US new home sales

US new home sales unexpectedly fell in September, in a sign the housing recovery may stall when a government tax credit expires at the end of November.

Sales dipped 3.6% to a 402,000 annual rate, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The September rate was 7.8% below the September 2008 estimate of 436,000.

Contracts signed in September will likely not be able to close before an $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit expires at the end of November.

Economists view a recovery in housing as key to any rebound from the worst recession in seven decades.

The median sales price of new houses sold in September 2009 was $204,800 - - 9.1% down from September 2008; the average sales price was $282,600. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of September was 251,000. This represents a supply of 7.5 months at the current sales rate.

Dunnes Stores takes CSO to court

There are areas of Irish economic activity such as development land sales and house prices which the State statistics office doesn't collect data on and the timeliness of publishing data does not compare well with counterparts.

It is not always the fault of the CSO.

Dunnes Stores, Ireland's biggest domestic retailer, today began a High Court challenge to a legal requirement to provide information to the Central Statistics Office.

The group is challenging the right of the CSO to demand detailed financial and trading information on a quarterly basis under the terms of the Statistics Act.

In judicial review proceedings, Dunnes Stores has asked the High Court for a declaration that the order under which the information on balance of payment forms is sought is beyond the powers of the act. It is also seeking an order quashing the statutory instrument under which the information can be sought.

Maybe Dunnes Stores is relying on legislative inertia in taking this case because if it wins, the Act can be revised to force it to supply the required information.

Lawyers for Dunnes Stores told the High Court that the frequency with which the information was sought was a function delegated to the Director General of the CSO.

They argued that under the terms of the Statistics Act, the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach had no power to delegate that function.

The retailer is arguing that providing detailed information on a quarterly basis is placing an unfair and expensive burden on the company which normally produces annual figures.

It described the request as "unreasonable, disproportionate and unlawful" and said the CSO had failed to explain the necessity for the information.

The court heard that criminal proceedings had been instigated against Dunnes Stores over its failure to return balance of payment forms in 2006 and 2007.

The CSO said it is the body with sole responsibility for compiling statistics in Ireland. The information sought was essential for drawing up key economic indicators such as GDP and had a legal obligation to provide detailed information to the European Central Bank, Eurostat and other bodies on the performance of the economy.

The agency contends that it has at all times acted within the legislation.

Pan Andean Resources

Pan Andean Resources, the Irish London AIM-listed oil and gas explorer and producer, held its AGM in London today and Chairman John Teeling stated that Peru will remain the key focus of the company’s activities for the coming months.

Pan Andean’s joint venture partners, CEPSA on Blocks 114 and 131, and Reliance Industries on Block 141, are on schedule with their activities. The first well is likely to be drilled in late 2010 or early 2011.

During the year, Pan Andean was awarded a fourth block, 161, in Peru. First Phase exploration work has been has completed and it is likely that this block will be partnered.

In Colombia, the company’s wholly owned Antorcha heavy oil block has been advanced. Seismic mapping identified six drilling locations for which drilling permits have been obtained. Ongoing partnership talks led to an application to extend the drilling licence timescale to 1st May 2010. This has been granted.

Pan Andean says it remains one of the few profitable junior oil and gas producers listed on AIM though low gas prices in the US will reduce profits in the current year.

Thomas Higgins, chief economist at Payden & Rygel, and the CNBC news team parse today's durable goods numbers and new home sales data: