Lousy Housing Data Casts a Pall Over Recovery

This post by Jill Schlesinger originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.

There's more worrisome data about the housing market this morning: housing starts plummeted 10% to a 593,000 annual rate in May, the lowest level this year. Also of concern: building permits, a sign of future construction, unexpectedly declined to a one-year low. We shouldn't have been surprised after yesterday's downbeat NAHB Homebuilder index, still the numbers are sobering.

Jill Schlesinger is the Editor-at-Large for CBS MoneyWatch.com. Prior to the launch of MoneyWatch, she was the Chief Investment Officer for an independent investment advisory firm. In her infancy, she was an options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York.

Jill Schlesinger

Jill Schlesinger, CFP® is the Emmy-nominated Business Analyst for CBS News. She covers the economy, markets, investing and anything else with a dollar sign on TV, radio (including her nationally syndicated radio show), the web and her blog, "Jill on Money." Prior to her second career at CBS, Jill spent 14 years as the co-owner and Chief Investment Officer for an independent investment advisory firm. She began her career as a self-employed options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York, following her graduation from Brown University.

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