Standard Pacific swings to loss on falling demand

Standard Pacific Corp. said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss due to sinking demand in major housing markets nationwide that led to massive asset impairment charges and land deposit write-offs.

Quarterly losses totaled $98.4 million, or $1.53 a share, compared with net income of $154.9 million, or $2.22, a year earlier. The latest quarter includes impairment and write-off charges of $2.73 a share.