Stocks drop … Home sales sluggish … Regulators evaluating sudden acceleration on Toyota Corollas

NEW YORK (AP) — Losses overseas are pushing U.S. stocks sharply lower. Asian markets closed mostly lower as investors fretted over the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, where the main Hang Seng index fell 1.9 percent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Higher prices and weak wage growth have limited home buying. Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in August, suggesting that real estate sales will remain sluggish over the next few months. The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index fell 1 percent over the past month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans boosted spending by a healthy amount in August, with about half of the increase coming from auto sales. Income rose by a modest amount. The Commerce Department says consumer spending rose 0.5 percent in August after showing no gain in July.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says it will take about two weeks to fully reopen a Chicago-area control center where an act of sabotage brought the city’s two international airports to a halt last week. The FAA said yesterday it hopes to return the facility to full service by Oct. 13.

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators are looking into a consumer’s petition alleging that older Toyota Corollas can accelerate unexpectedly at low speeds and cause crashes. The inquiry covers about 1.69 million of the compact cars from the 2006 to 2010 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will decide whether to open a formal investigation.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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