Fall-out from US housing slump is yet to be realised

Equity markets in the US are in for a rocky time in the next 12 to 18 months as the impact of a housing slowdown is felt, according to Greg Kerr, the manager of New Star's US Opportunities fund. Kerr, who took over management of the fund on 2 January, says the housing market has been a big driver of growth in the US over the last three to four years but the fall in new home construction is yet to be felt. He says: "New home construction has collapsed and the knock-on effects of that have not really fed through into the economy yet. "If no one is building new houses, they aren't buying...