LONDON, England - June 23, 2010 - Copper fell on Wednesday as the dollar rose and U.S. data showed that sales of new homes in the world's largest economy had fallen by more than expected to a record low.

Copper CMCU3 for three months delivery on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6,520 a tonne. The metal, widely seen as a gauge of economic growth, closed at $6,610 on Tuesday.

NEW YORK - June 24, 2010 - Deutsche Bank has a new and improved index of U.S. financial conditions, and this index just slumped back towards the lows of our recent crisis.

SACRAMENTO, Kalifornia - June 24, 2010 - Kalifornia welfare recipients are able to use state-issued debit cards to withdraw cash on gaming floors in more than half of the casinos in the state, a Los Angeles Times review of records found.

The cards, provided by the Department of Social Services to help recipients feed and clothe their families, work in automated teller machines at 32 of 58 tribal casinos and 47 of 90 state-licensed poker rooms, the review found.

WASHINGTON - June 24, 2010 - Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level on record, giving consumers added incentive to lock in low payments for home purchases and refinanced loans.

The average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69%, from 4.75% last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.

MAYWOOD, Kalifornia - June 23, 2010 - Economic hard times are causing many municipalities to look for ways to reduce their payrolls, but none has taken it as far as the town of Maywood, Kalifornia.

On Monday night, the Maywood City Council voted unanimously to fire all 100 city employees and contract out most services, including record-keeping, street maintenance, and parks and recreation, to the neighboring town of Bell.

WASHINGTON - June 23, 2010 - Sales of previously built homes dropped in May after huge gains the previous two months, a sign that the federal tax credit that helped energize sales at the start of the selling season has sputtered out sooner than expected.

NEW YORK - June 23, 2010 - The news that new home sales plunged by 33% in May - to the lowest level on records dating back to 1963 - was disturbing for homeowners. But that is also bad news for taxpayers, because the government mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain mired in a swamp of shaky loans that taxpayers may get the bill for.