Rates inched higher Wednesday as a rally in stocks hurt mortgage-backed securities. This morning, September Housing Starts declined 5% to an annual rate of 1,127,000 units, well below the consensus forecast of 1,160,000. Much of the shortfall was due to weakness in the south, which would suggest it was hurricane-related. The Fed’s Beige Book, a survey of economic activity by the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, will be released at 2:00 PM.