Sales of existing homes down further than expected

Nationwide sales of existing homes fell more than expected last month, as economic fears made buyers leery even though prices plunged to the lowest level in more than four years. And the decline is expected to get worse because October’s results reflect sales contracts signed before Wall Street’s nose dive.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of existing homes fell 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units in October, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.14 million in September. Sales had been expected to fall to a rate of 5.05 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

MILWAUKEE

Campbell Soup profits fall despite increase in sales

Campbell Soup Co.’s higher soup sales were watered down by commodity hedging losses in its first fiscal quarter, as the soup maker said Monday that profits fell 3.7 percent even as more cash-strapped consumers reached for its brands.

Shares of the Camden, N.J.-based company tumbled 8 percent as investors worried about the nation’s largest soup maker’s ability to keep ahead of currency fluctuations and to translate a bigger thirst for soup into higher earnings.

NEW YORK

Commodity prices surge thanks to declining dollar

Gold and other commodities surged Monday, buoyed by a weakening dollar and a rally on Wall Street that lifted the Dow Jones industrials nearly 400 points.

The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound after the government unveiled a plan to rescue Citigroup Inc. The bailout plan could lead to the Treasury’s issuing more bonds to fund the plan, and that in turn could feed inflation, which undermines the dollar.

Investors often use commodities as a hedge against inflation, so a falling dollar tends to lift prices.