Do you have fourth quarter handy?
Bruce E. Gross
No, I do not have that handy.
Eric Landry – Morningstar
Okay. One more question. Stuart, I am a little bit confused, this is probably, although conservatively you were probably the most positive I have heard you in several quarters. You just now issued stock at two-thirds of book. Was there a timing difference between when you became a little bit more positive when you issued the stock or is it something else?
Stuart A. Miller
It’s one of the problems with being me. I think the problem is that I called it like I have seen it every step of the way. It hasn’t been just the past quarters. It’s been the past three years I have been intensely negative. I’ve tried to be straight and I think while there have been some optimistic views out there I have tried to call them as I have seen them. I hope I haven’t come across as being optimistic right now. I hope that I have come across as balancing the fact that there are some positive initial signs and at the same time I see some significant headwinds, significant. The increase in interest rate is very concerning and I don’t know if we can keep a lid on them, very important. The elimination of the tax credit program is significant. I am hopeful that good minds will see the virtue of stabilizing this housing market.
I think that higher gas prices is important. I think that higher unemployment continuing to climb and it is, is really important relative to our industry and these are all still negative. I think the single most important positive that I see is the lifting of the confidence cloud where I think that people are coming out of their basement and they are getting back out into sunlight a little bit and just that little bit of confidence could be a positive that takes us into some form of recovery. But I am using the words “could,” and “might” and I am seeing initial evidence. Those are the words that I am trying to frame and I don’t in any way mean to suggest that I am positive.
Yes, we issued equity in the small proportion during the past quarter at a steep discount to book. I have a healthy respect for the possibility and real possibility that the market could have some more downside risk and I am going to be prepared for that with a healthy, fortified, buffered balance sheet. And so the statements that I am making is I hope that we are going to see positives reveal themselves but I am continuing to prepare for the worst and if the positive come out the rest will take care of itself.
Eric Landry – Morningstar
Great. I was just talking on a relative basis to what you have said before. There’s been in my opinion a little bit of a shift. Real quick, Bruce, did you give inventory numbers?
Stuart A. Miller
Just by the way that’s the problem with being me. That little shift was me. Everybody interprets as a positive.
Bruce E. Gross
Yes, I gave some inventory numbers, sequentially went from 39 to 3.7 billion excluding the consolidated inventory not owned.
Eric Landry – Morningstar
Thank you very much. Take care, guys.
Stuart A. Miller
Okay and listen we apologize to those who we didn’t have an opportunity to take the call. Hopefully we will get to you next time. We don’t want to lose our audience. Thank you everybody for joining us on the call and we look forward to providing you with more information as we go forward. Thank you.
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