Saturday, July 18, 2009

US real estate, stocks and optimism

A better-than-expected report on the housing market in June that was issued by the US Commerce Dept. today (Friday) dampened demand for safe investments.

Construction of homes and apartments jumped 3.6% in June, to the highest level in seven months, beating economists’ estimates while building permits climbed 8.7%, also beating forecasts.
Yet note: Builders are trying to complete homes before a November deadline that gives first-time buyers a special tax break.

This week, the Dow Jones industrials and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index posted their best weekly performance since the week ending March 13, when the stock market’s spring surge began.

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