A stressing point in the United States economy has been the rapid rise of interest rates affecting the underlying cost of a 30-year mortgage, where some would-be home buyers decided to postpone or ...

Joining a chorus of home builders hurt by a downturn in the U.S. housing markets, Pulte Homes said late yesterday that it had closed 12,566 homes during the fourth quarter of 2006, a decline of 20 ...