Bloomberg The tax benefits of homeownership, which generations of U.S. residents have counted on, have been elusive for typical buyers since mortgage rates started tumbling in 2008, according to an analysis by John Burns Real Estate Consulting LLC. For a married couple who put 20 percent down on a median-priced home and borrowed the rest, the standard deduction for …

New York / AFP Citigroup joined the growing list of banks to boost reserves for bad energy loans, but said it saw no signs the energy bust was spreading to the broader economy. The US banking giant lifted its reserves for loan losses by $233 million due to energy-related loans as company officials signaled they expect further hits to results …

  Bloomberg Kenya’s central bank is evaluating more than five offers from potential local and foreign suitors for Chase Bank Kenya Ltd., which was placed into receivership last week, Governor Patrick Njoroge said. The nation’s regulators were forced to step in with emergency support to stem depositor panic after the collapse last week of Chase Bank, the third lender to …