Oculus Rift begins shipping; early reviews mixed

March 29, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

LOS ANGELES

The first consumer-ready Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset was delivered to a real person over the weekend, and reviewers got their first taste. The initial feedback: It’s a beautiful, wonderful device that immerses you, yet it still has a ways to go.

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey hand-delivered the first Rift to software developer Ross Martin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, kicking off a new era in virtual reality by putting the most-powerful VR device yet into a consumer’s hands.

Martin, who had never tried VR before, spent a few hours on the Rift Monday morning. He watched a short movie, played a game and explored a virtual environment that included an up-close encounter with a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

“I couldn’t stop saying, ‘Wow,’” Martin, a 33-year-old Web developer, said in an interview. But he said that he felt a touch of nausea at times and that the resolution could be better.

Stocks mixed in quiet trading

NEW YORK

Stocks got a little help from an international hotel deal and dueling super- heroes Monday, but they could only wobble to a split finish in a quiet day of trading.

Hotel chains Starwood and Marriott climbed after a Chinese insurance company made another offer to buy Starwood. Media giant Time Warner rose after “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” had a super opening weekend.

US consumer spending posts scant increase

WASHINGTON

U.S. consumers barely increased their spending in February and spent less in January than the government had earlier estimated. The pullback led some analysts to downgrade their expectations for the economy’s growth during the January-March quarter.

Consumer spending edged up a tiny 0.1 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Monday. And it revised down its estimate of spending growth in January from a solid 0.5 percent gain to a much weaker 0.1 percent, which matched December’s lackluster figure.

Contracts to buy homes at highest point since July

WASHINGTON

More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, with purchases surging in the Midwest ahead of the traditional spring buying season.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its seasonally adjusted pending home-sales index rose 3.5 percent to 109.1, rebounding from a 3 percent decline in January. The index has reached its highest level since July 2015.

The increase in signed contracts occurred last month despite a shortage of homes on the market. The gain suggests a strong start to the spring home-buying season, after some recent reports have hinted at a possible slowdown as rising prices have hurt affordability.

Wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .129.700.13

Aqua America, .71 31.590.14

Avalon Holdings,1.77-0.14

Cortland Bancorp, .2815.500.00Farmers Nat., .128.93-0.03

First Energy, 1.44 35.74-0.42

Fifth/Third, .5217.09-0.01

FirstMerit Corp., .6821.16-0.10

First Niles Financial, .208.150.00

FNB Corp., .4812.930.03

General Motors, 1.5231.020.06

General Electric, .9231.490.38

Huntington Bank, .28 9.53-0.06

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.010.01JP Morgan Chase, 1.7659.40-0.08

Key Corp, .3011.18-0.01LaFarge, .3417.570.00

Macy’s, 1.44 44.380.90

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 110.30-0.65

PNC, 2.0484.880.08

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.40203.071.63

Stoneridge 14.51-0.08

Talmer Bank, .20 17.82-0.01United Comm. Fin., .10 5.730.04Selected prices from Monday’s 4 p.m. close.