London / Bloomberg Buy-to-let landlords are rushing to purchase U.K. homes ahead of an increase in the stamp-duty sales tax in April. The number of homes acquired by rental homeowners rose 71 percent in January from the same month a year earlier, according to data compiled by Countrywide Plc. the U.K.’s largest realtor. Landlords purchased 21 percent of all the …

LAS VEGAS / Bloomberg At the onset of the millennium, house flippers—people who purchased imperfect homes, renovated them, and resold them at a profit mere months later—ran rampant in U.S. housing markets. When the market went bust, the flippers mostly went away, replaced by investors who bought distressed homes and rented them out. The practice of flipping homes has been …

London / Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co., the world’s largest bank by market value, is close to a deal to lease an office building being constructed near the Bank of England in the City of London financial district, a person with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The 33 Central building …