The nation’s home prices notched up slightly in November as the U.S. housing market continues to recover, according to a national index.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Wednesday its House Price Index has not fallen month-to-month since January 2011. The agency said prices rose 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in November, and jumped 5.6% when compared to a year earlier.

Home prices in the Pacific region rose 1.7% in November compared to the previous month, while prices jumped 11.1% compared to November 2011.

A decline in foreclosures has helped prices continue their rise.

Real estate data firm CoreLogic said this month the number of completed foreclosures nationwide fell 23 percent in November when compared to a year earlier. Real Estate firm DataQuick said Wednesday that notices of default in California dropped 37.9% in the fourth quarter when compared to the same period the previous year. That notice is the first formal step filed in the state’s foreclosure...

The percentage of homes in foreclosure dropped nationwide last month, but the percentage of borrowers behind on their payments rose slightly, according to a report released Wednesday.

In sign of continued recovery in the housing market, about 3.44% of mortgages were in some stage of the foreclosure process in December, according to Lender Processing Services Inc., a mortgage and consumer loan processing firm.

That’s a nearly 2% decline from November and a roughly 18% drop off from a year earlier.

The percentage of mortgages that are 30 days or more past due stood at 7.17% last month, a 0.74% increase from November, the firm reported. Still, that rate declined 9% when compared with the same month in 2011.

The states with the highest percentages of troubled loans — both delinquent and in foreclosure — are Florida, New Jersey, Mississippi, Nevada and New York, the report said.

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California foreclosures drop sharply

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Although recent months have seen improvement in the number of housing starts and permits pulled, it will be multi-family builders that feel the uptick initially, according to a panel of economists speaking at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas Tuesday.

Apartment builders will be the first to benefit by an increasing number of new households as young adults move out on their own and fewer households double up, the experts said.

Continued low interest rates and an increase in homes prices in most markets are likely to bring back home buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines, they said.

"Finally, people feel if they buy a house, it will appreciate," said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Assn. of Home Builders.

Home loan rates are expected to remain below 4% in 2013, said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac. However, he cautioned of some "headwinds" to housing growth, including strict mortgage qualification requirements, uncertainties about employment and...

For months, state dairy producers had urged the California Department of Food and Agriculture to raise prices paid for milk and dairy products.

And on Tuesday, the state agency agreed to raise prices by as much as 30 cents per hundredweight for certain dairy products. That's roughly 3 cents per gallon as there are about 12 gallons in one hundredweight, as milk is measured in the industry.

But farmers Wednesday said the new prices are still too low, calling the change "too little, too late."

State dairy producers were hard hit by last year's drought as farmers struggled to cope with skyrocketing feed costs.

Some dairies culled the number of cows by selling them, and others shut down their operations, according to the California Dairy Campaign, which represents farmers in the state.

They urged state agriculture officials at a December hearing to raise prices by $1 per hundredweight to bring prices closer to a federal milk pricing system.

“We welcome the increase granted by CDFA...

The company opened 11 new stores in nine countries in its fiscal year ended Aug. 31 – buying the land and buildings instead of renting in most cases. It also added 8,000 workers, bringing its headcount to 139,000 employees.

And that growth pace is just fine for now, Ikea said in its annual report.

“We want to continue to grow,” company executives wrote. “But we will only grow in a balanced way, by expanding from our own resources. In other words, earning the money before we spend it.”

[Updated, 12:55 p.m., Jan. 23: The company said it only expects to open five or six stores in the current fiscal year.]

Tell that to McDonald’s, which said Wednesday that it plans to open up as many as 1,600 new branches this year. Starbucks announced this fall that it will open 1,300 new storesworldwide in the current...

Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways became the latest airline to report strong profit for 2012, another signal of a resurgence of the nation's airline industry.

US Airways, which has pushed for a merger with American Airlines, reported Wednesday a record profit of $537 million for the year or $2.79 per share, compared with a profit of $111 million in 2011.

For 2012, total revenues for US Airways reached $13.8 billion, up 5.9% over 2011, with revenue per available seat miles up 3.9% and the average percentage of filled seats at 82.9%, compared with 82.3% in 2011.

The latest earnings report follows projections by industry analysts that every major airline in the country, except for American, which filed for bankruptcy last year, will report annual profits for at least the third consecutive year.

In 2012, the average domestic airfare rose about 4%, according to industry projections, and airlines continue to generate strong revenues from passenger fees, such as charges to check bags, buy food...

California witnessed a steep fourth-quarter decline in the number of homes pushed into the repossession process, indicating California’s foreclosure mess will continue to fade in 2013.

The real estate firm DataQuick reported a 37.9% decline in notices of default during the final three months of 2012 when compared to the same period the year before. It was the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2006. A notice of default is the first formal step filed in California’s foreclosure process.

Video: Experts discuss Southern California's housing market

A steadily improving economy has helped. And the vast number of underwater borrowers — those who owe more on their homes than those properties are worth — have continued to pay their mortgages instead of walking away, leading to fewer home repossessions.

“Home values increased through most of 2012, and the rate of increase picked up toward the end of the year,” DataQuick President John Walsh said....

Health insurance giant WellPoint Inc. issued a lower-than-expected profit outlook for 2013 as it prepares for the federal healthcare overhaul and continues to search for a new chief executive.

WellPoint, which runs Anthem Blue Cross in California and health plans in 13 other states, reported a bigger-than-expected 38% jump in fourth-quarter net income Wednesday, boosted by one-time gains related to income taxes and investments.

But investors focused much of their attention on the company's estimate of full-year earnings of at least $7.60 a share. Analysts had expected 2013 earnings of $7.94 a share, according to FactSet.

WellPoint officials said they wanted to be conservative in their outlook amid uncertainties with the federal budget and upheaval in the health insurance markets from the federal Affordable Care Act.

Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint's chief financial officer, said the company wants to retain "an appropriately prudent stance in our outlook in light of what we expect to be a...

Restaurant and bar patrons cheaped out last year, swapping expensive bottles of wine for more affordable single glasses, ditching entrees for appetizers and sides and even passing on dessert.

Though consumer spending is ticking up, the unstable economy and high food prices have kept diners wary of hefty checks. Hence the 2.8% boom in appetizer and side orders last year, compared to a 1.5% slide in demand for entrees, according to GuestMetrics, which tracks hospitality industry data.

The average starter dish – oysters, chicken wings and empanadas are increasingly popular – costs $5.57. An entrée runs $11.56, according to GuestMetric’s database of 250 million full-service restaurant checks.

The collection represents $8 billion in transactions.

Dessert is also getting the shaft, with orders slumping 2.3% amid declining demand for brownies and cakes. Dessert represents 6% of all food items sold while entrees account for 52%.

Sales at table service restaurants and bars...

But are those metal filings organic?

Annie's Inc., which specializes in natural and organic foods, is recalling all varieties of its Rising Crust frozen pizza because pieces of metal wire might be in the products.

The Berkeley-based company says that a fine metal mesh screen failed at one of it flour suppliers, resulting in "flexible metal mesh" fragments in the flour and pizza dough.

Annie's said no metal has been found in its finished products, so far, but it initiated a voluntary recall, after learning of the screen fail.

The company also said that it has not gotten any consumer complaints about metal fragments in its frozen pizzas.

Here are the varieties being recalled:

Organic Four Cheese Pizza
Organic Pepperoni Pizza
Organic Supreme Pizza
Organic Spinach and Mushroom Pizza
Four Cheese Pizza
Pepperoni Pizza
BBQ Recipe Chicken Pizza

Customers who purchased the pizzas can return them to places of purchases for refunds, Annie's said in a statement. The company also established a Pizza...

A cyber-crime case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York may add to the fears of anyone who banks online.

U.S. Atty. Preet Bharara, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, is scheduled to hold a news conference Wednesday to discuss the case. In recent speeches and interviews, Bharara has sounded an alarm over growing cyber threats.

A Dutch computer server tied to the alleged...