WASHINGTON — U.S. builders stepped up home construction in May and applied for permits to build single-family homes at the fastest pace in five years. The gains show housing remains a key source of growth for the economy. The overall pace of homes started rose 6.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate [...]

NEW YORK — Todd Bradley, the head of Hewlett-Packard Co.’s printing and personal computer business, has been appointed to a new position in charge of the company’s strategy with a focus on China, the company said Tuesday. HP said Bradley, 54, will be in charge of strategic growth initiatives and will work with CEO Meg Whitman to [...]

SACRAMENTO — Aetna Inc. will stop selling individual health insurance policies in California next month, just weeks after opting out of the exchange that is being established as part of the national health care reforms, a state regulator said Tuesday. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said he was disappointed in Aetna’s decision because consumers need more choices. The decision [...]

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices rose slightly last month, as higher energy costs partly offset cheaper food. The small increase is further evidence that consumers are benefiting from mild inflation. The consumer price index ticked up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in May from April, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Over the past 12 months, [...]

NEW YORK — It’s all about the Fed. Still. U.S. stocks moved higher Tuesday, helped by news of a pickup in home building and low inflation. But the Federal Reserve loomed large, with investors trying to guess what the central bank will say Wednesday about how long it plans to keep stimulus programs in place. [...]

NEW YORK — Starbucks has a new way to wake up its customers: showing the calories in its drinks. The Seattle-based coffee chain says it will start posting calorie counts on menu boards nationwide next week, ahead of a federal regulation that would require it to do so. Calorie counts on menus are already required [...]

WASHINGTON — What the world hopes to hear Wednesday from the Federal Reserve can be summed up in one word: clarity. Chairman Ben Bernanke will be pressed to settle the wave of confusion and speculation that’s consumed investors since he spoke to Congress last month about the Fed’s drive to keep long-term interest rates at [...]

DETROIT — Chrysler abruptly agreed to recall 2.7 million older model Jeeps Tuesday, reversing a defiant stance and avoiding a possible public relations nightmare over fuel tanks that can rupture and cause fires in rear-end collisions. In deciding on the recall, Chrysler sidestepped a showdown with government safety regulators that could have led to public [...]

ALEX VEIGA,AP Business Writer Even with low interest rates that make buying a car more affordable, many consumers are leasing a new car or truck instead. New vehicle leasing climbed in the first three months of 2013 to the highest level in seven years, according to Experian Automotive, a unit of credit data tracker Experian. [...]

SAN DIEGO — Southern California home prices rose in May at the fastest annual clip in nearly nine years as investors and cash purchasers competed for a thin supply of properties for sale, a research firm said Tuesday. The median price for new and existing houses and condominiums reached $368,000 last month, up 24.7 percent [...]

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco businesses would be required to offer parents and caregivers flexible work schedules under a proposal a city supervisor wants to take before voters in November. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Supervisor David Chiu’s measure would allow workers to ask their employers to adjust their start times, telecommute or job [...]

SAN FRANCISCO — Google is buying online mapping service Waze in a $1.03 billion deal that keeps a potentially valuable tool away from its rivals while allowing it to gain technology that could improve the accuracy and usefulness of its own popular navigation system. The acquisition announced Tuesday ends several months of speculation as Waze [...]

WASHINGTON — More Americans are quitting their jobs, suggesting many are growing more confident in the job market. The Labor Department said Tuesday that the number of people who quit their jobs in April jumped 7.2 percent to 2.25 million. That’s just below February’s level, which was the highest in 4 ½ years. Overall hiring [...]

NEW YORK — Renewed concerns that central banks will ease off their support for the global economy hit the U.S. stock market Tuesday. Indexes began sliding from the opening bell. Before U.S. markets opened, Asia and then Europe had already fallen, rattled by the Bank of Japan’s decision not to take new steps to spur [...]

NEW YORK — Lululemon Athletica’s CEO Christine Day may not be a household name to the athletic wear company’s legions of loyal shoppers. But for investors, she’s the face of the chain. Lululemon’s shares plunged 17 percent and several Wall Street analysts downgraded their ratings on the stock on Tuesday, a day after the company [...]

WASHINGTON — A U.S. agency says consumers who opt for overdraft coverage on their checking accounts pay higher fees and are more likely to have their accounts closed than those who decline it. A report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released Tuesday says it’s hard for consumers to anticipate and avoid overdraft charges. It [...]

WASHINGTON  — TV was supposed to be everywhere by now – watchable anytime, anywhere, on your smartphone or tablet. But four years into the industry’s effort, network executives readily admit: TV isn’t everywhere. The promise of “TV Everywhere” has been a key strategy in the cable and satellite TV industry’s fight to retain customers in [...]

MILWAUKEE — Some motorcycle enthusiasts feared Keith Wandell might be the outsider who drove Harley-Davidson into the ground. Instead, he may be remembered as the guy who kept the motorcycle maker on the road. Wandell grabbed the handlebars at the motorcycle maker in the heart of the economic crisis in 2009. Harley lost $55 million [...]

Joyce M. Rosenberg   NEW YORK — When Martin Rawls-Meehan started making adjustable beds in 2004, it was a foregone conclusion that key parts would be made overseas. It was cheaper to manufacture in Taiwan than in the U.S. And from Taiwan it was easier to ship to customers in Asia. But this year, his company, Reverie, [...]