Home sales

Contracts to purchase previously owned US homes neared a two-year high in January, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday.

Greece cut

Standard & Poor’s cut the credit rating of Greece to “selective default” after banks agreed to write off more than half of their Greek debt holdings in a second EU bailout of the country.

Oil retreats

US April crude fell $1.21 to settle at $108.56 a barrel and slipped to $107.27 in post-settlement trading.

HSBC warns

HSBC said that it will likely face criminal or civil charges from an expanding probe into its ties to allegedly illegal money transactions.

AOL exit

AOL Chief Technology Officer Alex Gounares, whom the Internet company hired away from Microsoft in 2010, is stepping down.

Java hearing

Kraft said that it expects an arbitration proceeding with Starbucks to begin July 11 in Chicago. Kraft is seeking compensation after Starbucks ended a long-term partnership and took control of its packaged-coffee business.