The last two U.S. presidents have misled voters on the cost of armed conflicts. Amid another election, the drumbeats of war are sounding again. This time the subject is Iran.

Oil dropped from the highest close in almost a week as renewed discord among European leaders on measures to stem the region’s debt crisis outweighed concern that tensions in the Middle East may disrupt crude supplies.

Truly free checking accounts are becoming rarer as banks add more fees to boost their profits.

Luxury-home prices in central London rose at their fastest rate in three months in September, powered by demand for properties that escape a new higher rate of sales tax, Knight Frank LLP said.

Since Douglas Steiner transformed the Brooklyn Navy Yard into Hollywood-style studios in 2004, productions from “American Gangster” to “Boardwalk Empire” have been filmed there.

A rise in new orders and the number of homes delivered gave Lennar Corp. a boost as its net income more than quadrupled in the third quarter in part because of a tax benefit.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Oil dropped for the fifth time in six days as discord over the handling of Europe’s debt crisis and a decline in German business sentiment renewed concern that the European crisis will reduce oil demand.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. declined the most in almost two months amid renewed investor concerns about how quickly the world’s largest social-networking service can boost sales from the growing number of users on mobile devices.

Republican White House candidate Mitt Romney suggested Monday that President Barack Obama is downplaying crises unfolding across the Middle East by describing turmoil in the region as “bumps in the road.”

Stock futures are falling as investors, with few indicators from the U.S., pore over more gloomy economic data out of Europe.

The best way to reduce the federal deficit is through a combination of higher taxes and spending cuts, according to a group of economists.

Global financial markets drifted lower Monday as growing concerns about the state of the world economy offset any remaining optimism over central banks' stimulus efforts.

A federal appeals court has stayed an injunction against a South Korean company that lost a trade-secrets battle with the DuPont Co.

The New York Times has completed its $300 million sale of The About Group to Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp.

A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved a process for failed solar power company Solyndra to sell its former California headquarters to Seagate Technology for just over $90 million.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Verizon Communications Inc. agreed to pay more than $510 million to end patent-infringement suits filed by TiVo Inc. and ActiveVideo Networks Inc. that targeted features of its FiOS TV service.

Shares of Pandora Media Inc. rose Monday after a group of federal lawmakers introduced a bill that could lower the royalties the online radio service pays to artists and their record labels.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Lennar Corp., the third-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, said its quarterly profit more than quadrupled as demand for new houses climbed and a real estate recovery gained traction.

Kellogg is hoping it can finally turn cereal into a breakfast staple in China.

Amtrak is going to break the speed limit in the Northeast Corridor.

Red Hat Inc., which sells the Linux open source operating system, said Monday its second-quarter profit fell 14 percent, in part due to increased technology investments and acquisitions.

ConAgra Foods Inc. said Monday that it is expanding its plant in Russellville, Ark., and will add more than 80 jobs.

J.C. Penney's stock extended its decline for a third trading day Monday. The stock has fallen steadily since a meeting with analysts last week, when Penney's management told analysts that the department store chain's financial struggles will likely continue in the second half of the year.

A lender syndicate led by Credit Suisse Group could proceed quickly with its bid to take control of financially crippled Tamarack Resort assets now that an Idaho judge has refused a rival creditor's request to halt the Swiss bank's foreclosure lawsuit.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Gold declined in New York as some investors sold the metal after its rally to the highest price in more than six months. Palladium slumped.

CGGVeritas, which provides equipment and services to oil and gas companies, is buying Fugro's geoscience unit for 1.2 billion euros ($1.55 billion).

Medivation Inc.'s stock split has gone into effect, which could help make the shares more attractive to investors.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- A gauge of U.S. corporate credit risk increased for a second consecutive day as European leaders disagreed on how to resolve the sovereign-debt crisis.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc., operator of 59 company-owned dining and entertainment stores, filed to raise as much as $107.7 million in a U.S. initial public offering.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. said it sold more than 5 million of the iPhone 5 in three days, shattering a record set by the previous model, as customers lined up in stores from Sydney to San Francisco for the company’s latest handset.

Discover Bank will pay millions in fees to settle accusations by regulators that it pressured credit card customers to buy costly add-on services like payment protection and credit monitoring.

Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Monday named John Hamill named as its chief financial officer.

The NFL and the officials' union were talking again.

Global health officials are closely following a new respiratory virus related to SARS that is believed to have killed at least one person in Saudi Arabia and left another person in critical condition in Britain.

Facebook Inc.'s stock took a hit Monday after an article in the financial magazine Barron's said it is “still too pricey” despite a sharp decline since its initial public offering.

Portugal's coalition government said Monday it is preparing new income tax increases as the bailed-out country struggles to meet its debt-reduction targets at a time of deep recession.

Germany says eurozone officials are discussing the possibility of boosting the firepower of their new, permanent (euro) 500 billion ($650 billion) rescue fund by involving private investors.

Five big hydroelectric projects on the Connecticut River are up for federal relicensing, providing a once-in-a-generation chance for environmentalists, recreational river users and others to recommend changes to the dams' operations.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Lennar Corp., the third-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, said its quarterly profit more than quadrupled as demand for new houses climbed and a real estate recovery gained traction.

Loews Hotels & Resorts is offering the top-tier members of its loyalty program free membership in U.S. Customs and Border Protection's expedited immigration program, Global Entry.

Hundreds of Muslims march peacefully through the streets of a northern Nigerian city to protest an anti-Islam film that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.

a trend that continues a decline after a spike in attacks in May and June.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she wants foreign countries to make elite citizens pay their fair share of taxes.

Apple Inc. said Monday that it sold more than 5 million units of the iPhone 5 in the three days since its launch, less than analysts had expected.

New Mexico Tourism Secretary Monique Jacobson says it will be New Mexico's Sydney Opera House. Virgin Galactic Chairman Richard Branson has hinted it will host the first of his new brand of lifestyle hotels. And the eclectic hot springs town of Truth or Consequences has been anxiously awaiting all the economic development the nearly quarter-of-a-billion-dollar project is supposed to bring to this largely rural part of southern New Mexico.

The leader of U.S. Army forces in Asia and the Pacific says the service wants to exercise more with other nations in the region as the U.S. draws down from Afghanistan and the military refocuses its attention.

A pair of missiles fired from an unmanned American spy aircraft slammed into a militant hideout in northwestern Pakistan on Monday evening, killing five militants, said Pakistani intelligence officials.

Republican election officials who promised to root out voter fraud so far are finding little evidence of a widespread problem.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appealed Monday to Muslims to show “dignity” and not resort to violence as they protest an anti-Islam film produced in the United States.

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Republican Mitt Romney is pivoting to a more aggressive position in his presidential bid, seeking to restore confidence in his campaign and change a growing perception that the race is swinging against him.