Purchases of new homes in the United States unexpectedly fell in May as builder discounts failed to keep pace with the foreclosure-driven slump in prices for existing homes, the U.S. Commerce Department said today. Sales decreased 0.6 percent to an annual pace of 342,000 after a revised 344,000 rate in April that was lower than previously estimated, Bloomberg reported. The median sales price fell 3.4 percent from May 2008, compared with a 17 percent drop for existing homes reported yesterday by the National Association of Realtors. Sales of new houses made up 6.7 percent of the market in May, down from 12.5 percent two years ago.

Republic Airway Holdings will acquire Midwest Airlines from TPG Capital, a Fort Worth-based private equity firm, the Business Journal of Milwaukee reported Tuesday. Midwest operates three daily regional jet flights from Des Moines International Airport, and under the deal will continue to operate under the Midwest brand. A Des Moines airport spokesman said it does not appear that the sale will affect Midwest’s local operations. The $31 million transaction is part of Republic’s strategic plan to diversify and expand its revenue base, officials said. On Monday, Republic reached an investment agreement with bankrupt Frontier Airlines that will result in the Denver-based carrier becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic for a price of $108.75 million. Republic also owns Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America, which together offer 1,200 flights daily to 101 cities in 37 states, Canada and Mexico through airline services agreements with seven U.S. airlines, including Midwest.

Meredith Corp. announced the launch of Mixing Bowl magazine as an extension of its MixingBowl.com social networking Web site, which focuses on food. An initial national distribution of 260,000 copies of the magazine was to be available Tuesday in major supermarkets, mass merchants and bookstores. Meredith said the magazine is the “first-ever print extension” of a social media brand.

The state’s Web site, Iowa.gov, debuted Tuesday with a new look. It’s been five years since the last major redesign of the site, which receives an average of 1.25 million views per year. The site features dual navigation menus, live support from the State Library of Iowa, news headlines that are pulled from state agency Web sites, winning lottery numbers, contact information for the governor and lieutenant governor and other information.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) raised its forecast for the economies of its 30 member nations for the first time in two years as the U.S. recession shows signs of easing, Bloomberg reported. The combined economy of the world’s most-industrialized countries will shrink 4.1 percent this year and grow 0.7 percent in 2010, according to the Paris-based group, which was founded in 1961 to coordinate international economic policies. The new projections compare with March forecasts for contractions of 4.3 percent and 0.1 percent. The improved outlook conflicts with that of the World Bank, which this week said the global recession will be deeper than it predicted three months ago. In anticipating a weak recovery staggered across different economies, the OECD signaled that the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan should not raise interest rates before 2011 and recommended that the European Central Bank cut its benchmark rate further.

The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority’s free D-Line will operate until 11 p.m. July 2 to accommodate passengers traveling from downtown to the East Village for the Des Moines Symphony’s Yankee Doodle Pops concert at the state Capitol. The concert begins at 6:45 p.m. with local jazz artist Roxi Copland and her band; the symphony will take the stage at 8:30 p.m. and will be joined by Broadway performer Brad Little. The event will culminate with a fireworks display.