Washington / AP Americans stepped back from buying new homes in January, as purchases plunged sharply in western states where prices are typically higher. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new-home sales fell 9.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000. Most of the decline stemmed for a 32.1 drop in sales in the West. Sales ...

VANCOUVER / Bloomberg Three times a week Neil Valsangkar escapes Canada’s most expensive real estate market by paying C$100 ($73) for a 20 minute float plane ride to his Vancouver office from his home across the Salish Sea. The 50 kilometer (31 mile) aerial commute allows the father of three to live in Nanaimo, British Columbia where homes cost about ...

ALKESH SHARMA / EMIRATES BUSINESS Information technology networks in the country now have a new bug to fight. The malware which is already spreading havoc in the American and European corporate world is posing serious threats to companies in the UAE and Middle East. Industry experts have sounded an alert against ‘Locky’ — as it is named — which is capable ...