Title insurance

Stewart Hammered by Housing Slowdown; Net Income Drops 51 Percent 

Stewart Information Services Corporation said today that its net earnings for 2006 dropped more than 51 percent, falling to $43.3 million from $88.8 million one year ago, due largely to sluggish volume in its U.S. residential title insurance business. The drop in earnings came in spite of an increase in revenue at the real estate information services giant, driven by the company’s aggressive acquisition strategy during the past year. Stewart reported revenues of $2.5 billion for 2006, up from $2.4 billion in 2005.