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6 Things Zillow Says Need to Happen in the Housing Market in 2024

After a whirlwind of a year for the real estate industry, Zillow Chief Economist Skylar Olsen recently shared her 2024 housing market “resolutions.” Indeed, Olsen is hoping the new year will kickstart a rebalancing process for housing, which has long been marred by economic shortcomings. With mortgage rates expected to finally start coming down as the Federal Reserve hints at rate cuts, housing may finally be released from its state of near gridlock. So, what exactly does Olsen hope to see from the real estate market in 2024? Let’s take a look at six hopes and predictions for 2024. Zillow’s 6 Housing Market Resolutions for 2024…

NatWest chair sparks backlash for saying it's not 'that difficult' to buy a…

Howard Davies, chairman of Natwest Group Plc. Bloomberg | Getty Images The chair of one of Britain's biggest banks faced a backlash Friday after saying it is not "that difficult" to get on the property ladder. NatWest chair Howard Davies told the BBC's "Today" program that the current economic landscape — which has seen interest rates rise to a 15-year high — is little different to other historical periods. "I don't think it's that difficult at the moment," Davies said when asked when it might be easier for Britons to purchase a property. "You have to save, and that's the way it always used to be," he added. U.K mortgage rates have…

Consumer Staples Stocks Are Warning the Bulls

The consumer staples sector is often perceived as the tortoise in the race against the hares of the equity markets; steady, reliable, and unexciting. However, a closer examination of historical data reveals that this sector’s performance is not only stable, but also a potential indicator of broader market trends. The beginning of the year can set the tone for what’s to come, and this is where consumer staples stocks have shown a remarkable pattern. Over the past 25 years, strong starts within the sector have typically translated to robust full-year outperformance. Interestingly, the best starts for consumer staples — in 2000, 2008,…

Central banks should be fighting the climate crisis—here's why

January 5, 2024 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked trusted source written by researcher(s) proofread by Martin Sokol and Jennie C. Stephens, The Conversation Climate finance was a major focus at the recent COP28 summit, but one set of game-changing institutions remains largely missing in such conversations: central banks. Central banks are public institutions , charged with maintaining economic stability through controlling the supply of money in an economy. These banks have…

Jobless rate for Black Americans declines to 5.2% to end 2023 on a positive note

A networking and hiring event for professionals of color in Minneapolis, MN. Michael Siluk | Getty Images The unemployment rate for Black Americans fell significantly in December, closing out 2023 on a positive note, according to data released Friday by the Department of Labor . Black Americans, the group with the highest jobless percentage in the country, saw their jobless rate dip to 5.2% last month from 5.8% in November. Still, that's higher than the overall unemployment rate, which held at 3.7% last month , as well as the 3.5% jobless rate for white Americans. When accounting for gender, the unemployment rate for Black men aged…