Group 1 - The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new housing starts in December increased from an annual rate of 1.322 million units in November to 1.404 million units, surpassing economists' expectations of 1.304 million units [1] - New housing starts grew by 6.2% in December, following a 3.9% increase in November [1] - Building permits rose from 1.388 million in November to 1.448 million in December, exceeding the forecast of 1.4 million [1] - The completion rate increased from 1.49 million units in the previous month to 1.525 million units [1]