(Reuters) - Sales of previously owned homes rose less than expected in November, suggesting the U.S. housing sector is still struggling to gain traction as high unemployment and tight lending standards continue to hamper recovery. Sales rose 5.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual unit rate of 4.68 million units, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had been looking for about 4.71 million unit pace.

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(Reuters) - Carlyle Group CYL.UL is in talks to buy AlpInvest Partners, one of the world's largest private equity investors with more than 40 billion euros ($52.4 billion) under management, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday. A deal is not imminent and could be reached in the first quarter, the source said, declining to be named because the talks are not public. AlpInvest, which manages the private equity investments for Dutch asset managers APG and PGGM Investments, would help Carlyle diversify its businesses as it prepares to follow rivals Blackstone Group (BX.N) and KKR (KKR.N) to a public listing.

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(Reuters) - Economic growth was a touch higher than previously estimated in the third quarter, but below expectations as a rise in the pace of inventory accumulation was offset by downward revisions to consumer spending, a government report showed on Wednesday. Gross domestic product growth was revised up to an annualized rate of 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent, the Commerce Department said. Economists had expected GDP growth, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, to be revised up to a 2.8 percent pace. The economy expanded at a 1.7 percent rate in the second quarter.

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(Reuters) - Mortgage applications tumbled to their lowest level in nearly a year as a six-week-long rise in interest rates took a significant toll on demand, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended December 17 decreased 18.6 percent, reaching its lowest level since the week ended January 1.

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(Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's U.S. tax fraud settlement has heightened expectations of more deals being struck as American authorities target overseas banks in a crackdown on tax dodgers. U.S. prosecutors are pushing ahead with more probes, emboldened after top Swiss wealth manager UBS had to hand over the details of 4,450 clients.

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(Reuters) - Fund managers rebuilt their equity holdings in December to one of the highest points this year on signs of a swifter economic recovery, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. The poll, which surveyed 13 U.S.-based fund management companies between December 10 and 21, showed firms boosting their equity allocations for the fourth month in a row to an average of 65.0 percent. That is a gain of 2 percentage points since November.

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(Reuters) - The quest by Chile's Collahuasi copper mine to find a new route to resume shipments in the wake of a port accident that forced it to suspend exports may be hobbled by environmental and logistical problems at the closest alternative facility. The struggle by the world's No. 3 copper mine to find a route with appropriate docking facilities and permits to allow exports to resume appears set to prolong global supply fears that pushed copper prices to a new record on Tuesday.

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(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is working on a version of its core Windows operating system for devices such as tablets, according to media reports on Tuesday, and the company said its Windows Phone 7 software is making headway in the booming smartphone market. Microsoft plans to unveil a version of its operating software that runs for the first time on processors designed by UK-based ARM Holdings PLC, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported. ARM's processors dominate the tablet and handheld device market.

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(Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Wednesday that it will soon announce the resumption of test flights for its 787 Dreamliner plane, which have been halted since last month due to technical problems. "Probably the next announcement from Boeing would be an announcement of a return to flight tests. We expect that announcement very soon," Boeing Japan President Mike Denton told reporters.

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(Reuters) - China is ready to buy 4-5 billion euros ($5.3-$6.6 billion) of Portuguese sovereign debt to help the country ward off pressure in debt markets, the Jornal de Negocios business daily reported Wednesday. The paper said, without citing any sources, that a deal reached between the two governments will lead to China buying Portuguese debt in auctions or in the secondary markets during the first quarter of 2011.

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