National Association of Realtors reporting existing-home sales fell 2.2 percent in May

The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of existing homes fell 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.66 million units in May from 5.79 million in April. Gains in the West and South were offset by a decline in the Northeast; the Midwest was steady. However sales remained at elevated levels on buyer response to the tax credit, characterized by stabilizing home prices and historically low mortgage interest rates, as Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said.

Existing-home sales are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops that differ from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Approximately 180,000 home buyers who signed a contract in good faith to receive the tax credit may not be able to finalize by the end of June due to delays in the mortgage process, particularly for short sales.

“In addition, many potential sales are being delayed by an interruption in the National Flood Insurance Program. Florida and Louisiana, also impacted by the oil spill, have the highest percentage of homes that require flood insurance” said Lawrence Yun. Also, the National Association of Realtors is expecting sales to decline notably in June.

Major US stock indices dropped for a second day hurt by the NAR report, the China 100 stock index fell to 859.33 losing 16.50 points or 1.88 %. The Panda China Large Cap Stock Index dropped 21.04 points or 2.07% to 994.05. The Tiger China Small & Mid Cap Stock Index lost 2.05% to close at 849.40 and the Dragon China Undervalued Stock Index ends down to close at 732.92 losing 9.10 points or 1.23%.

Agria Corporation (GRO) [1.56, 0.08, +5.41%] recently announced it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the lead plaintiff in the consolidated securities class action. The amount to be paid on behalf of all defendants to lead plaintiff for the benefit of the class in settlement of the class action is $3.75 million. Agria's insurance companies are expected to pay the settlement in its entirety, so there is expected to be no impact to Agria's financials from this settlement.

Tiens Biotech Group USA Inc. (TBV) [1.81, 0.06, +3.43%] announced today the separation of Manbo He from the company; Mr. He resigned from his positions as Chief Financial Officer and Director of the Company. Tiens Biotech said there were no disagreements with Mr. He on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices, which resulted in his resignation.

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (JASO) [4.75, 0.33, -6.50%] recently announced at Intersolar Europe that it has partnered with the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands [ECN] to introduce the metal wrap through [MWT] solar cell and module technology into production. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (YGE) [10.30, 0.20, -1.90%] a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturers, which holds the brand "Yingli Solar," today announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Yingli Green Energy Americas, Inc. has signed a strategic PV module supply agreement with DC Power Systems through the end of 2010.

This is one of the largest U.S. agreements for Yingli Green Energy Americas this year, and is also the largest contract between the companies to date.Yingli Green Energy Americas' solar panels have been sold to the residential market through DC Power and other solar distributors. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, residential grid-tied PV installations are showing particularly strong growth, increasing by 100% in 2009 in the U.S.

China TransInfo Technology Corp., (CTFO) [6.20, 0.02, -0.32%] a provider of transportation systems for highway and urban transportation management in China, said it has outsourced its taxi media advertising business in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Urgur Autonomous Region, to a local advertising agency in exchange for negotiated commission payments. China TransInfo has the exclusive rights to operate the in-taxi GPS media platform in these two cities until the end of 2023.

China's 12th Five-Year Program [2011-2015] for guiding development of the petroleum and chemical industry in the five years will put emphasis on industrial structural adjustment to sharpen industrial competitive edge through encouraging development of high-end petrochemical products, according to Bai Yi, vice director of China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP). For this end, China plans to build several refining bases each with capacity exceeding 20 million tonnes per year and to boost average refining capacity and ethylene production capacity of Chinese refineries to six million tonnes per year and 600,000 tonnes per year, respectively.

China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP) [81.62, 1.06, -1.28%] traded in a range yesterday that spanned from a low of 82.22 to a high of 84.08. Yesterday, the shares gained 2.17%, which took the trading range above the 3-day high of 81.99 on volume of 315,000 shares. Shares of China Petroleum & Chemical are currently trading above their 50-day moving average of 79.21 and should find resistance at their 200-day moving average of 82.92.