Stocks slip...Sales of new homes plunge...Mortgage rates edge lower...Jobless claims flat

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are moving lower in early trading on Wall Street, sapped by gloomy manufacturing data from Europe, China and Japan. General Motors, Proctor & Gamble and others fell after reporting results that were negatively impacted by a strong U.S. dollar.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department says sales of new homes plummeted in March, as the spring buying season opened with sharp declines in the Northeast and South. The report says new-home sales fell 11.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000. This marks a swift reversal from an annual sales pace of 543,000 in February, which had been the strongest performance in seven years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates are down slightly this week. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the national average for a 30-year fixed -rate mortgage slipped to 3.65 percent from 3.67 percent last week. The average rate for a 15-year mortgage slid to 2.92 percent from 2.94 percent. A year ago, the 30-year mortgage rate averaged 4.33 percent; the 15-year mortgage averaged 3.39 percent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits hasn't changed much over the past week. The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless aid ticked up 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 295,000. The less volatile four-week average increased to 284,500.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Deutsche (DOY'-chuh) Bank has agreed to pay $2.5 billion in a settlement with U.S. and British authorities over the manipulation of benchmark interest rates. The U.S. Justice Department says the subsidiary DB Group Services UK Limited has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud. The penalty includes $600 million to New York, $800 million to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, $775 million to the Justice Department and about $340 million to Britain's Financial Conduct Authority.

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