THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)

Home prices surge higher in Q4

Average U.S. home prices rose 3.67%, a pickup from Q3's 1.58% gain and easily the biggest quarterly jump in data going back to '90, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said. That brought the annual gain to 7.97%, up from 7.72% in '02. Home prices have risen over 7.5% in each of the past four years. They're up 41.8% from five years ago. See PoliGraph on A15

** Home prices in '03 rose 16.4% in Vermont and over 10% in 12 other states and the District of Columbia.

EU hits U.S. with punitive tariffs

The EU carried out its threat to retaliate for tax breaks to U.S. exporters that the WTO ruled illegal in '02. The WTO authorized the EU to impose up to $4 bil in sanctions a year on U.S. goods, but the EU opted for moderation. The duties will amount to $16 mil this month and rise one percentage point a month, costing U.S. firms $315 mil in '04 and $666 mil in '05.

** Washington has struggled to revamp the Foreign Sales Corporation tax breaks, worth some $5 bil a year. ...