WASHINGTON - February 15, 2011 - Optimism is in short supply among U.S. homebuilders, a sign that the depressed housing market will slow the economy's gains this year.

The outlook by builders hasn't improved since the fall, when new-home sales were in the midst of their bleakest year in a half-century.

WASHINGTON - February 15, 2011 – Homebuilders are not seeing a turnaround in the housing market after the worst year for new home sales in a half-century.

WASHINGTON (PNN) - February 14, 2011 - Illegitimate President Obama projects that the gross federal debt will top $15 trillion this year, officially equaling the size of the entire U.S. economy, and will jump to nearly $21 trillion within five years.

Amid the other staggering numbers in the budget Obama sent to Congress on Monday, the debt stands out - both because Congress will need to vote to raise the debt limit later this year, and because the numbers are so large.

NEW YORK - February 14, 2011 - Few believed the housing market here would ever collapse. Now they wonder if it will ever stop slumping.

The rolling real estate crash that ravaged Florida and the sduthwest is delivering a new wave of distress to communities once thought to be immune: economically diversified cities where the boom was relatively restrained.

WASHINGTON (PNN) - February 14, 2011 - Some of the United States weakest local governments face a real risk of default in 2011 as well as waves of layoffs that could put upward pressure on the country's jobless rate, according to a Reuters poll.

The findings from the poll published on Sunday found a majority of Wall Street professionals, including municipal bond traders and investors - 14 out of 25 - believe up to four multibillion-dollar municipal bond defaults will take place this year.

NEW YORK - February 10, 2011 - U.S. home foreclosures jumped 12% last month, but the sharp divide between states suggests the industry remains backlogged by investigations into the foreclosure process.

According to a report from real estate data firm RealtyTrac, lenders foreclosed on 78,133 properties in January, up 12% from the month before but down 11% from January a year ago.

NEW YORK - February 10, 2011 - The number of borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth took a huge leap in the fourth quarter of 2010. A full 27% of borrowers are now “underwater” on their mortgages, up from 23% in the previous quarter, according to a new report from Zillow. Foreclosure moratoriums and falling home prices are to blame.