_Economy and Finance

Foreclosures fall in most U.S. cities By Les Christie July 28, 2011: 8:46 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Foreclosures declined in more than 84% of U.S. metro areas during the first half of the year, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties.

Related News: Bloomberg, Real Estate, US, Economy Existing Home Sales in U.S. Rose 2.4% in June By Bob Willis - Jul 28, 2011 11:28 PM GMT+0900 The number of contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly rose in June as buyers tried to take advantage of lower prices and borrowing costs.

This isn't 2008 again. Or is it? By Paul R. La Monica July 28, 2011: 2:00 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Call it stubbornness , willful ignorance or what have you. But many market experts still don't think that the current debt ceiling crisis is anything remotely as scary as the summer and fall of 2008.

MARKETS JULY 28, 2011 Warnings Feed Europe Debt Fears Germany's Finance Minister Says Crisis Isn't Over; Credit Ratings on Cyprus and Greece Downgraded By GEOFFREY T. SMITH And TERENCE ROTH LONDON—Sober warnings that the European debt crisis didn't end with last week's summit of European Union leaders reignited concerns of contagion risks on Wednesday, boosting borrowing costs for high-debt governments and pressuring the euro.

RECOVERY AT RISK Economy still stuck in the mud By Annalyn Censky @CNNMoney July 28, 2011: 5:25 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Despite a pick-up in growth at the end of last year, the economy has taken a hard turn for the worse in the last few months.

German Consumer Prices: Unexpectedly strong inflation pressures A higher than expected reading on German consumer price inflation is another indication that underlying price pressures in Germany are rising.

A one-notch downgrade would not cause forced selling of USTs. Still, there could be a re-pricing, with UST rates rising by 25bp or more in long maturities