"Mr. Preston's comments in a speech in Washington yesterday came as the Commerce Department reported that builders broke ground on the fewest new homes since 1991 last month, signaling that the economy will continue to erode in coming months.
Housing starts fell 6.2 percent in August to an annual rate of 895,000, the fewest since January 1991.
'The home-construction industry is still in a deep recession and will remain there probably for the rest of the year,' said Patrick Newport, an economist at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Mass. 'There are just too many houses on the market.'"
