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Facebook's ascent has investors betting on more gains

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK (Reuters) – The big selloffs in shares of social media companies last quarter following weak results seem to be brushed under the carpet this earnings season as investors focus instead on the success of Facebook Inc . Investors in the options market are betting on more gains for the stock after it reports results Wednesday. Facebook escaped the rout in social media stocks after

German regulator orders Facebook to allow pseudonyms

By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Facebook may not prevent its users from using fake names, a German privacy watchdog said on Tuesday, in the latest privacy setback for the U.S. company in Europe. The Hamburg data protection authority, which is responsible for policing Facebook in Germany, said the social network firm could not unilaterally change users’ chosen usernames to their real names, nor could it ask them for official

Banks fail to persuade regulators to dilute new buffer rules

Rules will soon be finalised forcing the world’s top banks to hold enough liquid assets to cover between 16 and 20 percent of their liabilities, after industry lobbying failed to persuade regulators to relax the plan. The Financial Stability Board (FSB) coordinates financial regulation for the Group of 20 economies and will finalize the rules by the end of September for endorsement by G20 leaders in November. The FSB wants

U.S. homeownership rate tumbles to record low in second-quarter

U.S. homeownership dropped to a record low in the second quarter as more Americans opted to rent, data showed on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted home ownership rate fell to 63.5 percent, the lowest since the government started tracking the series, the Commerce Department said. The residential rental vacancy rate fell to 6.8 percent, the lowest level since 1985, from 7.1 percent in the first quarter.

U.S. home price growth stalls in May: S&P/Case-Shiller

Denver, San Francisco, and Dallas experienced the biggest year-over-year home appreciation among the 20 cities with price increases of 10.0 percent, 9.7 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. “As home prices continue rising, they are sending more upbeat signals than other housing market indicators,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. Blitzer added price increases have settled in a 4-5 percent rate