UPDATE 2-U.S. H1 foreclosures jump, trending higher-RealtyTrac

(Reuters) - The spike in foreclosures reported by RealtyTrac
underscored another problem plaguing the U.S. housing market,
which has also been struggling with falling demand and hefty
inventory.




Analysts and the Federal Reserve have cited the housing
problem, exacerbated by the subprime blowup, as the biggest
risk to economic growth. Bond traders are betting that the Fed
would begin cutting interest rates later this year to cushion
the economy from a housing-led slowdown.


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HSBC says profits up 13 pct, but bad debts jump

(Reuters) - LONDON, July 30 - HSBC Holdings , Europe's biggest bank, reported a 13 percent rise in first-half pretax profits as a $1 billion one-off gain helped offset a jump in bad debts linked to its problems in the U.S. housing market.



HSBC said on Monday its charge for bad debts was $6.35 billion in the six months to the end of June, up 63 percent from $3.89 billion a year earlier.


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Home Depot sees bigger profit drop on housing woes

(Reuters) - ATLANTA, July 10 - Home Depot Inc. on Tuesday forecast a deeper profit drop for 2007, citing weakness in the U.S. housing market.



The home improvement industry leader said it expected per-share profit for the full year to fall 15 percent to 18 percent to a range of $2.30 to $2.36 per share. In May, Home Depot had said earnings per share would fall 9 percent this year.


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D.R. Horton says qtly orders fall, sees loss

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 10 - D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, on Tuesday said orders for new homes fell 40 percent last quarter, and said it would write down assets leading to a loss in its third quarter.



Hurt by the deteriorating U.S. housing market, Horton said its net sales orders in the fiscal third quarter, which ended June 30, fell to 8,559 homes from 14,316 homes a year earlier, and the dollar value of the orders dropped 47 percent to $2.0 billion from $3.8 billion.


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Meritage Homes sees revenue drop, to take charges

(Reuters) - BOSTON, July 6 - Meritage Homes Corp. said on Friday it expects second-quarter revenue to be down about 37 percent from a year ago and to record more than $100 million in charges as it struggles in a weak U.S. housing market.



The home builder said it has been particularly hard hit in the area of Fort Myers and Naples, along Florida's Gulf coast.


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WRAPUP 1-Paulson-US on guard against tainted Chinese goods

(Reuters) - During a wide-ranging interview with Reuters in which he said the beleaguered U.S. housing market was bottoming out, Paulson conceded that American attitudes toward China had soured over what some U.S. interests see as unfair trade tactics and worry about tainted food and other products.




"The perception of China in the U.S. has been on the negative side for some time because many in the U.S. are unhappy with the risks they see and some of the negatives they see in globalization," Paulson said.


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Japanese Exporter Stocks May Drop, Led by Sony, on U.S. Housing Concern

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese exporter stocks may drop,
extending the Nikkei 225 Stock Average's longest streak of
declines since early March. Sony Corp. may pace losses amid
signs the U.S. housing market is worsening, curbing demand.

Commodities-related shares such as Mitsubishi Corp. may
fall after prices of oil, copper, gold and other raw materials
slumped.


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UPDATE 2-IMF's Rato sees U.S. economy regaining momentum

(Reuters) - TORONTO, June 19 - The U.S. economy is likely to
regain momentum as the drag from the current housing downturn
and softness in the business sector ease, the head of the
International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.




In the text for a speech in Toronto, IMF Managing Director
Rodrigo Rato pointed to recent data showing a recovery in the
U.S. manufacturing sector, but cautioned the the situation in
the U.S. housing market was "more ambiguous".


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Lehman to merge two mortgage units, cut 400 jobs

(Reuters) - The cuts come at a time when defaults among the riskiest
home owners are rising and the U.S. housing market slows.
Lehman declined to elaborate further on the merger.




But in a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Lehman
Chief Financial Officer Chris O'Meara said "U.S. subprime
origination volumes were little changed" during the quarter.
Global origination was up "a bit" from the first quarter,
driven by "Alt-A" loans and by activity outside the U.S.


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