AP - Construction of new homes and apartments, defying forecasts of a housing slowdown, shot up in January at the fastest pace in more than three decades.

AP - Economic research institute DIW said Thursday that growth in Germany will likely slow during the first quarter because of cold weather halting some construction.

Reuters - Mortgage applications fell for a second consecutive week, led by a decline in home purchase loans, as interest rates hit their highest levels since early December, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

Reuters - U.S. employers added a smaller-than-forecast 193,000 new jobs in January but job growth in each of the five prior months was pushed up as part of a broader annual revision of the Labor Department's statistics collection, a government report on Friday showed.

Reuters - U.S. construction spending rose a strong 1 percent in December, closing out a record year on a surprisingly strong note as homebuilding activity bounced back from a weak November, a government report on Wednesday showed.