By Anna Bahney, CNN Business Mortgage rates ticked lower last week, falling back toward the 5% mark following economic reports that indicated inflation might have finally peaked. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.13% in the week ending August 18, down from 5.22% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. Despite the latest drop, rates are
Continue Reading By Anna Bahney, CNN Business Home sales declined for the sixth month in a row in July as higher mortgage rates and prices push prospective buyers out of the market. Nevertheless, home prices continued to climb by double-digit percentages during the month. The median home price was $403,800 in July, up 10.8% from a year
Continue Reading By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, an electric-only model with a sharp-edged design, was named Car and Driver’s Electric Vehicle of the Year. It’s only the second year the award has been given. Car and Driver staffers lauded the Hyundai’s performance — it gets up to 320 horsepower from two electric motors —
Continue Reading By Nicole Goodkind, CNN Business People are stressed out and exhausted. The past two and a half years, full of public health crises, recession and inflation, have been so eventful that news of a possible alien invasion barely even made a blip. Nights are sleepless and days restless, and we need an extra boost to
Continue Reading By Wayne Chang and Lauren Lau, CNN Business The United States and Taiwan have officially agreed to launch negotiations on a new trade and investment pact, according to statements released by Washington and Taipei. The two unveiled the US-Taiwan Initiative of 21st Century Trade in June, soon after Taiwan was excluded by US President Joe
Continue Reading By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business Estimating just how catastrophic climate change will be for the global economy has historically proven challenging. But this summer, it’s increasingly evident how quickly costs can pile up. Extreme heat and drought conditions are battering the United States, Europe and China, compounding problems for workers and businesses at a time
Continue Reading By Laura He, CNN Business China’s economic growth forecasts have been downgraded further by major investment banks, as the country grapples with its worst heatwave in 60 years. The extreme weather comes at a time when the world’s second largest economy is already slowing because of strict Covid-19 lockdowns and a real estate crisis. The
Continue Reading By Rhea Mogul and Manveena Suri, CNN A judge in southern India has ruled a woman wore “provocative” clothing, effectively dismissing her sexual assault complaint, causing public outcry in the country, where violence against women and girls make frequent headlines. The district court judge in Kerala state made the comments last week while granting anticipatory
Continue Reading By Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Business Nearly three quarters of US farmers say this year’s drought is hurting their harvest — with significant crop and income loss, according to a new survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation, a lobbying group that represents agricultural interests. This year’s drought conditions are taking a harder toll than last
Continue Reading By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business Dodge, famous for offering cars with big and powerful V8 engines, is phasing out some of its iconic, gas-powered muscle cars in favor of electric power. To ease fans into this new era, the company has opted to mimic some muscle car sensations — including shifting gears and a loud
Continue Reading By Brian Fung, CNN Amazon is fighting the US government’s attempt to question its founder, Jeff Bezos, and its CEO, Andy Jassy, as part of a year-long investigation into whether the e-commerce giant has illegally pushed Amazon Prime and other subscription services onto consumers. In a filing to the Federal Trade Commission dated August 5
Continue Reading By Chris Isidore, CNN Business Strippers at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood, California, have filed with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to join the Actors Equity Association, a union of performers and other show business professionals. “We like what we do. We would like our jobs even more if we
Continue Reading By Laura Ly, CNN Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens must pay a combined $650.6 million to two Ohio counties for damages related to the opioid crisis, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. US District Judge Dan Aaron Polster ruled that over the next 15 years, approximately $306.2 million must be paid to Lake County and approximately $344.4
Continue Reading By Jackie Wattles, CNN Business A spacewalk was cut short just a few hours into what was intended to be a nearly seven-hour spacewalk after a Russian cosmonaut was repeatedly ordered to drop what he was working on and return to the International Space Station’s airlock because of an issue with his spacesuit. NASA officials
Continue Reading By Chris Isidore, CNN Business The union that was the first to win a representation vote at an Amazon facility has filed for an election among about 400 employees at another Amazon distribution center. The facility is in suburban Albany, New York. The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees union representation votes, has confirmed the
Continue Reading By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Dollar stores, as their name suggests, offer inexpensive products for bargain-hungry shoppers. But even Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which have thrived this year as rampant inflation has helped boost sales, are starting to feel the pinch of a slowing economy. Dollar General and Dollar Tree both reported
Continue Reading By Matt McFarland, CNN Business The newly signed Inflation Reduction Act will have big implications for electric vehicle buyers. Some popular electric vehicles may become eligible for a tax credit once again, while other cars that were eligible this month will not be for the foreseeable future. Here’s what you need to know as a
Continue Reading By Jackie Wattles, CNN Business A spacewalk was cut short just a few hours into what was intended to be a nearly seven-hour spacewalk after a Russian cosmonaut was repeatedly ordered to drop what he was working on and return to the International Space Station’s airlock because of an issue with his spacesuit. NASA officials
Continue Reading By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Business It’s been a tough year for crypto investors as they’ve watched the price of their digital assets plummet. Bitcoin, for example, is trading about 65% off its all-time high, which it hit only nine months ago. If you bought a cryptocurrency when it was on the rise and sold your
Continue Reading By Matt Egan, CNN Business US natural gas prices have skyrocketed to levels unseen since 2008, a spike that threatens to offset the benefits of falling prices at the gas pump. Natural gas futures surged 7% on Tuesday to close at $9.33 per million British thermal unit (BTU), the highest closing price since August 1,
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