Starts rose 3.6 percent to a 894,000 annual rate, the fastest since July 2008, after a 863,000 pace in September, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 82 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for starts to fall to 840,000. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, eased after surging the previous month. Record-low mortgage rates and a lower risk that property values will keep falling may continue to attract buyers, giving the economy a lift and benefiting companies such as Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is among policy makers who ... (full story)