U.S. housing starts fall 3.7 percent

Groundbreakings for new homes around the country fell 3.7 percent in
November, the Commerce Department reported. Permits for new homes fell
to their lowest annual pace in more than 14 years. “Housing market
conditions were already in quite bad shape when credit market turmoil
intensified in August,” wrote Joshua Shapiro, a U.S. economist. “With
mortgage financing further constrained and inventories of unsold homes
much too high, the near-to-medium-term outlook for housing starts is
poor.”