On solid ground? The residential real estate recovery in the U.S. is best described as plodding, with the industry taking a step back in November for the first time in three months. As Bloomberg reports, housing starts declined by 1.6%—the first monthly drop since August—to a 1.03 million annualized rate in November, down from a revised 1.05 million pace in October that was stronger than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today. The decrease was led by a plunge in the South as other areas registered gains. Read the full story.
Buckle up: Holiday drivers should expect a lot more traffic this year. AAA announced today that about 4 million more Americans are expected to take to the open road between Christmas and New Year’s Day this year compared to like period last year. Fuelfix.com reports the increase will put the total number of holiday drivers traveling 50 miles or more at 98.6 million, the most ever since AAA and data analysis firm IHS began tracking such travel in 2001. About 94.8 million people drove that distance during the holidays in 2013, so if travel this year hits projections, it will make for the biggest year-to-year jump in travelers since 2009. Lower gasoline prices are responsible for the growth in drivers, with AAA estimating the average gallon of gasoline will cost about $2.53 over the holidays, or about 70 cents less than the same period in 2013.
Market forces: Crude oil prices steadied this afternoon, giving a lift to oil and gas stocks and pushing the U.S. market up. Chevron, Denbury Resources and other oil producers surged, leading eight of the 10 industries in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index higher. The Associated Press reports the price of U.S. oil rose slightly for the first time in a week, but global crude remained stuck below $60 per barrel for the first time since May 2009 on signs that global producers will not trim output in response to abundant supplies. Read the full story.
