Chinese-language ads to promote Linsanity
Chinese-language ads to promote Linsanity
NEW YORK (AP) — Coca-Cola wants a piece of “Linsanity.”
Knicks fans will soon see Coke ads in Chinese on the rotating courtside signs at Madison Square Garden.
Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan Stribling said Coke has a long-standing partnership with the NBA and already displays ads at The Garden, but wants to take advantage of the enthusiasm surrounding NBA sensation Jeremy Lin and the Knicks.
The courtside ads could go up as early as next week, but it’s unclear how long they will be around. The Knicks are fighting for a playoff spot. If they don’t get one, their season ends in late April.
Lin was undrafted and cut by two NBA teams before he shot to stardom with the New York Knicks this season. The Harvard graduate is the NBA’s first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. His scoring run in February, dubbed Linsanity, boosted interest in the Knicks in the New York area, across the U.S. and overseas.
Home re-sales stay strong during winter
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home sales are gradually coming back. A mild winter and a stronger job market have helped boost sales ahead of the crucial spring buying season.
The past two months made up the best winter for sales of previously occupied homes in five years, when the housing crisis began.
And the sales pace in January was the highest since May 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit.
February sales dipped only slightly to a seasonally adjusted 4.59 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That’s 13 percent higher than the sales pace last July and just below the revised 4.63 million in January.
The sales pace remains far below the 6 million that economists equate with healthy markets. And the number of first-time buyers, who are critical to a housing recovery, continues to lag normal levels, while foreclosures remain high.
Stocks dip slightly on day after drop
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks were mixed Wednesday, continuing a bumpy week on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,154 as of 3:45 p.m. It had been up 20 shortly after the opening bell. The Dow had its biggest loss in two weeks on Tuesday, falling 69 points.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose one point to 1,406, and the Nasdaq composite rose 13 points to 3,087.
Hewlett-Packard led the Dow lower, sliding 2 percent after saying it would combine its printer and PC divisions to save money and improve efficiency. H-P is coping with declining sales of PCs and printer ink as smartphones, tablets and electronic document-sharing gain popularity.