Realtor Watts eyes pent-up housing demand January 4th, 2008, 11:59 am · 175 Comments · posted by Jon Lansner/O.C. Register columnist Realtor/economist Gary Watts plays Eyeball ‘08, our two-week long, holiday cornucopia of opinion of how 2008 will play out for local real estate. Every day at noon, we’ll offer up a new market watcher’s thoughts on the market … Watts’ forecasts of the O.C. housing market always draw emotion, no matter what your own outlook has been. While he saw... Read Full Story
June 17 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. housing market may crash as faster inflation prevents the central bank from cutting interest rates to bolster the economy, and as swap rates surge, according to Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London. Figures today show U.K. consumer prices rose 3.3 percent in May, the most since the index was first compiled 11 years ago. That is the second time inflation has failed to stay within a percentage point of the government's 2 percent... Read Full Story
June 17 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. housing market may crash as faster inflation prevents the central bank from cutting interest rates to bolster the economy, and as swap rates surge, according to Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London. Figures today show U.K. consumer prices rose 3.3 percent in May, the most since the index was first compiled 11 years ago. That is the second time inflation has failed to stay within a percentage point of the government's 2 percent... Read Full Story
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts slid 3.3 percent in May to their lowest level in more than 17 years, while permits for future construction also fell, signaling more weakness ahead for the battered U.S. housing sector. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said housing starts set an annual pace of 975,000 units in May, the lowest since March 1991. Economists polled before the report were expecting a 980,000 unit rate. The April starts figure was revised downward to 1.008 million... Read Full Story
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ladenburg Thalmann and Co. bank analyst Dick Bove on Tuesday upgraded Lehman Bros. Holdings to neutral from sell, saying the bank has raised capital and settled many of the uncertainties related to its balance sheet. But Bove also cautioned that the investment bank could see more write-downs and changed his earnings per share estimate for 2008 to a loss of $3.19 per share from a profit of $2.07 per share. "The company's hedging policies appear to still be... Read Full Story
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts slid 3.3 percent in May to their lowest level in more than 17 years, while permits for future construction also fell, signaling more weakness ahead for the battered U.S. housing sector. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said housing starts set an annual pace of 975,000 units in May, the lowest since March 1991. Economists polled before the report were expecting a 980,000 unit rate. The April starts figure was revised downward to 1.008 million... Read Full Story
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Ladenburg Thalmann and Co. bank analyst Dick Bove on Tuesday upgraded Lehman Bros. Holdings to neutral from sell, saying the bank has raised capital and settled many of the uncertainties related to its balance sheet. But Bove also cautioned that the investment bank could see more write-downs and changed his earnings per share estimate for 2008 to a loss of $3.19 per share from a profit of $2.07 per share. "The company's hedging policies appear to still be... Read Full Story
Wholesale prices post biggest gain in 6 months, propelled by energy and food costs WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesale prices bolted ahead in May at the fastest pace in six months as energy and food costs marched higher.The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its Producer Price Index, which measures the costs of goods before they reach store shelves, shot up 1.4 percent in May. That was up from a modest 0.2 percent rise in April and marked the biggest increase since November.However, stripping... Read Full Story
Wholesale prices post biggest gain in 6 months, propelled by energy and food costs WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wholesale prices bolted ahead in May at the fastest pace in six months as energy and food costs marched higher.The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its Producer Price Index, which measures the costs of goods before they reach store shelves, shot up 1.4 percent in May. That was up from a modest 0.2 percent rise in April and marked the biggest increase since November.However, stripping... Read Full Story
Builder lifted to neutral on valuation; analysts say stock oversold after drop By John Spence, MarketWatch Last update: 10:23 a.m. EDT June 17, 2008 BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Analysts at UBS kept a cautious tone on beaten-down shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. even though they removed the stock from their sell list, citing valuation after a recent decline during which it fell heavier... Read Full Story
