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☆ Here's what you can do now to be ready to buy a home this spring
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Mortgage rates have been ticking down, yet remain volatile. If you are ready and able to buy a home, the day-to-day movements of rates should matter less than finding a home you can afford. Borrowers can also lower monthly payments by paying more upfront to buy down their mortgage rate. Buyers can then use that money to buy down the interest rate on their mortgage and reduce their payments. Mortgage rates are trending down, but it’s not going to be a perfect downward curve, said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president of William Raveis Mortgage.

☆ A neuroscientist shares the 4 ‘highly coveted’ skills that set introverts apart: ‘Their brains work differently’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Friederike Fabritius | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Here are four highly coveted skills that set introverts apart from everyone else:1. One Harvard study found that introverts' brains work differently, and have thicker gray matter compared to extroverts. This ability to focus intensely is a key characteristic of introverts, who often have more extended focus than extroverts. Because they enjoy spending time alone, introverts tend to be more willing than extroverts to put in the hours alone necessary to master a skill. Introverts tend to be less swayed by external events and driven more by their inner moral compass.

☆ The former head of a $20 billion portfolio warns stocks will fall at least another 20% as investors become complacent about a recession and the Fed vows to keep rates elevated
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A hawkish Fed, as a result, will push the economy into recession, he argues. "That's not the Fed cutting to three percent, Adam, it's the Fed cutting to 2% or 1%." He cited the S&P 500 falling 20% from late-2000 to mid-2002 even as the Fed cut rates from 6.5% to 1.75% as precedent. Many Wall Street banks — including JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, and UBS — see a recession ahead for the US economy. The path of inflation will influence the path the US economy takes this year.

☆ Beachfront Estate Aims to be Crowned Priciest Home in Orange County City
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Sarah Paynter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A beachfront home in California’s Orange County is listing for $55 million, according to listing agent Arlen Raubach of Compass. The six-bedroom, roughly 9,630-square-foot home is located in a gated community in Dana Point, an affluent city roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, said Mr. Raubach. If it fetches its asking price, it would set a record for Dana Point, where the most expensive recorded sale to date was a $33 million deal last year, he said.

☆ Depression treatments haven't changed much in decades. Here are the promising new drugs that could be more precise, work faster, and help more people.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Advances in depression treatment have been rare over the past few decades. But treatments for mental-health illnesses, like depression, haven't changed much over the past few decades. Insider put together a roundup of the most promising depression treatments today, both those that have won approval and those that are in the later stages of the research process. Unlike most depression treatments on the market, Auvelity is rapid-acting, which means it offers faster relief for patients. MDD is also known as clinical depression and is defined by persistent depressive symptoms.

☆ I'm a general manager on a $450-million cruise ship. I'm on duty 24 hours but it's worth it to travel the world in a floating 5-star hotel.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He is now the general manager for the $450-million Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Now I'm the general manager on the $450-million Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Courtesy of Six Star CruisesThe first time I joined a cruise ship crew was in Los Angeles in May 1997. I worked on MSC Cruises for four years until I became food and beverage director for Regent Seven Seas in 2014. In December 2021, I was promoted to general manager for Regent Seven Seas Explorer.

☆ I'm a general manager on a $450 million cruise ship. I'm on duty 24 hours a day, but it's worth it to travel the world in a floating 5-star hotel.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He is now the general manager for the $450 million Regent Seven Seas Explorer. Now I'm the general manager on the $450 million Regent Seven Seas Explorer. The Regent Seven Seas Explorer is called "the world's most luxurious" by the cruise line. I worked on MSC Cruises for four years until I became the food-and-beverage director for Regent Seven Seas in 2014. In December 2021, I was promoted to general manager for Regent Seven Seas Explorer.

☆ A Compass real-estate agent hired — then quickly fired — a woman after she was accused of taking part in the Capitol riot and linked to COVID-19 denial and anti-LGBTQ rallies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Compass' official Instagram account said Makowka no longer worked for Townes. This week, after a politically progressive Instagram account reiterated its claims that Makowka was connected to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Compass' official Instagram account confirmed she was terminated. "It is a fabrication that I stormed the Capitol," Makowka told Insider on Wednesday via Facebook Messenger. Later that day, Compass' official Instagram account commented on the post: "This person is no longer associated with Compass." The Townes team did not respond to requests for comment.

☆ We are hiring 'moderately,' says Compass CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe are hiring 'moderately,' says Compass CEOCompass CEO Robert Reffkin joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss sharp declines in real estate transactions, sustainable cost-cutting methods, and more.

☆ Fact Check-Online claims about nutritional table lack context
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Food Compass has not been endorsed or promoted by the NHLBI or the government departments responsible for developing nutrition guidelines. TUFTS’ FOOD COMPASSThe Food Compass was developed by researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University (bit.ly/3ZSHEUC). The Tufts team addressed claims about the graphic shared online in the Frequently Asked Questions section of its Food Compass website (here). “These graphs were created by others to show these exceptions, rather than to show the overall performance of Food Compass and the many other foods for which Food Compass works well. But, as objective scientists, we accept constructive criticism and are using this to further improve Food Compass,” the statement added.

☆ Layoffs might cause workers who are left behind to quit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As layoffs creep upward, the findings have implications for firms that have let go of employees. Visier published a study about turnover contagion following resignations, and later detailed its finding related to layoffs in a recent LinkedIn post. After all, managers might not be fully aware of their team member's social ties, particularly if employees work remotely or have a hybrid setup. Bosses might be on team Zoom calls, but they don't see, for instance, that their team members regularly text each other on and off the clock. But they need to think about their team member's salary, growth, and market value.

☆ Seeking an Oasis in the Palm Springs Desert With $350,000 to Spend. Which Home Did He Choose?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Soumya Karlamangla | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

He returned to Santa Cruz in 2019 to be closer to family, and then to ride out Covid lockdowns. Like San Francisco, Palm Springs offered a thriving gay community, with a more relaxed vibe and much more affordable housing. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com]In March, Mr. Andrade contacted Kevin Koerner, a friend who was a broker with Compass, to help him sift through properties. Palm Springs, historically, has been a destination for buyers “looking for places to get away for the weekend, or a week, or to come here in the winter,” he said. Mr. Andrade set a budget of about $350,000 and began looking for a home with two bedrooms, so friends and family could comfortably visit.

☆ American imprisoned in Iran for seven years launches hunger strike, asks Biden to secure release of Americans held in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

An American imprisoned in Iran for seven years launched a hunger strike Monday to protest his “soul crushing” plight and that of other Americans held in Iran, appealing to President Joe Biden to take action to secure their release. “Yet seven years and two presidents later, I remain caged in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.”Namazi accused former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump of having failed him and criticized Biden for not meeting face-to-face with the families of Americans imprisoned in Iran. “In the past I implored you to reach for your moral compass and find the resolve to bring the U.S. hostages in Iran home. His elderly father, Baquer Namazi, was imprisoned in 2016 after having traveled to Iran to try to help his son. Two other U.S. citizens are imprisoned in Iran, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Sharghi, as well as an unknown number of permanent U.S. legal residents, including Shahab Dalili.

☆ The Wordle of real estate is here. Can you guess a home's asking price?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Dan Latu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Users get six tries to guess the asking price of a house, which Weitzbuch selects by hand daily. Your real estate prowess can finally be put to the test with Housle, a new daily game created by Los Angeles reality-TV producer Doug Weitzbuch. Modeled after Wordle, the massively popular game where users guess a five-letter word of the day, Housle tests you on the asking prices of homes for sale. Echoing Wordle's six guesses, Housle gives users six tries to predict the listing price of a house from any part of the country. Weitzbuch is also an avid Wordle player, sharing his daily score with four friends in a group chat dubbed "Wordle Nerdles."

☆ Finding the Harlem Apartment She Always Wanted: Which One Was It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Joyce Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“There was an influx of young, Black corporate people who were making Harlem home, and I wanted to be a part of that renaissance,” said Ms. Rothwell, 40. She settled in a Central Harlem rental with roommates — “perfect for my 20s,” she said — and later rented a studio in an East Harlem walk-up, living below her means and keeping her sights on a purchase. Ms. Rothwell has worked in product development for a popular retail chain for more than a decade, socking away savings while moving up the corporate ranks. “He encouraged me to be open-minded,” Ms. Rothwell said. It was all about the pros and cons.”Among her options, in Central Harlem:

☆ The CEO of a psychedelics giant that just suffered a big setback lays out why investors should bet on his long-term vision
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

PCN-101, a ketamine-based treatment, failed to help people with treatment-resistant depression. CEO Florian Brand said he thinks investors should bet on the company's long-term vision. Florian Brand, the CEO of the psychedelics giant Atai Life Sciences, said investors should look past the company's recent failed clinical trial and bet on his long-term vision for the company. On January 6, Atai announced that a highly anticipated trial of a ketamine-based depression treatment failed to meet its goals. The company also owns a large stake in the psychedelics company Compass Pathways, which is currently in late-stage trials to develop psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms, for treatment-resistant depression.

Proptech customers, employees, and investors said they went from delighted to disillusioned. Proptech investors eager to capture these trends pumped $32 billion into the industry in 2021. As markets deteriorated, disillusionment set in among proptech customers, investors, and employees. Some customers say they were disappointed buying homes via proptech startupsReal-estate startups like Divvy Homes and Better launched under the auspices of helping customers afford quality homes. Investors in proptech firms are taking financial hitsYou don't need to ask proptech investors whether they're disappointed in the sector's performance — just look at share prices.

☆ Compass CEO: We can be free cash flow positive this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCompass CEO: We can be free cash flow positive this yearRobert Reffkin, Compass co-founder and CEO, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss their latest round of layoffs and goals for this year.

☆ 4 survival strategies for proptech housing startups as they enter the sector's hardest year yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Proptech, the application of technology and venture capital to real estate, is naturally grappling with the change. Amid the threat of a recession, proptech startups have resorted to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures. In the meantime, Wedlake said, proptech companies and venture capitalists have shelved the "growth at all costs" mindset. In a recent blog post, Wedlake outlined four tactics that proptech startups were using to survive the deep freeze. So if proptech startups need to fundraise in 2023, they're likely going to have to accept lower valuations to attract any capital, Wedlake said.

☆ Companies like Amazon and Salesforce use layoffs to cut their lowest performers — and recruiters know it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Salesforce, Compass, and Amazon recently laid off thousands of what they called "low performers." What's more, a tight job market means that hiring managers can't afford to be so choosy. But as we enter the new year, and recession fears mount, the continued strength of tech hiring is an open question. Still, recruiters say that candidates laid off by virtue of supposedly poor performance are not disqualified from consideration — far from it. Some recruiters say they take an empathetic approach based on personal experience.

☆ Desperate home sellers are basically paying buyers to purchase their homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sellers gave concessions in a record 42% of home sales at the end of 2022, Redfin found. Sellers are more likely to negotiate to offload their properties to the few buyers still out there. It's making some home sellers so desperate they're offering buyers cash to purchase their properties. And in a stark contrast to the housing market of 2020, sellers are losing their grip on the US real estate market — it's costing them big. "Buyers are asking sellers for things that were unheard of during the past few years," Van Welborn, a Redfin real estate agent from Phoenix, said in the report.

☆ In One of Maui’s Biggest Deals, Waterfront Home Sells for $32.67 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Sarah Paynter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Be the first to know about the biggest and best luxury home sales and listings by signing up for our Mansion Deals email alert. A waterfront home on the Hawaii island of Maui has sold for $32.67 million in one of the island’s priciest-ever deals, according to listing agent Chelsea Dimin of Compass.

“I’m not telling you we have an agreement,” McCarthy said at one point, according to two people. Share this -Link copiedReporters appear to be live tweeting the GOP conference call Members of the Capitol press corps were live-tweeting what was being said on the House GOP Conference call Friday morning. Share this -Link copied‘I’m not even a congressman’: House lawmakers and staffers can’t function while speaker fight drags on WASHINGTON — There is no speaker of the House. And because of the GOP’s new razor-thin majority, McCarthy can only afford four GOP defections on any speaker vote. If members are not present for votes, it would lower the threshold McCarthy, of California, needs to win a majority and become House speaker.

WASHINGTON — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and his conservative detractors on Wednesday night inched closer to a deal designed to flip some no votes to the yes column. And because of the GOP’s new razor-thin majority, McCarthy can only afford four GOP defections on any speaker vote. “We have zero trust in Kevin McCarthy. “We’ll see,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of the 20 defectors, when asked if McCarthy will be speaker. “If it takes till tomorrow, it takes till tomorrow; if it takes till the 4th of July, it takes till the 4th of July,” said Rep.

☆ How to balance retirement and emergency savings in a shaky economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

It's not easy to prioritize financial goals, especially when choosing between two essentials in an unsteady economy: saving for retirement or building your emergency fund. Indeed, more than half of savers are prioritizing short-term financial goals in 2023, including emergency savings, according to a recent study from Fidelity Investments. While maxing out your 401(k) should be the goal, your emergency savings is also important, she said. Leslie Beck, a Rutherford, New Jersey-based CFP and owner of Compass Wealth Management, said she has a "rule of thumb" for how to decide between retirement and emergency savings. Then, if your emergency savings are short after that, you should "definitely" divert the funds, she said.

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