Financial Watch

Sales of new homes surged 27 percent in March and orders for most durable goods climbed, indicating the U.S. economy sped up heading into the second quarter.

The gain in new-home sales was the biggest in 47 years as buyers rushed to qualify for a government tax credit and the weather improved, a Commerce Department report showed. Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years, excluding cars and aircraft, climbed 2.8 percent.

President Barack Obama on Saturday cited encouraging signs of an auto industry rebound as he promoted stronger financial rules that he said would help prevent a repeat of the crisis that pushed carmakers to the brink.

Senate Democrats have set a test vote Monday on legislation to tighten federal oversight of the financial sector.

The auto industry was one of the biggest casualties of a recession fueled by risky lending and speculative trading practices of major financial institutions. But after shedding 400,000 jobs in 2008, bailed-out U.S. automakers are rebounding.

As President Obama heads to New York City on Thursday to press for a major overhaul of financial rules, he faces stiff opposition by Wall Street to the toughest proposed regulatory crackdown since the Great Depression.

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved the final piece of the legislation: strict new oversight of the murky and unregulated market for complex financial derivatives. It is one of three significant provisions that rile Wall Street the most.

Trade finance banks are stepping up pressure on the G20 to ease regulation of the credits that keep global commerce flowing, after a new survey showed credit tightness is still hampering the flow of trade.

The survey, conducted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), shows that the supply of trade finance remains constrained both in value and volume, and that banks have cut credit lines even though almost all of them say losses in trade finance are less than in banking generally.

President Barack Obama said Thursday that the United States was doomed to repeat its economic crisis if his financial reform bid failed, warning a free market was not a license for unfettered corporate greed.

The president, in advance excerpts of a speech he was due to give later in New York, the epicenter of US high finance, sent a tough message to Wall Street financial barons, American voters and Republicans who oppose his plans.

He recalled how he had visited the historic college at Cooper Union, where he will speak on Thursday, during his 2008 election campaign to warn of the dangers of corporate excess.

U.S. Bancorp said Tuesday its first-quarter profit rose nearly 55 percent from a year ago, helped by higher revenue from its fee-based businesses and slowing consumer loan losses.

The bank also benefited from growth in traditional deposits, giving it a cheap source of money for loans.

But the Minneapolis bank still wrote off more bad loans during the quarter, and expects those write-offs to remain at a similar level this quarter as well, because of economic conditions.

Net loan charge-offs were $1.14 billion, up 2.3 percent from the fourth quarter 2009.