"We do believe that the SEC and the other administrative agencies have been a major stumbling block to passing this legislation."

Chris Calabrese, a legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union,

criticizing the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for pushing back against legislation that would force government agencies to get warrants before they access the e-mail of people under investigation, according to a Reuters report. A coalition of liberals and conservatives launched www.notwithoutawarrant.com Wednesday, a website urging the public to lobby the White House to support sweeping changes to federal privacy laws proposed in Congress in 2013. In a conference call with reporters, the group singled out the SEC for stalling the reforms. It also called on President Barack Obama to respond to a petition with more than 100,000 signatures in support of the bill, saying the SEC's opposition has caused the White House to ignore a groundswell of support. But in a statement Wednesday, SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney said the legislation in its current form is not workable. Currently, government investigators can access certain e-mails with a subpoena, which has a lower legal threshold than a warrant because it does not involve a judge and is therefore easier to obtain.

"We're going to move a lot of crude in this country, and we have to learn how to do it very safely."

Warren Buffett, chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway,

assuring the public that safety is a major priority for the rail industry, after a recent spate of accidents raised concerns about how to transport oil safely, Reuters reported. He added that the delay in the construction of the Keystone pipeline was unlikely to prompt additional purchases of tank cars at Berkshire railroad unit BNSF. Earlier this year the railroad said it plans to buy its own fleet of up to 5,000 new crude oil tank cars with safety features that exceed the latest industry standards. Oil by rail has surged in recent years, helped by a boom in North Dakota. Traffic is now running 10 percent ahead of last year at this time, with BNSF accounting for roughly a third of US oil-by-rail traffic. But recent accidents have underscored the dangers of transporting the volatile fuel by train, with Canada now planning to phase out older tank cars to improve safety.

"The weak tone of this report is a bitter pill for those, including ourselves, who have been looking for signs of a spring thaw in the housing recovery."

Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York,

commenting on sales of new US single-family homes, which tumbled to their lowest level in eight months in March, dashing hopes for a quick turnaround for a sector that fell into a soft patch last summer, according to Reuters. The Commerce Department said that sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units, down 14.5 percent compared with the previous month. It was the second consecutive monthly decline and the biggest since July, the last time sales were so slow. Sales were down 13.3 percent from a year ago, marking the largest year-on-year decline since April 2011. Economists, who had expected sales to increase, said the drop suggested some fundamental weakness in the market, although unusually cold weather had also dampened activity. New home sales last month dived in the Midwest and the southern region, where unusually cold weather lingered early in the month. They also fell in the western part. While sales in the northeastern region rose, they failed to recoup even half of the prior month's 33.3-percent plunge.