US new home sales jump but growth slows, Europe sees more bailouts and rating cuts

New home sales in the US jumped 7.6 percent in May to the highest rate since April 2010, providing yet more evidence that the housing market is recovering.

However, US economic growth may be faltering anyway. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell to -0.45 in May from 0.08 in April. The three-month moving average fell to -0.34 from -0.13, suggesting, according to the Chicago Fed, that national economic growth was below its historical trend.

In Europe, Spain formally requested a bailout for its banks on Monday. That did not stop Moody's from downgrading 28 Spanish banks that same day.

Monday also saw Cyprus become the fifth eurozone country to request a bailout. Its sovereign credit rating was also cut to BB+, a non-investment grade, by Fitch on Monday.