As of Friday, car buyers in the U.S. had signed deals to trade in 358,851 clunkers for new vehicles, getting rebates of up to $4,500 from the federal government. Most of the trades have been pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.

The National Association of Home Builders spent $780,000 in the second quarter to lobby on foreclosure aid and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report.

Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive of top bond fund manager PIMCO, on Tuesday said the rally in U.S. stocks had topped out because valuations have shot up too quickly.

The medical device industry’s chief advocacy group spent $380,324 lobbying on the health care reform effort and other proposals during the second quarter, according to a recent disclosure report.

Construction of single-family U.S. homes rose 1.7 percent in July, the fifth-straight monthly increase as builders poured foundations at the fastest pace since last October, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, which is led by Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, will hold a special meeting in Honolulu on Aug. 24.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has the authority to cancel oil and gas leases on western Colorado’s Roan Plateau, said an attorney representing environmental groups challenging the leases.

The federal government must fulfill its promises to provide adequate money for health care, economic development, law enforcement and other problems on American Indian reservations, leaders of South Dakota’s nine Sioux tribes told the state’s two U.S. senators.