Roundup: U.S. pending home sales rose modestly in July; For the first time, 1 billion people used Facebook in single day; mor…

Pending home sales up modestly in July

Slightly more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in July, as pending sales edged up after dipping in June.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 0.5 percent to 110.9 last month. That marks a slight recovery from June, when the index fell to 110.4 after reaching 112.3 in May, a level last achieved in 2006.

Steady job growth, coupled with low mortgage rates, has improved home sales this year. As the recovery from the Great Recession enters its seventh year, more Americans have rebuilt their savings, increased their home equity and returned to the real estate market.

The modest increase in the index last month indicates that sales may soon be peaking from this year's surge.

For the first time, 1B people use Facebook in a day

For the first time, a billion people used Facebook in a single day on Monday.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg marked the occasion with a post on his Facebook page, saying that one out of seven people on Earth logged in to the social network to connect with their friends and family.

The 1 billion figure is different from the daily user numbers Facebook discloses each quarter when it reports its financial results. Those are the average number of daily users, counted over a 30-day period. Facebook had 968 million daily active users in June.

Overall, Facebook has nearly 1.5 billion users who log in at least once a month. It hit the 1 billion user milestone in October 2012. Most people on Facebook live outside the United States and Canada.

Christmas comes early for Wal-Mart's layaway users

Wal-Mart is giving customers a head start on holiday shopping, launching its annual layaway program two weeks earlier than last year.

It's the latest sign of retailers getting more aggressive about grabbing holiday shoppers early. Stores have offered holiday discounts earlier as they battle competition from online retailers.

Shoppers at Wal-Mart can put their items on hold starting Friday. Each item must cost $10 or more, down from the $15 limit last year. All items held must be worth a total of $50. Customers will have more time to pay for their items this year — 90 days instead of the 60 days they were given last year.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., said it will start to offer exclusive “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” toys starting Sept. 4.

Apple characteristically vague about Sept. 9 new product event

Apple has announced plans for a new product event on Sept. 9 in San Francisco, where the giant tech company is expected to show off new iPhones and other gadgets.

The company has introduced a new iPhone model every year around this time. But in typical fashion, Apple is dropping only vague clues about its plans.

Invitations sent to reporters and analysts Thursday were headlined “Hey Siri, give us a hint.” Apple has said it plans to expand the capabilities of Siri, its voice-activated personal assistant, in an upcoming version of its operating software for iPhones and iPads.

Industry insiders have speculated Apple may introduce a larger iPad for business users, a new set-top box for televisions and possibly other products. The company, however, has not confirmed any plans.

McDonald's, Tyson Foods cut ties to farm over animal cruelty

McDonald's and Tyson Foods severed ties Thursday with a Tennessee farm where workers were seen stabbing, clubbing and stomping on chickens in an undercover video shot by animal rights activists.

The videotape, which was revealed by Mercy For Animals at a news conference in Los Angeles, depicts gruesome animal cruelty toward the birds at what the group said was T&S Farm in Dukedom, Tenn., which was under contract to Tyson Foods.

Tyson supplies chicken to McDonald's, the world's biggest fast-food chain, for its McNuggets.

Representatives for T&S Farm could not be reached for comment.

“Animal well-being is a priority at our company, and we will not tolerate the unacceptable animal treatment shown in this video,” Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman said.

Other business news

• Kennametal Inc. has appointed Jan Kees van Gaalen as its chief financial officer to replace Martha Fusco, who has been serving in an interim basis since February and will continue on with the company as controller. Van Gaalen will begin Sept. 1. Before joining Kennametal, he was CFO at Dresser-Rand Group Inc.

• MSA Safety Inc. said Thursday that its chief financial officer is leaving to take a similar position at a medical device and life sciences company it did not name. Stacy McMahan, whose resignation is effective Sept. 25, joined MSA in 2012 as senior vice president of finance and was promoted to CFO in 2013. Senior Vice President Kerry Bove will serve as interim CFO while the company searches for a permanent replacement.