1.   Mazda spokesman Tetsu Owari said the move comes as Mazda seeks to increase its presence in a recovering Spanish market.

2.   Real estate agents and brokers fear that an insurance crunch could undermine the recovering housing market, but so far escrows have not been held up.

3.   The buying spree comes amid a rapidly recovering West Coast apartment market.

4.   He said Arab markets are also expected to improve this year benefiting from recovering Asian markets after the Asian financial crisis in the last two years.