New U.S. home sales hit new record

New U.S. home sales hit a new record in October, while durable goods orders rose by 3.4 percent as aircraft demand surged, but non-transportation orders were barely changed, data on Tuesday showed.

While consumers may not have splashed out on big-ticket items in October, separate reports showed confidence was almost back to its pre-Katrina levels in November and the first leg of the holiday shopping period got off to a strong start.

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