Pending home sales drop in January

The index for pending home sales, a leading indicator of U.S. housing demand, fell in January for the fifth straight month, reaching a level nearly 5 percent below a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors announced Monday. The trade group announced its index was down 1.1 percent in January to 116.3. That was 4.8 percent below the same month a year earlier. more [WSJ]