Money Minute: Home Sales, Credit Cards, Oil

BusinessMoney Minute: Home Sales, Credit Cards, OilMoney Minute: Home Sales, Credit Cards, OilThe Associated PressThe National Association of Realtors says pending home sales fell 4.7 percent in May or 14 percent from a year ago. The AP's Mark Hamrick reports on that and the rest of Tuesday's top business headlines. (July 8)AP Money MinuteThe National Association of Realtors says pending home sales fell 4.7 percent in May or 14 percent from a year ago.The group's seasonally adjusted index came in at 84.7 from an revised April reading of 88.9. The index, which sunk to a record low of 83 in March, stood at 98.5 in May 2007. ---------------------------Oil tumbled for a second day this week, falling fell $5.75 to $135.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil dropped nearly $4 a barrel a day earlier. The retreat in crude oil also arrives amid escalating worries about deteriorating lending conditions and the still-slumping housing market.---------------------------Consum ers are spending more, but they're using plastic to do so. The Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3.6 percent in May. Use of revolving credit, which is primarily credit cards, rose at a 7.1 percent pace for the month. The rise pushed total consumer debt up by $7.8 billion to $2.57 trillion. I'm Mark Hamrick with AP Money Minute ___ ___, The Associated Press.(****END****)