Stocks Lower as Dell, Home Builders Weigh

[Pirate Smile]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday as a disappointing revenue outlook from technology bellwether Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:DELL - news) and a Wall Street downgrade of home builders dampened sentiment.

On Thursday, personal computer maker Dell posted earnings that reflected slow sales in the consumer market and offered a revenue outlook that disappointed Wall Street. The stock fell 5 percent to $39.51 on the New York Stock exchange.

Shares of home builders fell after Smith Barney cut its investment rating to "hold" from "buy" on six companies, including Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH - news), KB Home (NYSE:KBH - news) and Pulte Homes Inc. (NYSE:PHM - news).

The Dow Jones index of home builders (^DJUSHB - news) fell 4 percent to 852.26.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=3&u=/nm/bs_nm/markets_stocks_dc

[xchrom]

1. is american consumer debt begining to weigh on

home sales?
it should have some time ago.
i'll wait to see where this goes.
wall street fudges their numbers so much -- who knows what traders and brokers think when their sell their ''goods'' to the public.

[Ishoutandscream]

2. Yep, too much has been put into "home sales"

somehow keeping us afloat. The bust has to come soon.

However, on a lighter note, interest rates on a 30 year home loan just reached a 10 month low.

[Pirate Smile]

3. I copied and pasted this article from Yahoo. Where the hell did those

smilies come from?