Toyota shares were rising early as the company s president Akio Toyoda faced a congressional panel.

With focus still on how safety problems which resulted in a massive recall were allowed to slip, the company apologized again.

Specifically, the company acknowledged that it pursued growth over other necessary development.

Analysts agree. Toyota spent most of the last decade aggressively pursuing market share to become the world's largest auto maker, wrote Morningstar analysts earlier this year. This strategy has had negative consequences (including many highly publicized quality problems in the U.S.) that threaten the firm's brand equity.

First there was the floor mat problem, then a sticky accelerator, then a brake problem, and now there are power steering problems, writes Wall Street Strategies analyst David Silver. The black eyes keep coming from the Company...

Wednesday s testimony before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee had shareholders attention, but didn t have them concerned.

The bottom line: Whether Congress is looking for some grandstanding, making an example out of Toyota, or if it is actually trying to get the root of the problem, we think there will be very little useful information that will come from this testimony, wrote Silver, adding that, of course, it would have been a PR nightmare for Mr. Toyoda to shun a personal invitation.

DHI Down

D.R. Horton shares were on the decline Wednesday as data weighed on housing stocks.

Shares of the home builder drooped 2.3% as the Department of Commerce reported that new home sales fell to 309,000 in January, from 348,000 the month prior. The drop came as economists were expecting an increase to 354,000.

The January figure was 11.2% below the revised December rate and 6.1% below the January 2009 estimate of 329,000. Inventory also increased for the third consecutive month, now representing a supply of 9.1 months at the current sales rate.

That news overshadowed a narrower-than-expected loss from fellow housing stock Toll Brothers.

The bottom line: The government has extended its Homebuyers Tax Credit until June, which may have spurred interest by buyers in those areas badly beaten down, jumping on what is perceived as temporary price stability, wrote Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald. If we do not have a good Spring/Summer in home sales, there is risk that prices fall again, weighing on consumers.