Oct. 28, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Xinhua world economic news summary at 0530 GMT, Oct. 28
NEW YORK -- Wall Street traded mixed Tuesday, as U.S. home prices rose for the third straight month in August while consumer confidence fell.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities climbed 1 percent from July to a reading of 144.5, another sign for a housing recovery. While prices are down 11.4 percent from August a year ago, the annual declines have slowed since February. (U.S.-Stocks)
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LONDON -- The British government has stressed the importance of Britain's social and economic relationship with the Middle East.
"Our bilateral relationship is built on Britain supporting the young people of the Middle East by investing in community sports programs to encourage young people to do more sport, remain active and lead healthy and happy lives," Ivan Lewis, British Foreign Office Minister, told the Arab British Economic Forum conference on Tuesday. (Britain-Arab-Ties)
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HOUSTON -- Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO) , the largest U. S. refiner, posted a wider-than-expected loss in the third-quarter on shrinking margins and low fuel demand.
According to an earnings statement issued Tuesday, the Texas- based company reported a loss of 489 million U.S. dollars, compared with a 1.2 billion profit at the same time last year. It is the second quarterly loss in a row for Valero. Revenue also decreased 46 percent from the year-earlier quarter to 19.49 billion dollars. (U.S.-Refiner-Loss)
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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The president of Brazil's Central Bank said Tuesday that the country's industrial production was still below the level posted before the global financial crisis.
Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said the economy had already started to return to the "same level of activity from before the crisis." (Brazil-Industry)
