Oil Spill Update: Some Homebuilders Get Hit Hard

Could the Gulf oil spill put a damper on homebuilder stocks? We simply don't know yet. That's basically what an analyst's report out of Citigroup says about the effect of BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill on publicly traded builders, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Those builders could potentially see shares decline if the spill taints the beachfront communities where they build. And of all the U.S. public homebuilders, which might carry the most spill exposure? The report claims it's Meritage Homes, Inc.

The report also is an interesting look at yet another way that the largest oil spill in the history of our nation has rippled out to areas of the economy besides tourism, real estate, oil production and the fishing industry.