According to the latest reports, the home sales of the United States have stabilized for the month of August. This is good news because last July, home sales went down significantly. In fact, there is a 7.6 increase in home sales for the month of August compared to the previous month; this amounts to 4.13 million seasonally adjusted sales. However, compared to August of 2009, sales were down by 19 percent.
This was expected by the analysts. On the contrary, sales for the month of July were unexpected, because the analysts did not anticipate the tax credit expiration for home buyers. Because of this event, the sales for the month of July were lowest in 15 years.
In other news, the battle for the auto rental firm Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group continues as Avis strikes back against its opponent, Hertz Global Holdings. Avis increased its offer to 45.79 dollars per share from 40.75 dollars per share in its previous offer. This was announced a few weeks after Hertz and Dollar Thrifty stated that they had agreed upon a deal.
This deal was worth 1.4 billion dollars or 50 dollars per share. Avis was disappointed because of the lack of communication Dollar Thrifty was giving them.
A high school coach, Eric Cooper Sr, decided to download an app on his iPhone. This iPhone app is called the Phone Aid. Little did he know that this app would definitely come to the aid of one of his star players, and in fact one of the star center players in the entire United States high school basketball. Initially, this 1.99 dollar application that coach Cooper Sr downloaded was just his way of making his CPR skills better. He never anticipated he would put that information to good use one week later.
The most popular chip maker in the United States and arguably around the world, Intel Corp, plans to buy McAfee for 7.7 billion dollars. McAfee is one of the most popular antivirus software companies, and Intel’s acquisition of the company reveals its plans to improve its defenses against viruses and hacking. This is a move which is congruent to Intel’s desire to go further into mobile computing.
Honda Motor Corporation will join the race of the world’s biggest car manufacturing companies which are planning to create strong hybrid cars. These hybrid cars will serve as alternatives to cars which use a depleting fuel source and are contributory to global warming and therefore its harmful effects. Honda has already planned to develop a strong hybrid car which will be released in the market by 2012, much like it’s competitors.
As the much anticipated sporting event of the year, World Cup 2010 in South Africa is already in full swing. All over the world, people are excited to see their bets battle it out in the field to be on top of the competition.
The Or Tambo International Airport has been under siege from thousands of Americans taking their vacation in South Africa. These Americans came from different cities such as New York, Atlanta and Washington. Others who were not so fortunate to get direct flights arrived groggy as their connecting flights took up to 2 days to complete.
Wildlife has been vastly affected by the deadly oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In particular, pelicans are greatly troubled by the oil. Their feathers end up soaked in oil whenever they try to grab a fish. These birds were brought to the Louisiana bird rehabilitation center where they received aid from volunteers.