Pending home sales decline in JanuaryWASHINGTON — Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in January, as the recent hot streak appears to have been curbed by a shortage of properties for sale and colder weather.The National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index fell 2.5 percent to 106 in January. The decline comes after the sales index averaged 108.9 in 2015, its highest level since 2006.The number of signed contracts decreased in the Northeast, Midwest and West. Prospective sales improved slightly in the South. But a shortage of listings has weighed down the potential for sales increases akin to last year’s increase.

Macy’s to keep rights to beloved brandMacy’s, which retired the Marshall Field’s name a decade ago, will keep the rights to the beloved brand as part of a court settlement reached with a California man planning to monetize the retailer’s dormant monikers.The department-store operator had filed a federal trademark infringement suit in the Northern District of California against Strategic Marks, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based business that tries to revive defunct brands, and its chief executive, Ellia Kassoff. Kassoff recently resurrected Hydrox cookies.