28th consecutive month: The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which measures how much a house costs in 20 major U.S. cities, dropped for the 28th consecutive month in November. Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco all saw prices slide by more than 30% since November 2007. Dallas posted the smallest drop, with home prices falling 3.3% in a year.
Throw me something mister! New Orleans tourism officials say Mardi Gras hotel bookings are running ahead of schedule, putting this year to be the biggest Fat Tuesday since Hurricane Katrina. The Carnival season, which kicks off with parades on Feb. 7, is expected to pump $840 million into the New Orleans economy.
Tapping into Haynesville: Energy Transfer Partners says it has reached an agreement with Chesapeake Energy Marketing to build a 178-mile natural gas pipeline through the Haynesville Shale in northwest Louisiana. The Tiger Pipeline, which would connect the vast gas fields of Haynesville with a pipeline system based in Texas, has an estimated price tag of $1 billion to $1.2 billion. The pipeline, which still needs regulatory approval, would be in service by mid-2011.
