MEDIA
Ailes to Run News Corp. Stations
News Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. media company, gave Fox News Channel Chairman Roger Ailes control of its 35 television stations, filling a job that will be vacated by Lachlan Murdoch when he leaves at the end of the month.
Ailes, left, will report to both News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin, the New York-based company said in a statement. As head of Fox News since it was created nine years ago, Ailes took the start-up to become the top-rated news network on cable.
Lachlan Murdoch had overseen the stations as deputy chief operating officer. The company announced on July 29 that Lachlan planned to resign and move with his wife and son to Australia.
HOUSING
2nd-Quarter Home Sales Robust
U.S. median home prices increased 13.6 percent in the second quarter, compared with the corresponding period a year ago, the fastest rate of increase in more than 25 years, the National Association of Realtors said in a report.
The median price of an existing single-family home rose to $208,500, from $183,500, the report said. Sales of existing houses and condominiums gained 4.6 percent, to an annualized pace of 7.22 million units, the highest ever.
Single-family houses in the metropolitan New York area rose 18 percent, to a median price of $452,700, and the metropolitan Washington area gained 26 percent, $429,200, the report said.
EARNINGS
Lowe's Gains on Housing Market
Home-improvement retailer Lowe's, buoyed by the nation's expanding housing market, said second-quarter profit rose 20 percent from the corresponding quarter a year earlier, to $838 million. Revenue for the three months ended July 29 rose 17 percent, to $11.93 billion.
LEGAL
Eavesdropping Scheme Alleged
U.S. officials filed criminal charges and civil lawsuits against former Citigroup, Lehman Brothers Holdings and Merrill Lynch brokers, claiming they allowed a day trader to eavesdrop on conversations with institutional clients. John J. Amore, 42, former chief executive of the A.B. Watley Group, paid the brokers to give him access to the firms' "squawk boxes," internal intercom systems used to communicate buy and sell orders, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Amore then took positions in anticipation of market movements that followed the trades.
