Stocks of residential builders have benefited amid signs of improvement in the troubled housing sector, although there are those that largely chalk up any gains to controversial tax credits for home buyers.

Homebuilders get a new tax break and the extension of an existing one. This aid may not be needed as the industry has survived its business cycle's trough.

Subsidizing renters with gobs of greenbacks if they buy a house turns out to be a pretty popular program.Thanks to the tax credit for first-time home buyers as well as cheaper home prices and lower mortgage rates existing home sales increased by 9.4% to a 5.57 million annual rate in September the National Association of Realtors said Friday.Sales had been forecast to rise to an annual rate of 5.35 million according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.First-time home buyers many of whom certainly owe you and every other taxpayer a thank-you card rushed in to take advantage of the ...

Even as the market has recovered from this morning’s gap lower option activity remains defensive. For the second consecutive day the overall put-call ratio is running around 1.25. This compares to the 20-day moving average of 0.77. Granted some of this put volume is due to spreading specifically rolling which is not as bearish as an outright purchase but it still reflects the underlying caution of investors. The VIX which has lifted some 20% over the past four sessions is inching lower at 28.15 which is still a very healthy 10 percentage points above the 10-day realized volatility of 15% ...

Investors will get fresh financial figures from Hovnanian Enterprises and SAIC, with the home builder expected to post a smaller quarterly loss and the defense contractor projected to report an increase in profit.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by Benchmark Journal.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by Ridgewater Equity (RWE).