Holiday Sales & Home Prices
Buying out... MasterCard reported overall holiday sales through Dec. 24...
were up a modest 3.6%, compared to last year's 6.6% increase. Excluding gasoline, retail sales increased by only 2.4%.
Target warns December same-store sales were below expectations. The company said it now expects sales to be down 1% to up 1%...
well below the previous forecast that called for sales to rise 3% to 5%.
Buying In... Davis Selected Advisers acquired a 5.1% stake in MBIA, according to a filing with the SEC.
British billionaire Joe Lewis disclosed a 9.57% stake in Bear Stearns vs his previous 8.1%.
Record fall... S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index "values" fell 6.1% from October 2006 in 20 metropolitan areas, the largest annual drop ever.
From Sept 07 prices fell 1.4%, the largest month over month decline on record
Miami was hit the hardest with a 12.4% drop year-over-year. Only three areas saw prices rise, led by a 4.3% gain in Charlotte.
Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez:
"With supply overhang enormous and mortgage financing tougher to obtain, home prices are going to decline considerably further in the quarters ahead."
were up a modest 3.6%, compared to last year's 6.6% increase. Excluding gasoline, retail sales increased by only 2.4%.
Target warns December same-store sales were below expectations. The company said it now expects sales to be down 1% to up 1%...
well below the previous forecast that called for sales to rise 3% to 5%.
Buying In... Davis Selected Advisers acquired a 5.1% stake in MBIA, according to a filing with the SEC.
British billionaire Joe Lewis disclosed a 9.57% stake in Bear Stearns vs his previous 8.1%.
Record fall... S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index "values" fell 6.1% from October 2006 in 20 metropolitan areas, the largest annual drop ever.
From Sept 07 prices fell 1.4%, the largest month over month decline on record
Miami was hit the hardest with a 12.4% drop year-over-year. Only three areas saw prices rise, led by a 4.3% gain in Charlotte.
Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez:
"With supply overhang enormous and mortgage financing tougher to obtain, home prices are going to decline considerably further in the quarters ahead."
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