Jim Sharvin, a certified public accountant with the firm McDowell Dillon & Hunter in Torrance, Calif., says if you are thinking of paying down the principal of a mortgage more quickly than necessary — either by switching to a shorter-term loan or sending extra principal payments to the bank — consider first doing the following:

Melbourne, where home prices have fallen more than in any other major Australian city, may see further declines as a record number of new developments approved in the boom years hit the market.

Amazon.com Inc. quenched the Kindle Fire on Thursday, saying its first tablet computer is now “sold out.”

Americans stepped up spending in July for the first time in three months as an increase in incomes helped make up for a jobless rate stuck above 8 percent.

Michael Jackson slept there. Vladimir Lenin harangued Bolsheviks there.

The late-summer lull is about to end.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Oil dropped to a two-week low as producers worked to restore Gulf of Mexico output after Hurricane Isaac passed.

Isaac soaked Louisiana for yet another day and pushed more water into neighborhoods all around the city, flooding homes and forcing last-minute evacuations and rescues. New Orleans itself was spared, thanks in large part to a levee system built after Katrina.

First Solar Inc., the largest U.S. solar manufacturer, halted deliveries to the world’s largest photovoltaic power plant, which it’s building in Arizona, because construction is ahead of schedule and the company must slow down to meet contractual milestones.

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell this week and are just slightly above record lows reached earlier this year.

Sales of bank-owned homes and those already on the foreclosure path fell sharply in the second quarter, reflecting a thinner slate of properties for sale in many cities as banks take a measured approach to placing homes on the market.

World stock markets drifted Thursday as investors continued their long wait for economic stimulus and a survey of European sentiment suggested the region was heading for recession.

Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is shedding another 450,000 company shares for a take of about $8.7 million.

Warren Buffett has decided to increase significantly the amount of stock he gives the foundations run by his three children, so they will each eventually get roughly $2.1 billion.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer spending in the U.S. climbed in July for the first time in three months as the biggest part of the economy struggled to overcome a jobless rate hovering over 8 percent.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that progress in the labor market is faltering amid a plodding economic recovery.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures declined, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will retreat for the third time in four days, as reports from Europe, Japan and South Korea increased concern the global economy is slowing.

The Carlyle Group is buying DuPont's performance coatings business for $4.9 billion in cash, giving it another investment in the automotive and industrial segments.

The skipper of the USS Porter has been removed from command after his ship collided with an oil tanker just outside the strategic Strait of Hormuz

This summer, Americans were walking contradictions: They opened their wallets despite escalating fears about the slow economic recovery and surging gas prices.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may decline for a third day in New York as investors weigh whether Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will signal a new round of bond buying tomorrow.

The bulk of the projected savings in the public pension reform deal announced by Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown won't be felt for decades because most of the proposed changes will affect government workers who have yet to be hired.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The euro erased a gain against the dollar after Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said his government would delay deciding whether to seek a sovereign bailout until the aid conditions are clear.

Growers in key farm states punished by the nation's worst drought in two generations welcomed recent rains that at least for a time soaked their parched crops and eased the dryness. But with Hurricane Isaac's remnants crawling their way, some farmers wonder whether too much relief is on the horizon.

Americans spent at the fastest pace in five months in July after earning a little more. The increase in income and consumer spending could help boost an economy mired in subpar growth.

More than 600,000 Mr. Coffee single cup brewers are being recalled because of a potential burn hazard.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is recalling more than 31,000 units of a chemotherapy drug after discovering one vial was overfilled, putting patients at risk of an overdose.

Foreclosure sales accounted for 43 percent of all home sales in Nevada in the second quarter, tying Georgia for the highest percentage in the nation.

Aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft has requested more time to file a plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. said Thursday its general counsel, Robert Armitage, will retire at the end of the year and be replaced by deputy general counsel, Michael Harrington.

In a story Aug. 29 about J. Crew's second-quarter earnings results, The Associated Press reported erroneously that J. Crew's second-quarter revenue in stores open at least one year rose 3 percent. In fact, the metric also includes direct sales, shipping and handling fees, and rose 14 percent

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. may post $5.04 billion in sales this year, EMarketer Inc. estimated, down from the market researcher’s earlier projection for $6.1 billion as the biggest social network struggles to sustain advertising growth.

Aug 31 (Bloomberg) -- Lawson Inc., Japan’s second-largest convenience-store chain, is betting wider offerings of higher- margin fried chicken and hot coffee will lure customers from competitors and boost earnings 62 percent in five years.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Americans stepped up spending in July for the first time in three months as an increase in incomes helped make up for a jobless rate stuck above 8 percent.

“Buy here, pay here” auto dealers would have to notify potential buyers of their vehicles' market value under a bill approved by the California Senate.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Carlyle Group LP, the world’s second-largest private equity firm, agreed to acquire DuPont Co.’s auto-paint unit for $4.9 billion, giving it control of the second-biggest maker of coatings for cars and trucks.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- This is a story about a doomed summer romance. From the first flirt to the last tearful goodbye, it’s a classic tale of a downtown boy meeting an uptown car.

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Investor demand for better returns is driving Australian residential mortgage-backed bond sales to a 10-month high, borrowers say, allowing some issuers to end their dependence on government backing.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- For Ger Boland, the Irish village of Prosperous is still a long way from living up to its name.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Cemex SAB’s push to stave off default is making the cement maker the best performer in the Latin American corporate bond market.

Amazon.com Inc. says it has sold out of its Kindle Fire tablet computer amid expectations of a new model for the holiday season.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. was accused in a lawsuit of infringing a 2008 patent covering a fuel-injection system in its F-150 trucks.

The lawyer for the late creator of “The Godfather” stories says the writer's heirs no longer want Paramount Pictures to make movies based on books they commission.

GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan took some factual shortcuts during the Republican convention when he attacked President Barack Obama's policies on Medicare, the economic stimulus and the budget deficit. His running mate, Mitt Romney, was expected to speak later Thursday in the convention's culmination.

The dollar moved in tight ranges against other major currencies Thursday as traders looked ahead to Friday's speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Science Applications International Corp. said Thursday it will separate into two publicly traded companies, with one business focused on science and technology for national security, engineering and health clients and the other on government technical services and enterprise information technology.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat was seen rising in Chicago on signs demand for the grain is increasing as dry weather in Russia may limit available world supplies. Corn gained.

The investment bank Gleacher & Co. says it is considering its strategic options, including a possible sale of the business.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks talks involving the European Commission and Chinese authorities to prevent the opening of anti-dumping proceedings against Chinese solar-panel makers in Europe.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Israel’s jobless rate plummeted in July to its lowest this year as the economy expanded.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury 10-year yields approached a three-week low after Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund, said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will soon boost stimulus effort.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Oil dropped for a second day in New York as stockpiles unexpectedly rose and Hurricane Isaac weakened, reducing the threat to offshore platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Barclays PLC on Thursday named the head of its retail and business banking operations as its new chief executive, as shares in the crisis-hit group dropped following news of a new investigation into the bank's deals.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose in New York as signs China may buy more European bonds eased concern about the euro- region debt crisis that threatens demand.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a selection of the most important news affecting the oil market.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Italy’s borrowing costs dropped at an auction of five- and 10-year debt on optimism the European Central Bank may soon start buying euro nations’ bonds to make their funding more affordable.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- India’s rupee snapped a two-day advance before data forecast to show Asia’s third-largest economy expanded at the slowest pace in three years.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Isaac’s threat to offshore energy production in the Gulf of Mexico eased as the weather system weakened while still dumping rain and producing storm surges over Louisiana. Forecasters expect it to become a tropical depression later today.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Indian equities rose for the first time in five days ahead of a report tomorrow on the nation’s economic growth and a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Carlyle Group LP, the world’s second-biggest private-equity firm, said executives pledged more than $700 million of their own money to its latest buyout fund, boosting efforts to reach a $10 billion goal.

British police investigating computer hacking and privacy offenses said Thursday they arrested a 60-year-old man at his southwest London home.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at a seasonally adjusted 374,000, suggesting slow improvement in the job market.

A Polish court on Thursday approved the arrest of the head of a company accused of defrauding thousands of investors, as opposition parties called for a parliamentary commission to investigate the scandal.

Nearly 17,000 Arizona homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure in the second quarter of 2012 but the total number of foreclosures was way down from the same period in 2011.

Afghan government officials say insurgent rockets have killed five people who were waiting on the side of a road for a bus in the east of the country.

Republican Mitt Romney is stepping up for the most important speech of his life, to an audience of millions, after a rousing warm-up from a running mate who vowed the days of dodging painful budget choices will end if voters toss President Barack Obama from office.

Yale University President Richard C. Levin, who oversaw a big building and renovation program and an expansion in financial aid programs, announced Thursday he is stepping down at the end of the academic year after 20 years at the Ivy League school.

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Just when you thought you could forget about the fiscal cliff and focus on the Republican and Democratic conventions instead, along comes the Congressional Budget Office to remind us of the impending threat.

College health officials are finally realizing that healthy sleep habits are a potential miracle drug for much of what ails the famously frazzled modern American college student: anxiety, depression, physical health problems and _ more than most students realize -- academic troubles. Some studies have found students getting adequate sleep average a full letter grade higher than those who don't.

Call it the palace of high school football: A gleaming $60 million facility with seats for 18,000 roaring fans, a 38-foot-wide high-definition video screen, corporate sponsors and a towering upper deck.

Twenty-two percent of Cuban workers were employed in non-governmental jobs last year, up from 16 percent in 2010, according to statistics released Thursday.