Housing Starts in the U.S. Unexpectedly Plunged in October

Bloomberg reports:

Builders in October unexpectedly broke ground on fewer U.S. houses as the sales outlook darkened with the looming expiration of a government tax credit and mounting joblessness.

The 11 percent plunge in starts to an annual rate of 529,000, the lowest level since April, followed a 592,000 pace the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Building permits, a sign of future construction, also decreased.