International Business News - MTH http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Construction of new homes plunged last month to the lowest level on records going back nearly 50 years as U.S. builders slashed production while Wall Street nosedived. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081119/us-home-construction-sinks-to-new-record-low.htm Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:34:58 EST A government report on new-home construction and building permit applications for October is forecast to show declines for the fourth straight month as the housing sector is pulled down by falling prices, weak demand and a probable recession. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081119/ahead-of-the-bell-housing-starts.htm Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:13:56 EST Shares of Meritage Homes Corp. plunged Monday after a UBS analyst downgraded the homebuilder to "Neutral" from "Buy." In a research note, David Goldberg said the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company's stock is fairly valued following a 52 percent rally in Meritage shares since Oct. 28. By comparison, shares of other publicly traded homebuilders have shed 16 percent on average, Goldberg noted. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081110/meritage-homes-shares-slide-following-downgrade.htm Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:43:31 EST Among the stock activity stories for Tuesday, Oct. 28, from AP Financial News: SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP)--Shares of Meritage Homes Corp. lost more than a third of their value Tuesday, a day after the company reported a big loss in the third quarter brought on by tumbling home sales and prices, and after Credit Suisse cut its price target on the homebuilder. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081028/movers-roundup-meritage-homes-wms-industries.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:56:34 EDT Shares of Meritage Homes Corp. lost nearly a third of their value Tuesday, a day after it reported a big loss in the third quarter brought on by tumbling home sales and prices, and after Credit Suisse cut its price target on the homebuilder. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081028/meritage-homes-shares-fall-on-earnings-price-cut.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:34:56 EDT Meritage Homes Corp. said Monday its net loss widened in the third quarter, as home sales and prices continued to tumble. Meritage said it lost $144 million, or $4.69 per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $118.6 million, or $4.52 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue tumbled to $374.8 million from $578.6 million a year ago. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081027/meritage-posts-wider-3q-loss-on-housing-market.htm Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:56:12 EDT Among the earnings stories for Monday, Oct. 27, from AP Financial News: ST. LOUIS (AP)--Coal-producing Arch Coal Inc. said Monday its third-quarter earnings more than tripled, beating Wall Street's expectations. But the miner lowered its earnings outlook for the year, citing near-term softening of coal demand. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081027/earnings-roundup-arch-coal-loews.htm Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:25:41 EDT The federal government's $700 billion bailout of the financial industry could help homebuilders and mortgage lenders, but is unlikely to bring fast relief to anybody trying to buy or sell a house anytime soon. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081003/bailout-not-a-panacea-for-housing-market.htm Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:15:46 EDT The recession in the U.S. housing market is expected to be deeper, longer and scarier if lawmakers continue to be deadlocked in their effort to pass a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080929/bailouts-failure-bad-news-for-housing-market.htm Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:16:07 EDT Shares of major homebuilders soared Thursday as the government prepared plans to buy up mortgage-related debt that has plummeted in value over the past year. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080919/shares-of-homebuilders-rise-on-govt-intervention.htm Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:22:34 EDT Shares of most major homebuilders rose Tuesday afternoon after Federal Reserve policy makers left a key interest rate unchanged and an index showed industry executives' sentiment improving. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080916/shares-of-builders-rise-after-fed-holds-rates-firm.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:30:54 EDT Battered housing developers are a getting a bit more optimistic about their prospects for the next six months, an index of the sector's confidence showed Tuesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080916/builder-sentiment-rises-from-record-low.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:00:11 EDT Homebuilders continue to suffer declines in buyer traffic even as their stocks have rallied, said an analyst who downgraded several homebuilder stocks Tuesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080909/ahead-of-the-bell-analyst-downgrades-homebuilders.htm Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:59:34 EDT Home builder Meritage Homes Corp. on Monday reported a much narrower second-quarter loss as revenue continues to fall from the weak housing market in the southwest. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080728/home-builder-meritage-reports-narrower-loss-in-2q.htm Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:59:21 EDT A government report on new home construction and building permit applications for June is forecast to show declines as builders scrapped development plans amid the ongoing housing slump. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/ahead-of-the-bell-housing-starts.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:52:15 EDT A reading of housing developers' sentiment about the U.S. market is expected to remain at its all-time low in July. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index for the month is scheduled to be released Wednesday at 1 p.m. EDT. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080716/ahead-of-the-bell-builder-sentiment.htm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:58:27 EDT A government report due Tuesday is forecast to show that construction activity fell 0.5 percent in May, as pain in the housing sector continued to outweigh gains in other parts of the economy. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080701/ahead-of-the-bell-construction-spending.htm Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:17:08 EDT Nonprofit groups are battling with the Bush administration over whether to kill programs that allow homebuyers without the money for a down payment to get funds from sellers that are channeled through charities. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/79781-home-loan-assistance-fight.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080626/home-loan-aid-programs-could-be-cut-in-housing-bill.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080626/home-loan-aid-programs-could-be-cut-in-housing-bill.htm Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:55:58 EDT A government report to be released Wednesday is forecast to show that new home sales fell in May after an unexpected increase a month earlier. The Commerce Department is expected to report that new home sales dipped 2.1 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 515,000 units, according to the consensus forecast of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR. The report is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. EDT. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080625/ahead-of-the-bell-new-home-sales.htm Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:12:51 EDT A Credit Suisse analyst started coverage of the homebuilder sector with an "Overweight" rating Tuesday, saying the industry will likely turn a corner next spring as inventory levels start to drop. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080624/ahead-of-the-bell-homebuilders.htm Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:47:42 EDT