Homebuilder confidence fell to a record low in July.

The monthly indicator from the National Association of Homebuilders dropped for a third consecutive month...

The monthly indicator from the National Association of Homebuilders... ...dropped for a third consecutive month...

The monthly indicator from the National Association of Homebuilders dropped for a third consecutive month...

Many homebuilders are near bankrupt, as are some hedgefunds and other highly leveraged institutions.

The total value of construction put in place only in the third quarter of 2002 showed an increase of 20 per cent compared to the previous year, with homebuilding accounting for around 60 per cent of the total.

And how high will the Fed push up interest rates? Oncerates get to 5% or 6%, assuming inflation remains dormant, the Fedcan expect a backlash from Congress, the administration, unions,homebuilders, and others.

Many more economic agents face serious credit and solvencyproblems, including millions of households in the US, UK, and the Eurozone with excessive mortgages, hundreds of bankrupt sub-primemortgage lenders, a growing number of distressed homebuilders, manyhighly leveraged and distressed financial institutions, and,increasingly, corporate-sector firms.