THE business news throughout January was grim. The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a nosedive, as did most other stock indices. The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its target for the federal funds rate to 3.50 percent, based on its observations that the economy was weakening. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate in December had risen to 5 percent. All this came on the heels of the subprime lending fiasco and a dramatic decline in the residential construction rate. In 2006 residential construction was booming; 1,838,900 single-family homes were started. In 2007 a mere 1,376,100 homes were started, a decrease of more than 25 percent. Home appliance manufacturers suffered, too, but not as much. Comparing 2006 to 2007, shipments of major appliances fell from 79.9 million units to 74.9 million units, a decrease of more than 6 percent.
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