U.S. home resales unexpectedly rose in January, reaching a six-month high, in the latest sign that the economy remains on firmer ground despite slowing global growth and tightening financial market conditions. (CNBC)

There’s a very real cost to the actions of the U.S. Government in the San Bernardino case. From a civil liberties perspective, we’re all bearing it. But from an economic perspective, that cost is being born almost entirely by the one bright spot in the American economy: the technology sector. (Harvard Business Review)

The recent mass shooting in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in which the alleged gunman apparently provided rides as an Uber driver between shootings, has placed public attention squarely on the issue of the background checks performed on Uber drivers. (CNN)

It’s true that networks influence the resources, support, and advocacy you get during the course of your career, but networks can form in many different ways. (Harvard Business Review)

Let us begin, then, with one cold, hard-numbered truth: For much of corporate America, racial diversity continues to be at best a challenge—and at worst a flat-out fiction—particularly in the executive ranks. There have been only 15 black CEOs in the history of the Fortune 500, of whom five are currently in the role. (Fortune)

It’s 2016, but the issue of workplace diversity is still unresolved – far from it. The World Economic Forum predicts that at current rates, the gender gap won’t close until 2133. (Forbes)

Having a diverse workforce is a priority for many companies, but researchers have found that just putting people with diverse backgrounds together doesn’t always improve outcomes. They have to actually engage with each other, and that can be a complicated process. (WKSU)

Saudi Arabia could be bankrupt in a matter of years.The global rout of oil prices is taking its toll on the country's bottom line. The government has cut spending in its upcoming budget and considered selling shares in Aramco, the state-run oil company. (CNBC)

The Bank of Japan said it will tighten control of information about policy decisions after questions were raised about a possible leak of officials’ discussions just before last month’s announcement on negative interest rates. (Bloomberg)

HSBC – one of the two most pivotal banks in the global financial system, according to regulators, alongside JPMorgan Chase – exudes permanence. Its buildings are guarded by lions cast in bronze which passers-by touch for luck. HSBC has never been bailed out, nationalised or bought, a claim no other mega-bank can make. It has not made a yearly loss since its foundation in 1865. While its peers took emergency loans from central banks in the crisis of 2008-10, HSBC, long on cash, supplied liquidity to the financial system. (The Economist)

Unfortunately, as a nation, the U.S. is not known for clear, logical math instruction. And in schools in low-income communities and communities of color, there are fewer expert, experienced, innovative teachers, which may account for some of the lower test scores some of those schools produce. Poor preparation is no doubt one reason many black students avoid STEM majors. (Black Enterprise)

A piece of African American history is slowly disappearing across the United States. More than 100 years ago, Rosenwald Schools were built to provide a quality education for black children in the era between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. Julian Rosenwald, one of the owners of Sears, Roebuck and Company, along with Booker T. Washington developed plans to establish nearly 5,000 Rosenwald Schools in 15 states across the south. More than 350 were built in Virginia. Today, it is estimated that 10% of the schools remain, nationwide. (WSLS)

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Facebook users – we few, we chatty few, we 1.5 billion – finally gained the option to "dislike" a post on Wednesday, though it wasn’t with the thumbs-down icon that many have long envisioned. (The Atlantic)

Black Tech Week has wrapped in Miami, with nearly 1,600 attendees from across the country and beyond, having passed through the 2nd annual event devoted to technology, entrepreneurship, creativity and more. ( NBC)

Depending on the take, either the government wants to set a precedent that would allow it to get master keys to all our devices, or Apple supports terrorists because it won’t help a government investigation. (Harvard Business Review)

The Phoenix City Council recently approved "My Brother’s Keeper Local Action Plan" to work with the community to help promote opportunities – including employment opportunities – and resources for people of color. (AZ Big Media)

Oil prices rose 3 percent on Wednesday as strong U.S. gasoline demand offset worries over record high crude stockpiles, while some traders bet the market will return lower on OPEC's stubbornness in not cutting output. (Reuters)

When Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testified on Capitol Hill earlier this month, the questions from her congressional hosts turned to an issue not usually aired in the semi-annual, often opaque discussion of economic data and interest rate policy. (CNBC)

In 2013, when the most recent federal survey was conducted, the difference in net worth between the typical black and white families was $131,000 -- the highest it's been since 1989. The poorest black families are far, far poorer than the poorest white families: 25 percent of black families had less than $5 in savings compared to $375 or less for the bottom quarter of white families. (The Huffington Post)

Building wealth has more to do with creating good money management habits than it does with pulling down a big paycheck.(Time

For buyers lured by the dream of homeownership, these seller-financed transactions can become a money trap that ends with a quick eviction by the seller, who can flip the home again. Before the housing crisis, low-income buyers got too much of a house that they couldn't afford. Now, they are getting too little of a house that they can't afford to repair. (The New York Times

Land Rover is serious about its slogan to "go beyond." Its latest SUV is one of the most expensive on the market.(CNN)

An oil production cut is off the table – at least for now. So there goes one potential catalyst for higher stock prices right out the window. (USA TODAY)

Janet Yellen may be the only leader of the Federal Reserve who has ever justified central bank stimulus by highlighting the plight of black workers. Yet lately, she has been attacked for not doing enough to help them. (The Washington Post)

When Orlando Ashford was appointed President of the Holland America Line (CCL) in December 2014, he didn’t have any experience in the cruise industry. . . . And believe it or not he had never been on a cruise. (Fox Business)

We speak of looking up to people we admire. And so often, when we look up to successful people in our line of work, it seems like they must have always been at the top. But the reality is so often the very opposite. As Fast Company has learned by interviewing a variety of creative and successful people over the past year, failure often contains the seeds of success. Indeed, some of the most successful people started out at the very, very bottom – in a slum or tiny village, even – and still treasure the lessons they learned from those years. ((Fast Company)

Only 6 percent of all high-frequency wine drinkers are African-American, according to John Gillespie, founder and chief executive officer of Wine Opinions, a research group for the industry. (The Press Democrat)