Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. CNN, "Home prices rose in the third quarter but at a slower pace than in the second quarter, a government agency said Thursday, the latest sign that the housing market is still trying to find a bottom. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) said that housing prices nationally edged up just 0.9 percent from the prior quarter."

"Five states; New York, Rhode Island, Michigan, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, recorded lower prices for the quarter, according to OFHEO, with Michigan also showing a year-over-year decline of 0.6 percent. It was the first time in six years any state reported falling prices over a 12-month period, according to the agency."

From Reuters. "The data 'provide more evidence that the long-forecasted national deceleration in house prices is occurring,' said James Lockhart, the OFHEO director."

"Quarterly price declines occurred in more than half the cities in California, OFHEO reported. The West and Northeast regions of the United States saw weak gains in the quarter."

From MarketWatch. "The OFHEO index is considered the best gauge of home values, because it doesn't depend on the mix of houses sold as do the median prices for new and existing homes. It compares apples with apples by tracking mortgages written for the same houses over time."

"Prices fell on a quarter-to-quarter basis in 15 cities in California, including San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland and Sacramento. The biggest year-over-year declines were seen in Anderson, Ind.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Springfield, Ohio; Holland, Mich.; and Greeley, Colo. In all, 18 cities recorded price declines over the past year."

"'The slowdown is not unexpected,' said Lockhart. 'There are still some areas where appreciation rates remain very high, but now they are the exception rather than the norm.'"

From Bloomberg. "A gauge of business activity unexpectedly showed a contraction in November as production and orders at U.S. companies weakened, according to a Chicago-based purchasing managers' group."

"The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said today its business barometer fell to 49.9 this month, the lowest since April 2003, from 53.5 in October. A reading lower than 50 signals contraction."

"The Chicago report 'will likely raise concerns that the housing slump may be spreading, especially in the Midwest, where the weakened auto industry is especially important,' said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc."

"Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of earthmoving equipment, said on Nov. 3 it plans to cut jobs at U.S. factories...to cope with a slowdown in the economy next year. 'It will be a more challenging year than the past two,' Caterpillar CEO James Owens said. 'We're going to hit some turbulence.'"

The Savannah Morning News. "Weyerhaeuser Co. announced Wednesday it will permanently close its Mountain Pine veneer and plywood mill, eliminating 340 jobs in the rural Arkansas town."

"'These are just really tough times for this industry,' said Kathy Stacey, a Weyerhaeuser spokeswoman in Arkansas. 'The housing market didn't just fall off, it plummeted. It is tough all over the wood products industry.'"