Housing starts fall sharply, inflation edges up

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Construction of new homes in the United States hit a six month low in October, providing more evidence of the economy's sluggish recovery, while a surge in the cost of new and used vehicles lifted consumer prices.

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Italian police a... A cameraman films the bullet riddled wall outside Nariman House after a multi-faith candle light vigil to commemorate last year's terror attacks at the house in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009. Nariman House is the Jewish center where the attackers killed a rabbi, his wife and a National Security Guard commando in 2008. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Europe: Proton b... UPDATES intro to reflect plan to restart CERN's Large Hadron Collider; graphic explains how the Large Hadron Collider works
Levin: could be ... file - This Oct. 2008 file photo by Muhammad ud-Deen shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. The imam, who communicated with the Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, said he did not pressure Hasan to harm Americans, The Washington Post reported Monday, Nov 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File) MANDATORY CREDIT NO SALES
Michael Jackson ... In this Tuesday, March 24, 2009 photo, Michael Jackson's Crystal Shoe is on display at the Hard Rock Cafe, in New York's Times Square. Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the iconic rhinestone-studded glove he wore when he danced the first Moonwalk in 1983, is to be auctioned in New York City. . (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Sri Lanka to rel... In this photo provided by the United Nations, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, left, speaks with a group of resettled internally displaced people at a camp for the displaced in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Holmes visited northern Sri Lanka to study the welfare of war-displaced civilians held in camps and those recently resettled. (AP Photo/United Nations)
GOP: Health test... Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, gestures during a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. From left are, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., McConnell, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US to drop shoot... FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2009, file photo Blackwater Worldwide security guard Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., right, and his attorney Thomas Connolly leave federal court in Washington after pleading not guilty to manslaughter charges. In court documents Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, prosecutors said they have asked that the case against Slatten, one of the Blackwater Worldwide contractors charged in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, be dropped. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Initial Senate v... Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., right, followed by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., leave a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Syracuse runs aw... Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim yells instructions to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Syracuse won 87-71. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Postal Service t... Santa Claus, also known as Patrick Farmer, at Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska Wednesday Nov. 18, 2009, holds letters from children sent this year that the U.S. Postal Service says they will no longer deliver. Citing privacy concerns, postal officials say that generically addressed letters to "Santa Claus, North Pole" will no longer be forwarded to volunteers in the Alaska town as has been done for years. (AP Photo/Sam Harrel)
Researcher: Fain... In this Aug. 12, 2000 file photo, The Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, is shown at the Cathedral of Turin, Italy. A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus burial cloth. The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery. Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the shroud. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, file)
Army relents, wi... Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signs a copy her autobiography, "Going Rogue", for a fan at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in in Norwood, Ohio, on Nov. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)
Calif. launches ... California Attorney General Jerry Brown speaks at the Bryant Temple AME Church Friday Nov. 20, 2009 to announce his office is begining an investigation into a nationwide scam that has defrauded more than 30 Southern California-based African churches. At right is senior Pastor Rev, Dr. Clyde Oden Jr. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Police: NC girl ... An image made from surveillance video shows a man carrying a girl identified by police as 5-year old Shaniya Davis in the hallway of a hotel in Sanford, NC. Mario McNeill already accused of kidnapping 5-year-old Shaniya Davis faces new charges that he raped and asphyxiated her, police said Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Mario McNeill is being charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape of a child, Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told reporters at a news conference. (AP Photo/Fayetteville, N.C. Police Dept.)
Museum: Galileo'... In this image provided by Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze shows a finger attributed to Galileo Galilei. A Florence museum says, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, two fingers and a tooth believed to belong to Galileo Galilei have been found and will go on display next spring. Three fingers and a tooth were taken from the astronomer's body in 1737 and placed in a container. Paolo Galluzzi, director of the Museum of the History of Science, said a private collector had bought a container at auction containing two fingers and a tooth. The collector contacted Florence cultural officials and the parts and the container were found to match descriptions of the Galileo relics in historical documents. Galileo, who died in 1642, was branded a heretic by the Vatican for saying the Earth revolved around the Sun. In the early 1990s, Pope John Paul II rehabilitated him. (AP Photo/Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza di Firenze/ho)
NFL union pans r... Graphic surveys NFL players concerning concussions
Oprah's departur... In this image taken from video Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 and provided by Harpo Productions Inc., talk-show host Oprah Winfrey announces during a live broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in Chicago that her daytime television show, the foundation of a multibillion-dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air. (AP Photo/Harpo Productions, Inc.) MANDATORY CREDIT, NO SALES
Afghan police ar... In this Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 photo, An Afghan policeman adjust his colleagues weapon at a checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan. Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign troops can go home. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Moderate Dems pi... Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., right, accompanied by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., gestures during a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Jayson Williams ... FILE - This Sept. 30, 2009, file photo shows Jayson Williams in court in Somerville, N.J. A person with knowledge of the case against retired NBA star Jayson Williams says the former player has agreed to a plea deal that would send him to prison for up to three years for shooting a driver. (AP Photo/Kathy Johnson, Pool)
Iran rejects UN-... Map locates uranium enrichment plant in Iran
Smart kidnapper'... Elizabeth Smart kidnapper, Wanda Barzee, walks to a car following a hearing in federal court, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Barzee plead guilty to kidnapping and illegal transportation of a minor across state lines for the 2002 kidnapping of Smart with her partner, Brian David Mitchell. (AP Photo/Colin Braley)
Afghans on hold,... Abdullah Abdullah, former Afghan Foreign Minister, during an interview with the AP at his house in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009. Abdullah spoke about the uncertainty in Afghanistan as Afghans wait to find out if the U.S. and other nations will send thousands more troops, if the newly elected Afghan President Hamid Karzai will fight corruption and how the U.N.'s decision to send hundreds of workers safely out of the country will impact humanitarian work. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Obama, Chinese p... President Barack Obama, left, and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, right, gesture to each other during the arrival at Diaoyutai State Guest House before their bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Study: New devic... In this Nov. 13, 2009 photo, Leonor Ortiz Childers, 46, plays with her children, 3-year-old twins Miranda and Javier, right, and 18-month-old twins Julian and Ava, left, in Durham, N.C. Leonor developed heart failure suddenly when she had to be treated for breast cancer while pregnant with her second set of twins. The HeartMate II heart pump has kept Leonor alive for a year without the need of a heart transplant. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)
Colts take advan... New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 in Indianapolis. Colts beat Patriots 35-34. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Bombing at polic... Pakistani police officials and local residents gather at the site of car bombing at a police station in Badh Ber near Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. A pickup truck laden with explosives attacked a police station in northwestern Pakistan, killing people in an area that has become the focal point for militant retaliation against a recent army offensive. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
Gates to lead 6-... U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates tours the production plant of Oshkosh Corporation in Oshkosh, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009. Behind him is a MATV that is made at the company. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
MIA dog found in... In this photo taken Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, Australian explosive detection dog Sabi is photographed at Forward Operating Base Ripley in Tarin Kowt, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. Sabi that disappeared during a fierce battle in Afghanistan between Australian troops and militant fighters has been found and returned to its unit after more than a year. Sabi was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, but there was no sign of Sabi after the battle that followed - until now. (AP Photo/Andrew Mearse, Pool)
Police: Mike Tys... Media interview Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Aaron McCraney, left, after Mike Tyson was booked and released on suspicion of battery at the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street Regional Headquarters in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Tyson allegedly hit a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)
Suns use 40-poin... Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash tries to pass the ball to a teammate as he heads out-of-bounds in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Iran accuses 3 d... This combination of three photos released by freethehikers.org shows from left: Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd. A senior Iranian prosecutor said Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 that the three Americans, who were detained on the border with Iraq earlier in July 2009, have been accused of espionage. (AP Photo/freethehikers.org) NO SALES
Cowboys topple E... Dallas Cowboys running back Tashard Choice runs in for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
DC sniper's ex-w... Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center, is joined by (L-R) House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 in Washington after the passage in the house of the health care reform bill. at the U.S. Capitol, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Lady Antebellum,... This handout photo from NASA shows David Bashford, right, lead of the LaserMotive team, preparing their robotic climber entry in the $2 million Space Elevator Games at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. After three years without a winner in a NASA-backed competition to develop the science fiction space elevator concept, the team from Seattle on Friday, Nov. 6, 2009 collected $900,000 after its laser-powered robotic machine raced up more than 2,950 feet (nearly 1 kilometer) of cable dangling from a helicopter. (AP Photo/NASA, Tom Tschida)
Israel: commando... An Israeli military police officer stands next to rockets seized by Israeli authorities on a ship near Cyprus, and presented in the port of the Israeli city of Ashdod, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas, the largest arms shipment Israel has ever commandeered. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov )
Karadzic set to ... FILE -- In an Aug. 29, 2008 file photo, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, is seen in the courtroom at the U.N. Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands. Marko Sladojevic, legal adviser for Radovan Karadzic, says the former Bosnian Serb leader will boycott his genocide trial Monday Nov. 2, 2009, to protest what he claims is a lack of time to prepare for the trial, but prosecutors will continue without him and are scheduled to finish their opening statement later Monday. (AP Photo/ Valerie Kuypers, file)
Haitian prime mi... Haiti's Senators Youri Latortue, center right, and Jean Baptiste Jean Willy, center left, speak before a Senate session in Port-au-Prince, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis was facing a challenge Thursday from senators in the president's party who are trying to remove her, a move that could hinder international efforts to increase foreign investment in Haiti. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Healthcare bill ... Nelson, Lieberman and Bayh arrive to meet with the Democratic caucus at the US Capitol in Washington
Obama job approv... U.S. President Barack Obama tours the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing
Swine flu may ha... Diaz and her mother, Christina, wait in line for the H1N1 vaccine in Haltom City
Swine flu may be... A nurse prepares a dose of H1N1 vaccine at the Balboa Park Community Center in Encino
No Obama decisio... U.S. Army soldiers of A-BTRY 2/377 PFAR Task Force Steel operate a 105mm Howitzer during a fire mission at FOB Tillman
Somalia to join ... A boy carries bricks on his head in N'Djamena
Cautious optimis... People look for work at state employment department in San Francisco
Oprah Winfrey sa... Handout image of Oprah Winfrey on her show announcing end of production in 2011
Did U.S. make mi... A vial of the H1N1 flu vaccine is shown during early trials at the University of Maryland in Baltimore
Powers urge Iran... Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomes IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei during an official meeting in Tehran
EU names Belgian... Belgium's PM Van Rompuy and EU Trade Commissioner Ashton are congratulated after they were elected as EU President and EU foreign policy chief respectively in Brussels
Colombia says wi... Colombians walk next to a destroyed bridge that crosses into Colombia's Norte de Santander department (near end), in Ragonvalia
More than 20 kil... An Afghan boy who was injured in a bomb blast lies in hospital in Farah province
India PM heads t... India's Prime Minister Singh poses with U.S. President Obama at a reception for the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh
Philip Morris or... A South Korean holds a cigarette by KT&G in Seoul
Geithner, under ... Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies before the congressional Joint Economic Committee hearing on "Financial Regulatory Reform: Protecting Taxpayers and the Economy" on Capitol Hill in Washington
Software problem... Travellers wait at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta.
John Kerry's dau... File photo of Alexandra Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston
Lou Dobbs mulls ... File photo of Lou Dobbs being confronted by protesters during a march in New York
Deaths not linke... Registered nurse Susan Longobucco-Hynes prepares a dose of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine for patients at an Asthma fair at Children's Hospital in Boston
U.S. recovery se... Larry Engram, who is homeless, sweeps the floor at the Harrington Hall homeless shelter where he sleeps and volunteers in Cranston
Belgian PM Van R... Belgium's PM Van Rompuy arrives at the EU council headquarters in Brussels
Oil falls more t... An oil rig beside the sea is lit up on the outskirts of Havana after sunset
AOL to cut one-t... A woman walks out of AOL offices in New York
Karzai sworn in ... Afghanistan's President Karzai inspects the guard of honour at the presidential palace for his inauguration as President in Kabul
Fed officials pl... Traders relay trades in the S&P 500 pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
U.S. warns Iran ... U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House in Seoul
U.S. government ... Rescue helicopter searches for survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Obama ready to h... U.S. President Barack Obama takes part in a welcoming ceremony at the Blue House in Seoul
U.S. official sa... A radiologist examines breast X-rays after a cancer prevention medical check-up at the Ambroise Pare hospital in Marseille
Iran rejects tal... Iran's FM Mottaki speaks with journalists while attending joint news conference with his Venezuelan counterpart Maduro in Tehran
Senate to press ... US President Obama speaks during the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony in Texas
Obama suggests 9... US Attorney General Holder testifies on the trials of Guantamo Bay detainees before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington
Obama to end Asi... U.S. President Obama smiles as he walks past a South Korean Air Force general upon his arrival from Beijing at the U.S. airbase in Osan
Housing starts f... Construction of new homes in the United States hit a six month low in October, providing more evidence of the economy's sluggish recovery, while a surge in the cost of new and used vehicles lifted consumer prices.
Obama gets five ... U.S. President Obama tours the Great Wall of China
Obama says Guant... Detainees participate in an early morning prayer session at Camp IV at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base
Senate Democrats... Supporters of the health care reform hold signs outside a health care town hall meeting with U.S. congressman Kendrick Meeks (R-FL) in Miami
Obama criticizes... General view of Gilo, a Jewish settlement on land Israel captured in 1967 and annexed to its Jerusalem municipality
Seized tanker's ... View of a Somali pirate "mothership" near the coasts of Somalia and the Seychelles
Army suicides se... U.S. soldiers stand in front of a base before they start a night mission in Baquba