back investments due to fears the U.S. Congress could fail to avert sharp tax hikes and spending cuts in 2013, which threaten to [...]

MADRID Spain’s biggest bank Santander on Thursday said it owned around 30 billion euros of Spanish sovereign debt at the end of September. “When it comes to public debt, exposure to Spanish sovereign debt is around 30 billion euros,” Santander Chief Executive Alfredo Saenz said during a conference call with analysts. He added the holdings had come down from 35 billion euros in the previous quarter after debt matured. Saenz also said bad loans would peak across the group towards the end of 2013. (Reporting by Sonya Dowsett and Blanca Rodriguez, writing by Julien Toyer, editing by Fiona Ortiz)

Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. rose 5.7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 389,000, the highest pace since April 2010, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported Wednesday. The sales pace in August was revised down to 368,000 from a prior estimate of 373,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected new-home sales in September to rise to an annual rate of 387,000, given recent gains in other housing-market data, such as confidence among home builders, as well as housing starts and permits. The median sales price in September declined 3.2% to $ 242,400. The supply [...]

New single-family home sales surged in September to their highest level in nearly 2-1/2 years, further evidence the housing market recovery is gaining steam. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales increased 5.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted 389,000-unit annual rate – the highest level since April 2010, when sales were boosted by a tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Though August’s sales pace was revised down to a 368,000-unit pace from the previously reported 373,000 units, the tenor of the report was relatively strong, with the median home price of a new home rising 11.7 percent from a year ago. [...]

Data on sales of new homes in September are scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. Eastern by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect sales of new single-family homes to rise to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 387,000 in September from a rate of 373,000 in August. Confidence among home builders has been increasing, and housing starts and permits have also shown recent gains. However, new home sales remain relatively low and buyers still face a tight credit environment.