Business Today: Stock futures add to gains after housing, claims data

		Click to View in Browser 01/17/2013 Stock futures add to gains after housing, claims data NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures added to gains after data showed initial jobless claims fell to a five-year low last week and housing starts climbed to their highest rate since June 2008. Jobless claims drop to five-year low WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits tumbled to a five-year low last week, a hopeful sign for the sluggish labor market. Housing starts climb to highest rate since June 2008 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Groundbreaking to build new homes accelerated in December to its fastest pace in over four years, supporting the view that housing is poised to provide a substantial boost to the U.S. economy. Most Boeing Dreamliners grounded for battery checks TOKYO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Airlines scrambled on Thursday to rearrange flights as Europe, Japan, Qatar and India joined the United States in grounding Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner passenger jets while battery-related problems are investigated. Citigroup profit hit by more than $2 billion in charges NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc posted $2.32 billion of charges for layoffs and lawsuits in the first financial report under its new chief executive, Michael Corbat, who cautioned that the bank needs more time to deal with the problems it faces. Bank of America fourth-quarter profit falls after mortgage-related charges (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp on Thursday reported its fourth-quarter profit fell from a year ago as it took more charges to clean up mortgage-related problems stemming from the financial crisis. UnitedHealth fourth-quarter revenue rises as costs kept in check (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc , the largest U.S. health insurer, said on Thursday it kept fourth-quarter costs under control and increased revenue by more than 11 percent, helping earnings per share to rise. Boeing overtakes Airbus in annual sales race TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - Boeing re-captured the crown as the world's largest maker of passenger jets last year, overtaking Airbus for the first time in a decade as it recovered from delays on its new Dreamliner 787, only to face new problems on Thursday with the grounding of 787s over battery safety concerns. Analysis: U.S. ports' drive to control costs leads to labor strife (Reuters) - When Charles Spencer became a crane operator at the Jacksonville Port Authority in Florida in 1971, it took at least a day for 200 dockworkers to unload 160-pound sacks of coffee from a cargo ship. Rio Tinto CEO pays price of calamitous acquisitions LONDON (Reuters) - Rio Tinto sacked chief executive Tom Albanese on Thursday and revealed a $14 billion writedown in connection with his two most significant acquisitions, the Alcan aluminium group and Mozambican coal. Related Video Market Pulse: What's Moving Today and Why U.S. Morning Call: FAA grounds Dreamliners indefinitely Economic News Jobless claims drop to five-year low Housing starts climb to highest rate since June 2008 A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend