Summary Box: Homebuilder Toll Brothers reports smaller 2nd-qtr loss; surge in new orders

Summary Box: Toll Brothers 2nd-quarter results

SMALLER LOSS: Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. said its loss shrank in the fiscal second-quarter on lower write-downs.

ORDERS UP: Toll’s new home contracts jumped 41 percent in the February-April period and the value of its backlog rose on an annual basis for the first time in four years.

OUTLOOK: Management said the positive order trends are holding up so far in May, despite the end of two homebuyer tax credits last month. But executives cautioned that high unemployment and volatility in the financial markets will continue to dampen the speed of the recovery.