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☆ US existing home sales fall; annual house price decline slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. existing home sales dropped to a five month-low in June, depressed by a chronic shortage of houses on the market that slowed the pace of decline in annual house prices. Existing home sales fell 3.3% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.16 million units, the lowest level since January, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home sales would drop to a rate of 4.20 million units. The median existing house price fell 0.9% from a year earlier to $410,200, the second-highest price ever. The median house price rose 3.5% from May.

Persons: Freddie Mac, Lawrence Yun, Lucia Mutikani, Paul Simao Organizations: National Association of Realtors, Reuters, Federal, Thomson Locations: Midwest, West

☆ Dramatic fossil shows pugnacious mammal attacking a dinosaur
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Fossilized skeletons dating to about 125 million years ago from China showing the entanglement of the dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis and the mammal Repenomamus robustus are seen in this 2022 handout photograph. A dramatic fossil unearthed in northeastern China shows a pugnacious badger-like mammal in the act of attacking a plant-eating dinosaur, mounting its prey and sinking its teeth into its victim's ribs about 125 million years ago, scientists said on Tuesday. Dating to the Cretaceous Period, it shows the four-legged mammal Repenomamus robustus - the size of a domestic cat - ferociously entangled with the beaked two-legged dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis - as big as a medium-sized dog. "Here, we have good evidence for a smaller mammal preying on a larger dinosaur, which is not something we would have guessed without this fossil," Mallon added. The researchers discounted the idea that the Repenomamus and Psittacosaurus fossil showed a mammal merely scavenging a carcass.

Persons: Read, paleobiologist Jordan Mallon, Mallon, Xiao, chun Wu, Psittacosaurus, Repenomamus, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: dinos, Canadian Museum of Nature, Thomson Locations: China, WASHINGTON, Ottawa, Liaoning Province, Mongolia

☆ Turkey's Erdogan to host Putin, hopes for Black Sea grain deal extension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Can Sezer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ISTANBUL, July 8 (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he was pressing Russia to extend a Black Sea grain deal by at least three months and announced a visit by President Vladimir Putin in August. Erdogan said work was under way on extending the Black Sea grain deal beyond its expiration date of July 17 and for longer periods beyond that. The deal would be one of the most important issues on the agenda for his meeting with Putin in Turkey next month, he said. "Our hope is that it will be extended at least once every three months, not every two months. Russia, angry about aspects of the grain deal's implementation, has threatened not to allow its further extension beyond July 17.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy's, Erdogan, Putin, Zelenskiy, Petr Fiala, Stringer, Dmitry Peskov, Ezgi Erkoyun, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, Orhan Coskun, Elaine Monaghan, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer, Gareth Jones, Diane Craft Organizations: Ukraine, United Nations, Zelenskiy, REUTERS, NATO, Western, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Czech, Prague, Crimean Tatars, Istanbul

☆ US new home sales jump in May; median house price falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for a small share of U.S. home sales, slipping to a rate of 675,000 units. New home sales are counted at the signing of a contract, making them a leading indicator of the housing market. The housing market has likely found a floor and could be even improving. Economists say the signs of revival in the housing market suggested the Federal Reserve would need to keep raising interest rates. The housing market has been the biggest causality of the U.S. central bank's fastest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s.

Persons: Freddie Mac, Lucia Mutikani, Chizu Organizations: U.S, Commerce Department, Reuters, Housing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Northeast, South, Midwest

☆ Pakistan's economic meltdown spurs more people to risk lives to reach Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

He is missing and presumed dead, according to his brother, highlighting the perils faced by people who seek to enter Europe illegally. Cash-strapped Pakistan's $350 billion economy is in a meltdown, with inflation at a record 38%. Pakistan's information ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters about economic factors fuelling migration. 3 nationality registered in Italy coming from Libya, after Egyptians and Bangladeshis, a Frontex spokesperson told Reuters in an email. At least 209 Pakistanis were believed to be on board, according to official data based on information provided by relatives.

Persons: Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti, Hameed Iqbal Bhatti, Salahuddin, Bhatti, Hafeez Pasha, Muhammad Nadeem, Nadeem, Kosar Bibi, Bibi, Sarwar Warraich, Muhammad Zubair, Muhammad Nazim, Nazim, Muhammad Ali, Anish Raza, Haji Ilyas, Ilyas, puffing, Israr Mirza, Mirza, Gibran Peshimam, Ariba Shahid, David Crawshaw Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Cash, Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, OF, International Monetary Fund, Migrant Resource Centre, College, Thomson Locations: Greece, Khuiratta, Pakistan, Kashmir, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Libya, Italy, Gujrat, Italian, Ferrara, Turkey, Bhojpur, Gujrat district, Spain, EU, Lahore, Islamabad

☆ US jobless claims hold at 20-month high, existing home sales tick up in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Dan Burns | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The median expectation among economists polled by Reuters was for 260,000 new claims. The latest reading compared with a median economists' estimate of 1.782 million so-called continued claims. Existing home sales rose 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.3 million units last month, the National Association of Realtors said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home sales would fall to a rate of 4.25 million units. Home resales, which account for the largest share of U.S. housing sales, tumbled 20.4% on a year-on-year basis in May.

Persons: Thomas Simons, Simons, Jerome Powell, Lawrence Yun, Dan Burns, Chizu Organizations: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Reuters, Jefferies, Investors, National Association of Realtors, Economists, Mortgage, Association, Thomson Locations: Massachusetts, South, West, Northeast, Midwest

☆ China's property sector set to be persistently weak for years -Goldman
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - China's property sector is expected to grapple with "persistent weakness" for years, Goldman Sachs analysts said, adding that its problems would continue to drag on the country's economic growth. "As such, we only assume an 'L-shaped' recovery in the property sector in coming years," the note said. China's property sector has over the past two years been thrust into a severe debt crisis - initially triggered by government moves to rein in ballooning debt - with many developers defaulting on payments as they struggle to sell apartments and raise funds. Although local governments have rolled out hundreds of measures to support the sector, and the scrapping of harsh COVID curbs in December has helped somewhat, positive investor sentiment towards the sector has been short-lived. A state-run newspaper last week urged patience amid market speculation of more stimulus for the sector.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Liangping Gao, Ryan Woo, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Thomson Locations: BEIJING

☆ U.S. existing home sales post second straight monthly decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. existing home sales fell for a second straight month in April, with prices rising in roughly half of the country, which together with possibly higher mortgage rates could delay a housing market recovery. Existing home sales dropped 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.28 million units last month, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home sales would fall to a rate of 4.30 million units. Home resales, which account for a big chunk of U.S. housing sales, tumbled 23.2% on a year-on-year basis in April. The housing market has taken the biggest hit from the Federal Reserve's fastest monetary policy tightening campaign since the 1980s.

☆ Montana transgender legislator loses court bid to return to floor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr, who was barred from accessing the House chamber, works remotely from a bench outside of the House chamber at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Montana, U.S. May 2, 2023. NO ARCHIVESMay 2 (Reuters) - Censured Montana transgender Representative Zooey Zephyr on Tuesday lost a last-minute legal attempt to rejoin debate on the House floor, as a Montana judge rejected her attempt to overturn the legislature's punishment that silenced her. The censure was punishment for breaking decorum during debates on transgender bills including one that would deny healthcare treatment for transgender youth. District Court Judge Mike Menahan found the court's authority was limited due to the constitutional separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches. Montana's governor signed the bill denying gender-affirming care to minors into law on Friday, two days after the House voted to censure Zephyr.

☆ US existing home sales resume downward trend in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Last month's sales likely reflected some contracts signed in February, when mortgage rates started rising again after mostly decreasing in January. "Consumers appear to be very sensitive to changes in mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. "The week-to-week changes in mortgage rates are having a big impact." Home resales, which account for a big chunk of U.S. housing sales, tumbled 22.0% on a year-on-year basis in March. A survey on Monday showed the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index climbed to a seven-month high in April.

[1/6] Pills are pictured at a fentanyl pill manufacturing center and a methamphetamine lab seized by the Mexican Army, in Culiacan, in Sinaloa state, Mexico February 14, 2023. Reuters GraphicsThe hiked up figures are not credible, say two former senior law enforcement figures in Mexico and the United States, as well as two serving Mexican security sources. The description of the drugs the Mexicans say they seized in the labs also raises questions about the accuracy of the lab data, said two of the security sources. Laboratory busts, often in hard-to-reach mountainous areas, have historically been a key metric for how active Mexican security forces have been in targeting drug trafficking groups. In 2022, FGR reported 18 lab raids by all security agencies, compared to the army's count of 492 raids.

☆ Hedge funds offering to buy startup deposits stuck at Silicon Valley Bank -Semafor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The main entrance of Silicon Valley Bank is seen in Menlo Park, California U.S. March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Michaela Vatcheva NO RESALESMarch 11 (Reuters) - Hedge funds are offering to buy startup deposits stranded at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) for as little as 60 cents on the dollar, Semafor reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. Traders from investment firm Jefferies are also contacting startup founders with money stuck at the bank, offering to buy their deposit claims at a discount, The Information reported separately. Jefferies is offering at least 70 cents on the dollar for deposit claims, the report said, citing several people with direct knowledge of the matter. Silicon Valley Bank imploded after depositors, concerned about the lender's financial health, rushed to withdraw their deposits.

☆ U.S. existing home sales fall in January, but pace slowing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. existing home sales dropped to a more than 12-year low in January, but the pace of decline slowed, raising cautious optimism that the housing market slump could be close to reaching a bottom. Home resales, which account for a big chunk of U.S. housing sales, plunged 36.9% on a year-on-year basis in January. The housing market has been the biggest casualty of the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hiking campaign. It will, however, be a while before the housing market turns around. At January's sales pace, it would take 2.9 months to exhaust the current inventory of existing homes up from 1.6 months a year ago.

☆ A husband-wife duo turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting, but some say they run their company like a dysfunctional 'surveillance state'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Karp and Montée Karp built the hype into a parenting-media empire that put out three books and two instructional films in 10 years. Karp and Montée Karp met at a Hollywood party in the early '90s. Karp and Montée Karp promised her independence and flexibility to accommodate her two young children's day-care schedules and a 90-minute commute. Karp and Montée Karp insisted on being involved in minutiae that most top executives hand off. Karp and Montée Karp turned the Snoo into an award-winning holy grail of parenthood in just a few years.

☆ Nina Montée Karp and Dr. Harvey Karp turned the $1,700 Snoo into the holy grail of parenting. But some say they overhyped the crib's abilities and created a nightmarish corporate culture.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Kate Taylor | Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

☆ U.S. existing home sales lowest since 2010; price growth slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Existing home sales fell 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units last month, the lowest level since November 2010, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast home sales falling to a rate of 3.96 million units. Home resales, which account for a big chunk of U.S. housing sales, tumbled 34.0% on a year-on-year basis in December. But the worst of housing market rout is probably behind. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate retreated to an average 6.15% this week, the lowest level since mid-September, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac.

☆ Nepal plane crash searchers rappel, fly drones to find last passengers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Gopal Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A member of Arm Police Force works at a crash site of a Yeti Airlines operated aircraft, in Pokhara, Nepal January 16, 2023. NO ARCHIVESKATHMANDU, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Searchers used drones and rappelled down a 200 metres (656 feet) deep gorge in west Nepal on Tuesday to search for two passengers still unaccounted for after the country's deadliest plane crash in 30 years, which killed at least 70 people. Searchers found two more bodies on Monday before the search was called off because of fading light. Reuters GraphicsUnder international aviation rules, the crash investigation agencies of the countries where the plane and engines were designed and built are automatically part of the inquiry. Reporting by Gopal Sharma, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Peru's chief prosecutor launches probes into protest deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People walk while carrying the coffin of a person who died in violent clashes earlier this week, ignited by the ouster of leftist President Pedro Castillo, in Juliaca, Peru January 11, 2023. The controversial ouster of leftist former President Pedro Castillo last month triggered the unrest, which has claimed the lives of at least 41 civilians and one police officer. Human rights groups accuse police and soldiers of using excessive force, including live ammunition and dropping tear gas from helicopters, while security forces say protesters, mostly in Peru's southern Andes, have used homemade weapons and explosives against them. Many of the angry and sometimes violent protests have played out in key southern mining regions, but on Thursday thousands marched through the streets of Lima demanding the closure of Congress and Boluarte's resignation. Reporting by Marco Aquino; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Despite layoff announcements and signs of a slowdown elsewhere in the economy, the labor market for clean energy jobs remains tight. said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group. The Biden Administration has repeatedly promised that new green energy jobs would be well-paying union jobs. Some solar companies have tried to recruit veterans, saying the skills learned in military life translate well to the industry. Utility scale solar developer SOLV Energy, SunPower and Nextracker last year teamed up with nonprofit Solar Energy International to fund a women-only training program for solar installers.

[1/2] A screen grab shows a selfie of actor Jeremy Renner on a hospital bed, posted on Instagram with a caption reading, "Thank you all for your kind words. Jeremy Renner via Instagram/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. The actor posted a selfie from his hospital bed in Nevada, showing him looking bruised with oxygen tubes in his nose. Renner has owned a home in Washoe County, Nevada, for several years, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. Renner used his plow, described by Balaam as a PistenBully that weighed over 14,000 pounds, to extract the car.

☆ U.S. deep freeze forecast to break Christmas Eve records
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Rich Mckay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - An arctic blast that has gripped much of the United States this week, disrupting daily life and holiday travel for millions of Americans, was expected to produce the coldest Christmas Eve on record in several cities from Pennsylvania to Florida. Temperatures are forecast to top out on Friday at just 8 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 Celsius) in Pittsburgh, the largest city in western Pennsylvania, surpassing its previous all-time coldest Christmas Eve high of 13 F, set in 1983, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. The capital cities of Florida and Georgia - Tallahassee and Atlanta - were likewise expected to record their coldest daytime Christmas Eve high temperatures, while Washington, D.C., was forecast to experience its chilliest Dec. 24 since 1906. Extreme winter weather was blamed for at least five deaths on Friday. The NWS said its map of existing or impending meteorological hazards "depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever."

☆ Factbox: More than 800,000 without power in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - More than 800,000 homes and businesses were without power in the eastern half of the United States and Texas as winter storms battered much of the country, according to data from PowerOutage.us. U.S. utilities were working to restore power after the storms moved on from their service territories but some were still dealing with high winds. The greatest numbers of outages were in New England in the northeast, with 248,162 customers without power in Maine, followed by New Hampshire, New York, Virginia and North Carolina. Nearly half of the 50 U.S. states counted more than 10,000 customers with outages due to the storms. The utility with the most outages was Central Maine Power with 188,861 customers without power.

☆ U.S. existing home sales fall for 10th straight month in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - U.S. existing home sales slumped to a 2-1/2 year low in November as the housing market continued to be squeezed by higher mortgage rates. Existing home sales plunged 7.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units last month, the lowest level since May 2020, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday. Sales have now declined for 10 straight months, the longest such stretch since 1999. House resales, which account for a big chunk of U.S. home sales, tumbled 35.4% on a year-on-year basis in November. At November's sales pace, it would take 3.3 months to exhaust the current inventory of existing homes, up from 2.1 months a year ago.

☆ Argentine tattooists swamped by demand for Messi tributes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Magali Druscovich | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Fermin Robilotte, 27, gets a tattoo of Argentina's soccer star Lionel Messi, after Argentina's soccer national team won FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 21, 2022. After a night of revelry, many flocked to the city's tattoo parlors to commission designs depicting Messi, the team's star player who led Argentina to a third World Cup win. The day after Argentina beat France on penalties in a nail-biting final, Arguello said the phone in his studio had been ringing non-stop with questions about tattoos of Messi, the World Cup and Argentina flags. De Winter is preparing a large-scale design of the entire "Scaloneta", as the Lionel Scaloni-coached national team is known. Reporting by Magali Druscovich; Writing by Maximiliano Heath and Sarah Morland; Editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/5] Drivers wait in line to get gasoline amid repeated outages at refineries operated by state oil company PDVSA and a lack of imports of diesel and gasoline, in Maracay, Venezuela, December 9, 2022. In 2020 and again in 2021, drivers had to line up for days to get gasoline and farmers halted work because of insufficient diesel. Right after midnight, the station ran out of gasoline," said Ramon Blanco, a 32-year-old who filled up the next day at another station. But lines also have reappeared in Falcon state, home of PDVSA's largest oil refineries. "We are trying our best because we are under pressure to restart some plants for producing gasoline," said a worker from Amuay.

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