US home sales rebound slightly in February

WASHINGTON — Slightly more Americans bought homes in February, but tight inventories, affordability problems and nasty winter weather point to sluggish sales in the coming few months.

Sales of existing homes rose 1.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million, a slight rebound after plunging in January yet still underperforming by historical standards, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

The real estate market has hibernated through the first two months of 2015, creating the potential for a second straight year of weak buying activity.

Strong job growth and relatively low mortgage rates have failed to awaken buyers. Meanwhile, relatively few homes are being listed for sale and builders are mostly catering to the wealthiest slivers of the market. Sales are running below last year's pace of 4.93 million, which represented a 3.1 percent drop from 2013.

"The next couple months are some of the most critical of the entire year for housing and sluggish numbers may continue if inventory doesn't increase," said Bill Banfield, vice president of mortgage provider Quicken Loans.

Despite February's uptick, buying activity appears to have been slow coming into March because of a series of harsh winter storms. The weather last month shut down construction and hurt open houses, likely causing fewer signed contracts and put additional downward pressure on completed sales in March.

"Mother Nature will probably make her presence known more in March," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Housing starts plunged 17 percent in February, the Commerce Department reported last week. Buyer traffic also slipped last month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index. Mortgage applications slipped in March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Sales tumbled 6.5 percent last month in the Northeast, which was hammered hard by snow, the Realtors said. Home-buying was unchanged in the Midwest and increased in the South and West.

The recent storms have led several economists to expect a strong recovery in the coming spring months, when more buyers usually step up their search and sellers decide to list their properties.

Still, some homeowners are trapped by mortgage debt, making it unprofitable for them to sell. Their negative equity is a lingering aftershock from the recession and housing bust, limiting the supply of available homes on the market.

The real estate data firm Zillow reported last week that 16.9 percent of homeowners owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. In several metro areas including Philadelphia, Houston and Boston, that rate actually increased from the levels in the third quarter of 2014.

The Realtors reported Monday that just 4.6 months of supply was listed for sale, compared to a full five months a year ago.

That meager inventory has helped push up sales prices, creating additional affordability pressures despite strong monthly job gains averaging more than 200,000 for the past year.

Median home prices increased 7.5 percent over the past 12 months to $202,600, almost quadruple the pace of average hourly wage gains.

Sales to investors and for all-cash have also declined over the past year, while first-time buyers have yet to return. First-timers accounted for only 29 percent of home sales, compared to a historical average of 40 percent.

Nor have buyers responded much to the comparatively low mortgage rates.

Average 30-year fixed rates were 3.78 percent last week, according to the mortgage giant Freddie Mac. That average has plunged from a 52-week high of 4.41 percent, which should help to make housing more affordable.

Because of tight credit, few potential buyers have been able to take advantage of the low rates.

An Urban Institute index measuring credit availability found that lenders are taking fewer risks with mortgages, choosing buyers with high credit scores and providing them routine mortgages, rather than the exotic and opaque loans that inflated the housing bubble and led to the financial crisis.

The restricted credit "has been, and threatens to continue to be, a headwind for the housing recovery," said Michelle Meyer, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a client note.

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Farmers fund new research to breed gluten-free wheat

WICHITA, Kan. — New research funded by farmers aims to breed a wheat variety for people who can't eat wheat and other grains, an endeavor that comes as wider consumer interest in gluten-free foods is booming.

The Kansas Wheat Commission is spending $200,000 for the first two years of the project, which is meant to identify everything in wheat's DNA sequences that can trigger a reaction in people suffering from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which eating even tiny amounts of gluten — comprised of numerous, complex proteins that gives dough its elasticity and some flavor to baked goods — can damage the small intestine. The only known treatment for it is a gluten-free diet, not eating foods that contain wheat, rye, and barley.

Though celiac disease is four to five times more common now than 50 years ago, only about 1 percent of the world's population is believed to suffer from it, and just a fraction have been diagnosed. But the gluten-free food business has skyrocketed in the last five years, driven in part by non-celiac sufferers who are either intolerant to gluten or following a gluten-free fad diet because they believe it may help them lose weight or that it's somehow healthier.

Sales of gluten-free snacks, crackers, pasta, bread and other products reached $973 million in the U.S. in 2014, up from $810 million the previous year, according to a January report by consumer research firm Packaged Facts, which analyzed the sales of hundreds of explicitly labeled and marketed gluten-free products and brands at supermarkets, drugstores, and mass merchandisers.

Supporters of the Kansas research, though, say this isn't a way to regain market share.

"If you know you are producing a crop that is not tolerated well by people, then it's the right thing to do," according to the project's lead researcher, Chris Miller, senior director of research for Engrain, a Kansas company that makes products to enhance the nutrition and appearance of products made by the milling and cereal industry.

Gluten-free foods are a niche product, and in the broader context of the world's wheat markets, it is not a driving factor, according to Dan O'Brien, extension grain market specialist at Kansas State University. "I anticipate it will develop as a specialty market," he said.

The research, which began in July at the Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan, Kansas, is still in its early stages, with researchers extracting proteins from seeds of various varieties of wheat. Miller has yet to begin work combining the proteins with antibodies produced by the human immune system to test for reactions.

He also plans to examine the wild relatives of wheat as well as modern varieties, and will tap into a Kansas wheat variety repository that dates back to the 1900s in hopes of finding a variety — perhaps one that fell out of favor among commercial farmers — that might already be low in reactivity for celiac sufferers. Researchers hope to use that variety to develop a gluten-free wheat using traditional breeding methods.

Miller's methodology might be "too simplistic an approach" that wouldn't identify all the toxic sequences that trigger a celiac reaction, according to Armin Alaedini, assistant professor of medical sciences at Columbia University and a researcher at the New York-based school's Celiac Disease Center.

Alaedini, after looking at Miller's plan online, said the project may end up with a less toxic wheat product that isn't completely safe for all celiac disease patients. "After all this effort, this product that is coming out ... is unlikely to be superior in terms of nutritional value or baking properties and taste to the gluten-free products that are already on the market," Alaedini said.

The medical advisory board for the Celiac Disease Foundation, a nonprofit based in Woodland Hills, California, could not reach a consensus on the viability of Miller's research. But the organization's CEO, Marilyn Geller, is encouraged.

Her son had been sick his entire life before being diagnosed with celiac disease at age 15, Geller said, and his father also was later diagnosed. Since the disorder is genetic, her grandchildren will be at risk of getting it.

The more the disease is in the public eye, the more physicians are aware of it, she said, and it'll be more likely the federal government would fund research.

"I am certain that there are a large number of people with celiac disease who (like) the idea of being able to eat actual wheat, with the properties of wheat that make the bread nice and fluffy," she said. "The idea of having a variety of wheat that they could eat that has those wonderful wheat-like properties would certainly be very interesting for them."

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After strong week, US stock gains slow in morning trading

NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes are mixed in morning trading on Monday following a strong performance last week.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up six points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,114 as of 10:15 a.m. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 63 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,190 while the Nasdaq composite slipped two points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,024, not far from its all-time high, last seen during the dot-com bubble in 2000.

The S&P 500 jumped 2.7 percent last week, its biggest weekly gain since early February.

WARNING: Shares in Gilead Sciences fell following news that the pharmaceutical company told physicians that nine patients taking its hepatitis C treatments developed slow heartbeats and that one died. Gilead slid $1.96, or 2 percent, to $100.32.

EUROPE: Germany's DAX lost 1.3 percent and France's CAC 40 shed 0.8 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 percent.

GREECE IN FOCUS: In Europe, traders were looking to a meeting on Monday between the leaders of Greece and key creditor Germany for signs of progress in Greece's debt negotiations. The country is in talks with its European rescue lenders on what reforms it must make to be eligible to receive more loans. Although Greece faces a cash crunch in coming weeks, the talks have been slow and investors are hoping that the meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel can get them moving.

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2 percent points and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent.

OPTIMISM: Investors will be looking at whether U.S. stocks can extend a strong run from last week, when they were boosted by a rebound in oil prices and earnings from sportswear giant Nike and other big companies. The gains came after the Federal Reserve said at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday that it was in no hurry to hike rates with both U.S. economic growth and inflation low.

THE QUOTE: "On current statements, no central bank in the developed world is going to raise rates before June. In fact, the market believes no central bank will lift rates before September," Evan Lucas of IG Markets said in a report.

CRUDE: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 23 cents to $46.80 a barrel in New York.

CURRENCY: The dollar fell to 119.80 yen from Friday's 120.03 yen. The euro rose to $1.0898 from $1.0820.

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Construction to begin on state's 1st casino

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Construction is about to begin for what likely will be the first full-scale resort casino to open in Massachusetts.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled in Springfield on Tuesday for the $800 million casino that will be operated by MGM Resorts International. The facility will occupy a 14.5-acre site in Springfield's South End that was heavily damaged in a tornado nearly four years ago.

The casino is expected to open in 2017.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded MGM the state's western Massachusetts resort casino license last year. Wynn Resorts was later awarded the sole Boston-area license but has not yet begun construction in Everett.

A slots-only facility at the Plainridge racetrack in Plainville is expected to open in June.

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WWE, NBC team up to grapple with Madison Avenue

NBCUniversal and WWE are tag-teaming, in a sense, to get a tighter hold on advertising dollars.

WWE programs like "Raw" and "SmackDown" have run on NBCU' s USA for about a decade and on Syfy for a little under five years. Yet during that time, NBCU supervised the sales of TV advertising around the two properties while WWE handled a lot of digital and social marketing, as well as the task of linking marketers to events and its popular wrestlers like John Cena or Brock Lesnar. More often than not, executives said, those efforts took place separately. In 2015, the two promise to take on all comers with a broader marketing plan.

"It really is a significant strategic shift in how we are going to market," said Michelle Wilson, WWE's chief marketing and revenue officer, during an interview held in WWE's headquarters in Stamford, Conn. The two companies renewed a TV deal in 2014 that keeps "Raw,' "SmackDown" and the reality series "Total Divas" on NBCU outlets in exchange for about $200 million in annual licensing fees for the next several years.

In the first marketing pact made under the new arrangement, Viacom's Paramount has signed up with NBCU and WWE to promote its new "Terminator: Genisys" film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger starting in the WWE's annual "Wrestlemania" event in March and on NBCU and in WWE properties through the movie's July release. In "Wrestlemania," wrestler Triple H (actually Paul Levesque, WWE's executive vice president of talent), will make a grand entrance using imagery from the movie, and video outtakes from "Wrestlemania" will be released digitally and socially in service of promoting the release, said Wilson.

"They get ad units, and they get integration in 'Raw' and 'SmackDown,' pulsing it from now until the film release," she said. "I don't think we would have gotten a deal like this done without this new collaboration, this new strategy."

NBCU and WWE move closer together just as Madison Avenue is starting to focus more intently on the annual "upfront" market, when U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their ad inventory for the coming year. NBCUniversal has in the last few years placed more of an emphasis on getting advertisers to buy a greater amount of commercial inventory across the company's portfolio, not just at a single broadcast of cable network. Getting better access to ad packages around WWE properties could lend the media company an edge as negotiations begin to heat up.

Other media and entertainment outlets are making similar maneuvers. 21st Century Fox has placed all its general-entertainment cable outlets under a single ad-sales executive, and Viacom is now selling all its properties save BET under one ad-sales proposition.

WWE will continue to supervise sales on WWE.com and on the company's over-the-top network and NBC will run TV ad sales, said Dan Lovinger, an executive vice president at NBCU who oversees ad sales for NBC, USA, Syfy and WWE content, but advertisers don't want to feel as if they have to cobble together a package by doing multiple negotiations, say, for TV commercials and a tie-in with a particular personality.

"They want to talk about the brand and hear about the depth of what we have to offer," Lovinger explained. "In order to do that, we need a cohesive voice."

The WWE properties may take on greater luster as TV networks find new power in live events and sports-themed content. The three-hour live "Raw" and the two-hour live-to-tape "SmackDown" are largely watched live, WWE executives said. "Raw" brings in an average weekly audience of around 4.5 million, while "SmackDown" draws an average of just under 3 million, according to the company.

NBCU and WWE will burnish four "tentpole" efforts that aim to provide advertisers something they can align their pitches with each quarter: a month-long build-up to the WWE's annual "WrestleMania" event; the "Slammys" award program, which will move from the fourth quarter to the first quarter to be more a part of awards season; a focus on fathers; and a theme centered on young fans.

The two sides said WWE events traditionally bring in advertising from movie studios, makers of videogames, fast-food chains and some marketers of consumer-packaged goods. WWE's Wilson wants to do more with auto marketers, as well as makers of consumer electronics and mobile devices.

The companies also want to lure more advertisers seeking a broad family audience.. NBCU has produced a WWE promo that is slated to debut Monday and will air on two broadcast networks, 17 cable networks and more than 50 digital outlets as well as on WWE-owned properties. The vignette will not only show WWE stars in action but highlight many of their charitable works. "It's a big part of what we do," said Wilson. "We need to tell the world that we are not just 'rasslin.'"

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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MLB Network's first-ever regular season morning show sets talent, title

MLB Network has picked out a name and set the talent lineup for its first-ever regular season morning show, TheWrap has learned exclusively.

On professional baseball's highly anticipated Opening Day, Monday, April 6, "MLB Central" will debut with hosts Matt Vasgersian, Mark DeRosa and Lauren Shehadi.

"Fans are thirsting for baseball around the clock, and live is always better," Coordinating Producer Josh Bernstein told TheWrap as he explained the programming decision and the show's timing. "Starting our programming day a little bit earlier with live stuff — it's exciting, and if news breaks in the middle of the night, if something changes in the morning, we're there."

Previously, the network rebroadcast highlights show "Quick Pitch" in the timeslot.

The three-hour morning show will be the first program to originate from MLB Network's new, state-of-the-art 8,000 square foot Studio 21, named in honor of Hall-of-Fame baseball player Roberto Clemente's number — a space that Bernstein promised is "mind-blowing." The studio will also become home to the aforementioned "Quick Pitch" and the series "MLB Now."

Of course, a huge set doesn't solely launch a series, and Bernstein had equal praise for the trio they selected to man "MLB Central," touting the "off-the-charts" chemistry of announcer Vasgersian, former long-term pro ballplayer DeRosa and internal talent Shehadi ("The Rundown," "Hot Stove").

Those three are pretty stoked for their new morning show too.

"I'm looking forward to the fact that this show is going to be a little bit different in that it's not as tightly formatted based on games in progress," Vasgersian told TheWrap. "I appreciate the collaboration element of this a lot, and we've all taken equal stakes in coming up with segment ideas in pre-production."

"MLB Central" will air live each weekday morning, with updates and context on the latest news, on-field highlights, and long-form conversations with guests, celebrities, and insiders from around the league.

Each show will begin with "The Wake-Up Call," a look at the biggest highlights and news stories in the game. DeRosa will give his opinion on the latest on-field performances in "The D-Train," and the show's analysts will offer their daily take on the hottest players and best moves in the world of fantasy baseball. Towards the end of the 180-minute block, as the 1 p.m. ET baseball games ready their first pitch, "MLB Central" will shift into pregame mode.

Other recurring features will include interviews with MLB players, managers and others inside the clubhouse and a segment inspired by the MLB Network trivia show "Baseball IQ."

"We're going to strike the right balance between entertainment and baseball," Bernstein told TheWrap.

"Baseball is … America's pastime and we breathe it here," Bernstein concluded. "We serve the fans that are craving it. It's never been better and that's why the time has never been better to do the show."

2015 TheWrap news inc. All rights reserved.

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Starbucks scraps 'Race Together' campaign in stores after weeklong backlash

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced the end of the company's "Race Together" campaign in stores on Sunday nigh,t via a memo to staff.

Employees will no longer be encouraged to write the slogan on customers' cups after a weeklong backlash aimed at the behemoth coffee chain's efforts to open up a discussion on race issues.

"I know this hasn't been easy for any of you – let me assure you that we didn't expect universal praise," chief executive Schultz wrote in a letter to staff and released by the company on Sunday. "We leaned in because we believed that starting this dialogue is what matters most."

After the campaign kicked off last week, Starbucks received widespread criticism, and Schultz even appeared on media to clarify that the company's intentions were to open up a dialogue on race — not offend anyone.

"This phase of the effort — writing 'Race Together' (or placing stickers) on cups, which was always just the catalyst for a much broader and longer term conversation — will be completed as originally planned today, March 22," Schultz wrote.

"Race Together" activities will go on as planned over the next few months, including open forum discussions and special sections in USA Today.

The company has also committed to hiring 10,000 disadvantaged youth in the next three years while also opening up new stores in minority communities.

2015 TheWrap news inc. All rights reserved.

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Humana selling Concentra unit for about $1.06 billion

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Humana Inc. says it will sell its Concentra Inc. unit to MJ Acquisition Corp. for just under $1.06 billion in cash.

The Concentra unit, acquired by Humana in December of 2010, is a provider of occupational health, urgent care and physical therapy services.

MJ Acquisition is a joint venture between hospital operator Select Medical Holdings Corp. and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe XII, L.P., a private equity fund.

The sale is expected to close during the second quarter.

The health insurer said its 2015 profit outlook remains set at between $8.50 and $9 per share.

Humana is based in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Investigation prompted by alleged rape story to be released

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Police plan to release the findings of an investigation prompted by a Rolling Stone article about an alleged gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity house.

Charlottesville police have scheduled a news conference for 2 p.m. Monday. A notice posted on the police department's website says officials won't answer any questions before the news conference.

The November 2014 article described an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house in 2012. Rolling Stone has since apologized for the article and noted discrepancies.

The police department said in January that investigators had been unable to confirm that a gang rape occurred at the fraternity house. However, a police spokesman emphasized at the time that did not mean an assault did not occur.

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Louisville Slugger maker announces deal to sell iconic brand

The company that made bats for a who's who of baseball greats, including Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, announced a deal Monday to sell its Louisville Slugger brand to rival Wilson Sporting Goods Co. for $70 million.

Hillerich & Bradsby Co. has made the iconic bats for more than 130 years, supplying the bats with the recognizable oval logo for generations of baseball players — from the sandlots to the big leagues.

Wilson's deal to acquire the global brand, sales and innovation rights of Louisville Slugger still requires approval by H&B shareholders, according to the joint announcement Monday.

Under terms of the agreement, H&B will become Wilson's exclusive manufacturing partner for wood bats. H&B will continue to manufacture wood bats at its factory in Louisville, Kentucky.

Wilson Sporting Goods is a division of Finnish sports equipment maker Amer Sports Corp. The Helsinki-based company said the deal is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.

H&B also will maintain ownership and continue to operate the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory and Gift Shop, a popular tourist destination.

H&B said its Bionic Gloves division and Powerbilt golf brand are not part of the deal.

H&B has made Louisville Slugger bats since 1884. H&B CEO John A. Hillerich IV said the decision to sell the brand was difficult, but says the company believes it needs to pursue a new business model.

"We recognized from our first conversation with Wilson that they would be a great partner and steward of the brand our family created and so many have nurtured for 131 years," he said in a statement.

Mike Dowse, president of Wilson Sporting Goods Co., said expanding the company's baseball and softball business globally is a key part of its business strategy.

"We believe Louisville Slugger will enrich our company significantly, enhance our baseball and softball product offering at all levels of the game, and ensure we are delivering only the best performance products to athletes of every age," he said.

Wilson said it will market and sell Louisville Slugger-branded products through its baseball and softball business unit. The company currently manufactures and sells gloves, bats, uniforms, apparel, protective gear, accessories and player development equipment and training tools through its Wilson, DeMarini and ATEC brands. Like its DeMarini brand, Wilson will market and sell Louisville Slugger as a stand-alone brand.

Last year, Amer's net sales totaled €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion). It employs 7,600 people worldwide.

___

AP writer Matti Huuhtanen contributed to this report from Helsinki.

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