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U.S. home sales are gradually coming back. A mild winter and a stronger job market have helped boost sales ahead of the crucial spring buying season.

Aggressive efforts to prevent students such as Burke from dropping out contributed to a modest 3.5 percent increase nationally in the high school graduation rate from 2001 to 2009, according to research to be presented Monday at the Grad Nation summit in Washington. The event was organized by the children's advocacy group America's Promise Alliance.

The global economy has stepped back from the brink of danger and signs of stabilization are emerging from the euro zone and the United States, but high debt levels in developed markets and rising oil prices are key risks ahead, the IMF said on Sunday.

The Federal Reserve also said on Tuesday that JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and others could raise dividends or buy back stock.

Stocks climbed to new heights in part on rosy retail sales data, pushing the broad market to levels last seen in June 2008 and the Nasdaq composite index past the 3,000 milestone for the first time since 2000.

Retail sales recorded their largest gain in five months in February as Americans snapped up motor vehicles and bought a range of goods even as they paid more for gasoline, government data showed on Tuesday.

Against the backdrop of gasoline prices rising at the pump in an election year, a new Obama administration report cites “significant progress” in reducing foreign oil imports and increasing domestic oil and gas production.

The euro zone is showing tentative signs of improvement, the latest monthly readout from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed on Monday.

Bank of America said Friday it would reduce by about $100,000 the amount owed by as many as 200,000 underwater homeowners as part of the recently announced government foreclosure settlement with top mortgage servicers.

In yet another sign of a strengthening recovery, the United States added 227,000 net jobs in February, the third consecutive month of gains over 200,000. The unemployment rate was unchanged from 8.3 percent in January, the Labor Department reported Friday, as nearly a half million people who had been staying on the sidelines rejoined the search for work. The strong job growth numbers could bolster President Obama’s effort to make the case to voters that his economic policies are working.