Sliding sales: Sales of new homes dropped 6.8% from May to June, due largely to sliding sales in the West. New single-family homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 482,000 in the U.S. in June, the Census Bureau announced this morning. USA Today reports the decline surprised economists, who predicted a 0.9% increase to 550,000 in an Econoday survey. The price of new houses also dropped to a median $281,800, down from May’s median of $282,800. The survey also showed that May’s home sales were revised significantly downward, to 517,000, from 546,000. Read the full story.
Under review: Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced this morning the government has opened a price-gouging investigation involving five airlines that allegedly raised airfares in the Northeast after a deadly Amtrak crash in Philadelphia in May disrupted rail service. The Associated Press reports the Transportation Department released letters this morning to five airlines: Delta, American, United, Southwest and JetBlue. The department is exploring whether the price hikes violated federal regulations prohibiting airlines from engaging in unfair and deceptive practices. Read the full story.
All together now: Anthem Inc. announced this morning plans to buy Cigna Corp. in a deal valued at $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership. The deal—the biggest ever in the health insurance industry—comes three weeks after Aetna Inc. agreed to buy Humana Inc. for $37 billion and is part of an industrywide consolidation following the roll-out of President Barack Obama’s healthcare law. Antitrust authorities are expected to aggressively scrutinize how the combinations will affect competition for Medicare and individual and commercial insurance. Reuters has the full story.
