Morning roundup: U.S. housing bounces back; HP cuts 27,000 workers, Buffett’s Goldman deal

We’re committed to keeping you and your clients up-to-date with global industry news. Every morning, we offer articles from around the web. Here are some selections:

U.S. housing bounces back

First glimmers of recovery in U.S. housing markets emerged this week. Yesterday, existing home sales were reported increasing in the previous month; and major homebuilder Toll Brothers’ quarterly report shows rising orders and profits ahead of analyst expectations.

Market watchers are eying housing closely as its recovery is expected to spark improvements in other sectors of the economy. Those improvements arrive too late for HP, which says it will lay off 27,000 workers – the largest onetime staff cut in the company’s history.

Buffett’s Goldman buy

Omaha’s oracle came up in testimony at the trial of key Goldman executive Rajat Gupta. Questions were raised in court to Byron Trott, a former key dealmaker at the firm who brokered Warren Buffett’s $5 billion investment in bank stock during September 2008.

Euro leaders deadlocked

Meeting in Brussels failed to conjure any concrete plans for bolstering Europe’s teetering economy. France’s new president proffered a growth agenda, but Germany’s PM stood pat. The inaction has pundits increasing the shrill nature of calls for the breakup of the Eurozone.

Facebook fiasco

Irregularities in the Facebook IPO will garner attention of U.S. regulators for the foreseeable future. Watchdogs are combing through disclosure documents to see how they match up against pre-IPO hype and are probing Morgan Stanley’s role in the matter.

Enjoy your day, The Editors

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.