Technology Slice Blog

Beazer Homes Posts Loss - The traditional spring selling season can't come quickly enough for builders like Beazer Homes USA Inc., following the worst year for new home sales on record. The company reported Tuesday that it slid to a loss in the fiscal first quarter as home closings and contracts for new homes fell sharply. Its results for the October to December period were worse than expected. But President and CEO Ian McCarthy said sales trends last month perked up considerably, echoing other large homebuilders that have given guarded optimism in recent weeks about the prospect for improving fortunes this spring. "I'm very encouraged with what we've seen in January so far and we're looking for a strong February and March," McCarthy said. "It will be very critical to us." McCarthy said new home orders in January climbed by more than 50 percent from December and posted a comparable increase versus January 2009. The builder doesn't anti...