New-Home Building Frenzy Goes into December - 2004-01-23
New-home buyers had their most active year in a quarter century as the nationwide building frenzy of 2003 did not tail off in December as expected, the government reported Wednesday.

Housing starts rose 1.7 percent last month, the U.S. Commerce Department said, instead of falling more than 5 percent as expected -- thanks mostly to mortgage rates that fought their way back below 6 percent about seven weeks ago.
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A major forecaster of trends increases optimism - 2004-01-23
A strengthning job market and higher consumer spending due in part to low mortgage rates lifted a key measure of future economic activity in December to its highest level.

The 0.2 percent gain in the Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators met analysts' expectations and coincided with fresh government unemployment data that also suggested that the economic recovery was solidifying.
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