Construction Materials

More

• Olick: 2013's Best and Worst Foreclosure Deals 

  

  After improving in 2011, foreclosures ramped up again in 2012, and will likely continue to rise as banks clear out backlogs of distressed loans. More than half of the top 200 U.S. housing markets saw foreclosure numbers rise, according to a new report from RealtyTrac, reports CNBC's Diana Olick.

• Pfizer Earnings Top Estimates; Aided by Solid Sales

  

  Pfizer fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled because of a $4.8 billion gain from selling its nutrition business.

• Pending Home Sales Fall Due to Dwindling Supply

  

  Signed contracts to buy existing homes fell 4.3 percent in December from the previous month, according to a monthly index from the National Association of Realtors.

• Caterpillar Earnings Hit by China Fraud; Cautious for 2013

  

  Caterpillar earnings after adjusting for a big write-down in China topped analysts' estimates. The company expects earnings to improve later this year, but the outlook shows it isn't banking on it.

• Home Builders Turn to Rental Apartments

  

  Faced with heavy competition from a hot rental market, some of the nation’s home builders are turning some of their resources to building multi-family, rental apartment buildings.

• Soaring Housing Stocks in Perspective

  

  As the Dow approaches 14000 and the S&P 500 is on a tear, stocks of the nation's home builders continue on what looks like an unstoppable trajectory skyward. But is it?

• New Housing Fears: Home Prices Are Rising Too Fast

  

  "The greatest concern in the market is the inventory situation," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Associate of Realtors.

• Beijing's toxic smog was years in the making, had many sources

  BEIJING, Jan 17- Chinese leaders dazzled the world by clearing the skies as if by edict before the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. Fast forward to January 2013, and the government seems powerless against those same skies, tarnished by an opaque, toxic cloud that has smothered the city for nearly a week.

• ANALYSIS-Brazil IPOs face uncertain future as buyers stay wary

  SAO PAULO, Jan 16- Investors have a message for initial public offering candidates in Brazil: be careful how you price your IPO or it will founder. Stung by a string of deals that failed to deliver the promised returns, investors are being extra cautious in Brazil, casting a dark cloud over a pipeline of some $6 billion of potential IPO transactions in 2013..

• After Eight Months, Home Builder Confidence Stalls

  

  Despite big earnings gains from the big public builders, overall confidence among the nation's home builders took a pause in January.

• China Property: 2013 Year of the Upgraders 

  

  Nicole Wong, Regional Head of Property Research, CLSA (HK) explains why mid-cap construction stocks are a good buy right now.

• What's Booming? China's Demand for Iron Ore

  

  Iron ore exports to China from Australia's Port Hedland, a bellwether for Chinese industrial activity, surged 25 percent in December from the previous month to a record level, shipping data showed.

• December ISM Index 50.7 

  

  CNBC's Rick Santelli breaks down the latest numbers on manufacturing and construction.

• UPDATE 2-U.S. EPA softens rules on industrial boiler emissions

  WASHINGTON, Dec 21- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has softened rules to curb pollution from industrial boilers and large incinerators, revising earlier versions to target only the largest polluters and give them more time to comply.

• UPDATE 1-Rock clearing begins on drought-hit Mississippi River

  *Army Corps excavating Mississippi River- bottom rock. Dec 18- The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers on Tuesday began clearing rocks from a shallow stretch of the drought-hit Mississippi River- its largest such undertaking in at least 25 years- to maintain the flow of billions of dollars' worth of goods to Gulf Coast ports.

• U.S. Army Corps clearing rocks from drought-hit Mississippi

  *Army Corps excavating Mississippi river-bottom rock. Dec 18- The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, in its largest such undertaking in at least 25 years, on Tuesday began clearing a shallow stretch of the drought-hit Mississippi River of rocks impeding the flow of billions of dollars' worth of goods to the Gulf Coast.

• Home Builders Still Feel Better, Despite 'Cliff' Concerns

  

  The nation's home builders continue to feel much better about their industry.

• McMansions Return: Big Houses Are Coming Back

  

  After five years of downsizing, homeowners may be "upsizing" once again, according to a new survey by national homebuilder PulteGroup.

• October Construction Spending Up 1.4% 

  

  Construction spending has risen the most in five months, up 1.4 percent in October, reports CNBC's Tyler Mathisen, and CNBC's Diana Olick reports the amount of foreclosures is coming down.

• How Rising Home Prices May Actually Stall the Recovery

  

  Some fear the rapid increase in home prices could actually start hurting the housing recovery.