Huge year for home developers - 2004-02-12
Analysts said on Thursday that residential developers were likely to have made huge profits during the fourth quarter last year due to higher sales that coincided with the end of the incentive tax in 2003.

Research from Bualaung Securities indicated that the anticipated strong fourth quarter results last year also resulted from rush purchases before the expiry of property-related tax exemptions, including transfer and mortgage fees.
Read the full story at Business Day Newspaper

U.S. mortgage-backed bond spreads a bit wider - 2004-02-12
U.S. mortgage-backed bond spreads were a bit wider on Thursday, pushed by a marginal uptick in U.S. Treasuries following a surprise rise in weekly
jobless claims.

Earlier in the session, 5-1/2 percent 30-year mortgage bonds were the only securities that were wider, with 5 percents and 6 percents marginally narrower.
Read the full story at Reuters via Forbes