U.S. housing starts fall, store sales up - 2004-02-18
U.S. housing starts in a snowy January dropped a greater than expected 7.9 percent to their lowest since August, but chain store sales and mortgage applications climbed last week, reports showed on Wednesday.

Residential construction starts tumbled last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.903 million from a downwardly revised 2.067 million rate in December, the Commerce Department said. December housing starts had been at the highest level since February 1984.
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US mortgage requests higher, 30-yr rate at 7-month low - 2004-02-18
Americans filed more mortgage applications last week as interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to their lowest levels in seven months, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted market index, a measure of weekly mortgage activity, rose for the week ending Feb. 13 by 4.9 percent to 837.1.
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