Tuesday, May 31, 2022

US Home-Price Appreciation Accelerates for Fourth Month | Daily Business Review - Law.com

Home-price growth in 20 U.S. cities picked up for the fourth straight month with Tampa, Florida, showing the biggest gains.

A measure of prices in those 20 cities climbed 21.2% through March following a 20.3% gain in February, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index showed Tuesday. All 20 cities reported double-digit price increases for the year ended March and prices in Tampa jumped 34.8%, according to a statement.

“Those of us who have been anticipating a deceleration in the growth rate of US home prices will have to wait at least a month longer,” Craig Lazzara, a managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in the statement.

Homebuyers are facing a worsening affordability situation with mortgage rates hovering around the highest levels in more than a decade. Further price appreciation threatens to add to the pain even as higher rates and economic uncertainty have started to soften the market slightly. Redfin Corp. said earlier this month that the number of sellers cutting prices hit the highest level since October 2019.

Nationally, prices rallied 20.6%, but S&P Dow Jones Indices’ Lazzara warned that a deceleration could be on the horizon.

“Mortgages are becoming more expensive as the Federal Reserve has begun to ratchet up interest rates, suggesting that the macroeconomic environment may not support extraordinary home-price growth for much longer,” Lazzara said. “Although one can safely predict that price gains will begin to decelerate, the timing of the deceleration is a more difficult call.”

Katherine Chiglinsky reports for Bloomberg News.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Rising gas prices and inflation top travel concerns, overtaking Covid, survey finds - CNBC

After more than two years of largely staying home due to the pandemic, most Americans are ready to hit the road.

Yet inflation and record-breaking gasoline prices are weighing on would-be vacationers, even more than Covid concerns, according to a report by Morning Consult.

Roughly 60% of Americans said they would take more trips this year compared with last year, although higher prices are now causing travelers to scale back their plans and go shorter distances, the survey, commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, found.

One-third are likely to cancel altogether.

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Gasoline prices have run up sharply heading into the peak summer driving season, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and show no signs of slowing down.

The national average for unleaded gas hit another new high of $4.62 per gallon Tuesday, according to AAA data. Prices are up more than 50% compared with last year. 

Analysts say gasoline prices usually peak by mid-May, but this year prices at the pump could continue to rise into July and reach about $5 a gallon or more.

Now, 90% of Americans consider the price of gas in their decisions about whether to travel in the next three months, the AHLA survey found.

The same share also say inflation is a factor in their upcoming plans. Meanwhile, 78% now say that Covid infection rates are a consideration in deciding about summer travel.

"The pandemic has instilled in most people a greater appreciation for travel, and that's reflected in the plans Americans are making to get out and about this summer," said Chip Rogers, AHLA's president and CEO.

"But just as Covid's negative impact on travel is starting to wane, a new set of challenges is emerging in the form of historic inflation and record high gas prices."

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India cuts base import price of palm oil; raises soyoil price - Reuters

A boy walks past an oil tanker train stationed at a railway station in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

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MUMBAI, May 31 (Reuters) - India has slashed the base import prices of crude and refined palm oil, while raising the price of crude soyoil, the government said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The government revises base import prices of edible oils, gold and silver every fortnight, and the prices are used to calculate the amount of tax an importer needs to pay.

India, the world's biggest edible oils importer, last week allowed duty free imports 2 million tonnes of soyoil. read more

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Commodity New price in $ Old price in $

Crude palm oil 1,625 1,703

RBD palm oil 1,733 1,765

RBD palmolein 1,744 1,771

Crude soya oil 1,866 1,827

Gold 597 592

Silver 721 687

Base prices for all commodities are in $ per tonne, except for gold and silver. The gold tariff is in $ per 10 grams and silver in $ per kg.

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Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Monday, May 30, 2022

House hunting? Here's when to increase your budget and when to stick to your original price - CNBC

valentinrussanov | E+ | Getty Images

The housing market is hot right now — if you're a seller.

Buyers, on the flip side, are having a harder time finding homes.

Americans are aware of the struggles they face in buying a home. More than 70% of U.S. adults believe the housing market is currently in a bubble, and more than half say it's a bad time to buy a home, according to a survey of more than 7,000 adults from Momentive.

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Price is a major factor that's keeping potential buyers on the sidelines — some 38% said they have delayed or canceled plans to buy a home due to inflation. People of color were also more likely to push off a home purchase due to rising costs, the survey found.

"More scuttled or delayed plans to buy among these groups threatens to exacerbate already wide gaps in homeownership rates along racial and ethnic lines," said Jon Cohen, chief research officer at Momentive.

In April, the median sales price for homes in the U.S. was $391,200, a nearly 15% increase from a year earlier, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

At the same time, mortgage rates are also increasing, which means buyers with loans will pay more for them, as well, said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com.

That can hurt younger consumers, as well as first-time buyers, according to Hale. It also means that homeownership as a path to building wealth is now out of reach for many.

"It's a very competitive market for those who are shopping at the top of their budgets," said Peter Murray, a realtor and the principal broker at Murray & Co. Real Estate in Frederick, Maryland. "There's a lot of disappointments."

Everyone is getting squeezed

Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao | Moment | Getty Images

Prior to the pandemic's red-hot housing market, there was a simple profile that constituted an "A" buyer, according to Brian Copeland, a realtor in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Four years ago, an 'A' buyer was someone who was pre-qualified for a loan, had 3% down and could go out this weekend and buy a home," said Copeland, who is also president of the industry association Greater Nashville Realtors. "Now, an 'A' buyer has all cash."

In addition, the top buyers today are willing to waive appraisals and inspections and, in some cases, don't even view the house they're purchasing in person, he said.

"Everyone is being squeezed," said Copeland, adding that middle-class affordable housing is "absolutely suffering."

The money math

Some homeowners may be tempted to stretch their budgets to purchase a house, especially if they've had months of searching and being outbid.

It can make sense in some cases to stretch your budget, according to Marguerita Cheng, a certified financial planner and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

"There are situations when I have told people it's okay to stretch, but just understand the impact that's going to have on other areas of your life," she said.

For example, it could make sense to pay slightly more if moving will lower other expenses, or if you're anticipating lifestyle changes that will free up room in your monthly budget. This could include going from two cars to one, or having children who will soon enter public school, meaning you're no longer paying as much for childcare.

If you've calculated your budget using your base salary, not including any bonuses, you may also be able to afford more, she said. And, if you don't have consumer debt, are adequately saving for retirement and have a solid emergency fund, there may be more wiggle room than you think at first.

The amount of time you expect to spend in the home also matters. If you're looking to live in a house for more than five years, it may make sense to pay slightly more now.

When not to stretch

On the flip side, there are some situations where it does not make sense to increase your homebuying budget.

Cheng says stick with your original plan if paying more would make it difficult to contribute to other financial goals, such as saving for retirement or paying down debt.

"If the only way that stretch is going to happen is if they borrow from retirement money, I would probably say that doesn't make sense," she said.

If the only way that stretch is going to happen is if they borrow from retirement money, I would probably say that doesn't make sense
Marguerita Cheng
CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth

She also cautioned against wiping out all your cash savings to afford a more expensive home. You need to budget for variable costs such as taxes, insurance and repairs.

It also doesn't make sense to stretch your budget to a point where you can only afford it with tax breaks, said Cheng. If those benefits go away in the future, you'll be in trouble.

What to do if you can't pay more

Buyers who can't stretch their budgets have a few options.

"They either pause their home search or they need to readjust their search criteria," said Murray.

Stepping out of the buying market might make sense for some who need more time to save. It could also be a bad idea, however — if prices continue to rise, you could be further priced out of the market, said Copeland.

That means rethinking your must-haves might make more sense. That includes looking at different neighborhoods, including ones that aren't as popular or might be farther away from city centers. They may also need to be flexible on the size or condition of the home they purchase.

They should also have all of their paperwork ready to go so that when they do see a house they like, they can make an offer right away, said Hale.

"To be competitive in this market, you could throw more money at the problem or you could be really prepared and on top of it," she said.

Working with a financial planner or advisor can help homebuyers understand what they can really afford to spend on a house, said Cheng.

"The loan officer is going to be really helpful in helping you structure your loan, the realtor is going to help you find a home," said Cheng. "You might think having a financial planner is over the top, but they are going to really help you see how this affects your situation."

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Bitcoin May Still Be Primed for a Further Drop From Range - Bloomberg

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Bitcoin May Still Be Primed for a Further Drop From Range  Bloomberg

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Sunday, May 29, 2022

This is the average price of a used car in each state - WesternSlopeNow

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This is the average price of a used car in each state  WesternSlopeNow

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High gas prices may cause travelers to stay closer to home this Memorial Day weekend - WMTV – NBC15

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Triple A said Sunday’s gas price average is the highest recorded in Wisconsin.

The average gas price in Wisconsin on Sunday is $4.37.

That price is making travel all the more expensive over Memorial Day weekend.

Tourism is a big sector of the Wisconsin Dells economy, but the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau believes people will pick travel destinations closer to home, including the Dells.

“It helps us in a way that people may pick destinations that are closer to home, which is Wisconsin Dells,” Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau’s Leah Hauck-Mills said. “They may, you know, cut costs somewhere else, but it’s easily accessible to get to Wisconsin Dells, just with one tank of gas.”

As of Sunday, Triple A said the national average gas price is $4.61.

Copyright 2022 WMTV. All rights reserved.

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MARK-TO-MARKET: Americans’ summer travel plans face record-high gas prices - Quad-City Times

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) officially defines the summer driving season as the six months from April to September. However, it’s the Memorial Day weekend that serves as the formal kick-off, as millions of Americans hit the open road on their summer driving adventures.

Consumption of gasoline tends to peak during the summer months. The EIA projects Americans will consume roughly 9.2 million barrels per day of gasoline this summer season. This is slightly above last summer’s pace but below 2019’s pre-pandemic level of 9.5 million barrels per day.

Just two months ago, the EIA projected a gallon of regular gas this summer driving season would average $3.84 across the nation, up from last season’s average of $3.06. But with the continued rise in gasoline prices, that projection increasingly seems like wishful thinking.

According to data from the American Automobile Association, the current national average for a gallon of regular gas now stands at $4.60, a record high. For the first time in history, the average price has exceeded $4.00 in all 50 states. Nationally, the price of gas rose $0.11 from the prior week, the third consecutive week with a double-digit increase. Gas prices have risen $1.28 (35%) since Jan. 1 and $1.58 (49%) over the past 12 months. Many experts project the national average to exceed $5 per gallon in the upcoming months.

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As one might expect, gasoline prices vary significantly across the 50 states. California maintains its woeful distinction for the highest gas prices in the land, with a wallet-melting statewide average of $6.06 per gallon. Hawaii comes in at No. 2, averaging $5.42 per gallon. The winner for the cheapest gallon of gas goes to Oklahoma ($4.08) followed closely by Kansas ($4.09).

Locally, the price you pay at the pump is heavily dependent on which side of the Mississippi River you fill up on. In Illinois, the average price for a gallon of regular gas is a record-high $4.98 — the seventh highest in the nation. Gas prices have risen $0.58 over the past 30 days and $1.76 over the past 12 months. In Chicago-Cook County, the average price is a blistering $5.40 per gallon.

Iowa has faired better. The average price in the Hawkeye state is a record-high $4.23 per gallon but still the 13th lowest in the nation. Prices have risen $0.38 in the past 30 days and $1.34 over the past year. Here in the Quad-Cities, a gallon of gas on the Illinois side averages $4.70. The Iowa side is $0.52 cheaper at $4.18.

The main cause behind the higher gasoline prices is the continued rise in the price of crude oil. The price of West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark grade of crude oil produced in the U.S., is at an 11-year high. Its current price of $115 per barrel has risen 51% in 2022 and is up 61% over the past 12 months.

Crude oil is a global commodity, subject to the global forces of supply and demand. Before the pandemic, U.S. crude oil production reached a record-high 13.1 million barrels per day. This once-torrid pace of production kept global crude oil supplies saturated which helped keep prices low. Today, U.S. production has fallen by 10%. Add in sanctions against Russia’s crude oil exports and it creates a potent mixture for higher crude oil — and gasoline — prices.

This summer, Americans’ penchant for travel will be tempered by the reality of higher gasoline prices. According to a poll by The Washington Post and George Mason University, 85% of respondents said gas prices will be a factor in making their summer vacation plans. Sixty-one percent stated it would play a “major” factor. So, if you’re one of those contemplating changes to your upcoming summer travel plans, rest assured, you’re not alone.

Mark Grywacheski is an expert in financial markets and economic analysis and is an investment adviser with Quad-Cities Investment Group, Davenport.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Any prices or quotations contained herein are indicative only and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any securities at any given price. Information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the material presented is accurate or that it provides a complete description of the securities, markets or developments mentioned. Quad-Cities Investment Group LLC is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.

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LUNA 2.0 price crashes 67% within hours casting doubt on the recovery path - Finbold - Finance in Bold

LUNA 2.0 price crashes 67% within hours casting doubt on the recovery path

The recovery plan after the collapse of Terraform Labs’ stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and its native token Terra (LUNA) began on a rocky path after the LUNA 2.0 cryptocurrency suffered a significant price correction hours after its launch. 

By press time, the token value had plunged by over 67%, trading at $5.78 from the launch price of $17.8, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

LUNA 2.0 price chart. Source/CoinMarketCap

The drop comes after Terraform Labs successfully distributed the LUNA 2.0 tokens to investors who held LUNA Classic (LUNC) and TerraUSD (UST). The token was airdropped on May 28, with a maximum circulating supply capped at one billion. 

LUNA 2.0 features 

According to Terraform Labs, LUNA 2.0 was released under Phoenix-1, the Terra 2.0 mainnet. In an announcement, the company noted that node services, wallets, and explorers would follow the mainnet to go live later. 

Additionally, the LUNA 2.0 token does not share any history with the asset’s first version, and it will be based on a genesis blockchain starting from block 0 with no dApps on launch. 

The launch comes after several recognised crypto exchanges, including Kraken, Bitrue, Kucoin, By bit, Nexo, Lbank, Bitfinex, and Bitget, listed the token allowing investors to trade in the asset. 

Besides the exchanges, other crypto ecosystems announced a commitment to assist Terra projects to come back to life. For instance, Binance, through the BNB Chain, noted it would provide investment and support to projects considering migrating from the Terra ecosystem.

However, LUNA 2.0’s price correction has not correlated with interest in the token before the launch. As per Finbold’s report, the interest in the keyword ‘LUNA 2.0’ on Google Search surged from a popularity score of 8 in the week starting on May 1 to 100 on May 15. 

The decision to launch LUNA 2.0 was officially reached on May 25 after the conclusion of a voting exercise by community members. The new token was launched as part of Terra founder Do Kwon’s revival plan after investors lost significant money in the coins. 

Kwon accused of fraud 

Kwon has been the main focus of the crash, with a section of the crypto community blaming him for the collapse. Besides the Terra controversy, Kwon also faces accusations of fraud over the Mirror Protocol. 

Following the coppase, the LUNA continued to make losses, with the market capitalization dropping below the $1 billion mark. Interestingly, the crash had generated hype around LUNA, with Google search popularity scores soaring higher. 

Interest in the collapsed token was fuelled by a short-term spike as optimistic investors pumped more money. According to market analysts, interest in the token was due to the hope that it would mirror meme coins like Dogecoin. 

Worth noting is that since the collapse, several crypto analytics firms have attempted to determine what went wrong with the network. As reported by Finbold, Nansen’s research team revealed the network collapse was due to an attack by a single individual. 

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Dogecoin Price Analysis: Do you think Elon Musk's Tweet affected DOGE price?Do you think Elon Musk's Tweet affected DOGE price? - The Coin Republic

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Dogecoin Price Analysis: Do you think Elon Musk's Tweet affected DOGE price?Do you think Elon Musk's Tweet affected DOGE price?  The Coin Republic

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Saturday, May 28, 2022

The astronomical price of diesel is making everything more expensive - WYPR

You know the commercial that says America runs on a certain brand's coffee and donuts?

In truth, America runs on diesel. Just ask a trucker, a farmer or a factory owner.

And right now, they are all hurting. That's because the machines that power their businesses need diesel, which is commanding nosebleed level prices right now. At around $5.50 a gallon, diesel prices are up a whopping 75% more than last year and blew past all-time record recently.

"I can pretty much count on setting on fire $5-$700 a day...minimum," says Eric Jammer, whose truck has 22 wheels, one of the largest on the road. He's used to transporting the big stuff — military and construction equipment. He once hauled an Apache helicopter.

Jammer is cutting back on driving too far away from home in Houston, Texas. At the most, he hauls goods that are within a day or two from Texas. No more than that.

Diesel prices have skyrocketed faster than gasoline, which has itself hit record levels. They're rising so fast because of the same factors that have sent oil prices up this year. The U.S.'s ban on the import of Russian oil after the invasion of Ukraine has put a squeeze on diesel.

The U.S. also keeps lower inventories of diesel, and has been exporting more of the fuel to Europe in recent months to help reduce the continent's reliance on Russian fuel.

Some truckers might choose to stop driving if prices go up more

Diesel's spiraling price has also contributed to U.S. inflation, which reached a 40-year high this year.

After all, trucks move 70% of all freight in the U.S. from transporting goods on land to those that come off a cargo ship or a train.

Most trucking companies pass on increased fuel costs to their customers through fuel surcharges.

"Ultimately you and I as consumers will see this on the store shelves in the price of the products," says Bob Costello, chief economist with the American Trucking Association.

But some independent truck owner operators like Jammer aren't able to pass on fuel costs. He that operators like him won't be able to continue hauling if diesel prices climb higher. If that happens, it will result in even fewer truckers on the road, and that could further drive up the price of shipping.

One home builder is being hit on all sides

Home builder Tom Stringham is on the other end, paying those fuel surcharges. Extra bills are pouring in from his suppliers — from the concrete company, the lumber company and from other parts suppliers. All of those factory owners have machines that also run on diesel, besides the trucks that also haul those goods.

Home builder Tom Stringham sits with his wife Angela Stringham in front of a home his company is building in Montana.

Ginny Emery / Wandering Albatross

/

Wandering Albatross

Home builder Tom Stringham sits with his wife Angela Stringham in front of a home his company is building in Montana.

Stringham co-owns Treasure State Builders in Hamilton, Montana. His business also owns a fleet of pick-ups, two semi trucks, and a forklift, all of which run on diesel.

In less than six months, Stringham has spent the same amount on fuel as he did all of last year.

"It's definitely taking it out of the bottom line," he says.

His business is hot. With so many people moving out of cities and into the mountains during the pandemic, Stringham has been busy making custom homes.

But he's facing long wait times on his deliveries that are dragging out the length of his projects.

"I've been waiting for 10 months for a bathtub and 11 months for appliances," says Stringham. "That's really hard when, I mean, the house has basically been sitting for a month or two waiting for a bathtub."

Stringham suspects this long wait time is in part due to fuel costs. When diesel was cheaper, a trucker might make a trip and return on empty. But at current prices, few truckers are willing to do that.

"Truckers aren't going to haul something to Montana unless they have a full load, both ways. So it's creating massive delays."

This farmer has kept 70,000 gallons of diesel stored in tanks

Semis also bring in seed from over 150 miles away for Mark Darrington's farm in Declo, Idaho. He grows malt barley that goes into popular beers like Coors and Budweiser.

Mark, Brant and Brogan Darrington of Big D Farms in Declo, Idaho.

/ Mark Darrington

/

Mark Darrington

Mark, Brant and Brogan Darrington of Big D Farms in Declo, Idaho.

At Big D Farms, Darrington and his sons also grow potatoes, sugar beets, wheat. He says diesel plays a central role in almost all the equipment he uses — a sprayer with 100 foot booms to water crops, there's tractors and tillers and more.

But Darrington's been spared the sting of these high prices so far because he bought a lot of the fuel back in December, when it was about 40% cheaper than it is now. He still has about 70,000 gallons of diesel stored in tanks on his property. But he fears for when he'll have to buy.

"When that's gone, it's gone. And it has to be replaced," Darrington says.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Friday, May 27, 2022

High price homes are more likely to be threatened by wildfires - Boise State Public Radio

News Brief

People facing high wildfire risks are more likely to be older, white, live in pricier homes and have higher incomes, according to new research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

“The highest income households are as much as 70% more likely than median households to be living in high fire-hazard areas,” said Matt Wibbenmeyer, a fellow with the nonprofit Resources for the Future who co-authored the study.

The findings suggest that this demographic is drawn to amenities on the outskirts of Western cities, such as tree cover, views and access to recreational opportunities. That often puts them in areas of the wildland-urban interface that have higher wildfire risks.

However, this data is somewhat skewed towards the larger number of people living on the outskirts of urban centers where costs are higher.

Heat map showing where housing costs more or less in high wildfire risk areas.jpeg

Matthew Wibbenmeyer and Molly Robertson, "The distributional incidence of wildfire hazard in the western United States"

/

Environmental Research Letters

This shows median home values and number of homes in high wildfire hazard areas. 140 sq. km hexagonal grid cells are colored according to the median property value in high wildfire hazard areas in the cell. Grid cell height is based on the number of properties in high fire hazard areas in each cell.

Looking at more rural areas of the Mountain West, the report highlights where there are also significantly lower-income homes that are disproportionately affected by wildfire risks. It found Native Americans were disproportionately impacted, too.

Wibbenmeyer cautioned that the researchers were only studying risk, and not vulnerability. Those with lower incomes and underinsured homes will likely have a significantly harder time recovering from a wildfire.

The report collected economic data for houses and individuals using Zillow and the U.S. Census Bureau. It also relied on U.S. Forest Service data to assess wildfire risk areas.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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Home sellers are lowering their prices at the fastest clip since 2019 - CNBC

The U.S. housing market may finally be cooling off.

Nearly one in five home sellers dropped their price during the four-week period ending May 22 — the highest rate since 2019, according to a weekly Redfin study published Thursday. The same four-week period saw 13% fewer "homes for sale" browser searches on Google, and a 12% year-over-year drop in home tours and other related services from Redfin agents — the largest such decline since April 2020.

Meanwhile, the Market Composite Index, which tracks mortgage purchase applications, dropped 1.2% during the week ending May 20. And sales of new homes are at their lowest level since April 2020, down 16.6% from March, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report published Tuesday.

Taken together, the numbers suggest that increasing homeownership costs have shrunk the pool of potential homebuyers, forcing sellers to lower their prices. The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has surged by nearly 2% since January, increasing monthly mortgage costs by 42.1% year over year as of May 22, per Redfin's data.

Sellers are still asking for a lot of money: The median asking price for a home climbed to a record-setting $418,000, up 17.8% year over year, according to the Redfin study. But the rate of price growth has been relatively low over the past four weeks, suggesting a possible plateau.

"The picture of a softening housing market is becoming more clear, especially to home sellers increasingly turning to price drops as buyers become more cost-conscious under higher mortgage rates," Daryl Fairweather, a Redfin chief economist, wrote in the study's report. "For now, mortgage rates have stabilized, and I expect prices to do the same."

In Redfin's previous report, Fairweather also commented on the potential slowdown, noting that homebuyers might be able to take advantage of sinking prices throughout the upcoming summer.

"This sudden pressure on sellers is good news for those homebuyers who can still afford to buy at today's higher mortgage rates," she wrote. "These trends point to an even cooler market this summer."

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The Fed’s favorite inflation measure rose 4.9% in April in a sign that price increases could be slowing - CNBC

People shop in a supermarket in Washington, DC, on May 26, 2022, as Americans brace for summer sticker shock as inflation continues to grow.
Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose 4.9% in April from a year ago, a still-elevated level that nonetheless indicated that price pressures could be easing a bit, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

That increase in the core personal consumption expenditures price index was in line with expectations and reflected a slowing pace from the 5.2% reported in March. The number excludes volatile food and energy prices that have been a major contributor to inflation running around a 40-year peak.

The 0.3% increase on a monthly basis was the same as March and in line with Dow Jones estimates. The monthly gain was held back by a decline in energy prices during April that has since reversed.

Including food and energy, headline PCE increased 6.3% in April from a year ago. That also was a deceleration from the 6.6% pace in the previous month. However, the monthly change showed a more marked pullback, with an increase of just 0.2% compared with the 0.9% surge in March.

The data showed that consumers continued to spend but were tapping into their savings to do so.

"Consumers remained undaunted by inflation last month, strongly increasing spending and changing their mix to more services such as at bars and restaurants, and travel and recreation as the weather warms," said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. "The spending was fueled in part by higher wages, and also by Americans drawing more money out of savings, which is a giant stockpile of at least $2 trillion."

Along with the inflation data, the BEA reported that personal income rose 0.4% during the month, a 0.1 percentage point decline from March and a slight miss on the 0.5% estimate. Consumer spending, however, held up, rising a better-than-expected 0.9%, though that was below March's upwardly revised 1.4%.

Income after taxes and other charges was flat for the month after falling 0.5% in March.

Inflation for the past several months has been moving at a pace not seen since the early 1980s. The inability of supply to keep up with demand has pushed prices higher, fed by unprecedented fiscal stimulus during the Covid pandemic, clogged global supply chains and the war in Ukraine that has sent energy prices soaring and led to fears of food shortages.

While the lower level of inflation generated some relief in the White House, gas will be a factor again when the May numbers come out next month. Prices at the pump have jumped again in May, surging more than 11% from a month ago and 51% from this time last year, according to AAA.

In a statement, President Joe Biden noted April's report was "a sign of progress, even as we have more work to do."

Responding to the price pressures, the Fed has implemented two interest rate increases totaling 75 basis points and has indicated that a series of hikes are likely ahead until inflation comes closer to the central bank's 2% goal.

The PCE numbers reported Friday are lower than the consumer price index used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Headline CPI for April rose 8.3% from last year.

The two numbers differ in that the CPI tracks data from consumers while PCE is extracted from businesses. The Fed considers PCE a broader-based measure of what is happening with prices on a variety of levels.

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Gas Prices Hit New Highs as Summer Driving Season Starts - The New York Times

A gallon has jumped by about 50 cents over the last month as Russia’s war in Ukraine has continued to unsettle the global energy market.

HOUSTON — With the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinding on, drivers will have to shell out a lot more to fill up their cars as the summer travel season begins this Memorial Day weekend.

The price for regular gasoline in California has already risen to more than $6 a gallon, and it is virtually impossible to find gas for under $4 anywhere else. Nationwide, prices have risen by nearly 50 cents a gallon over the last month.

The war in Ukraine is the most immediate cause for the jump in prices as global refiners, tanker companies and traders shun Russian exports, forcing up to three million barrels of oil a day off the market. Energy traders have also bid up oil prices in the expectation that Western governments will impose even tougher sanctions on Russia and its energy industry.

But another reason for the high prices is that, despite them, motorists have not done much to burn a lot less gasoline. Analysts said people appeared to have a robust appetite for hitting the road as the United States recovered from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Fixing the problem would mean people would have to drive less,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service. “But people are saying: ‘I’m sorry, I’ve been in lockdown. I’m taking my vacation this summer.’”

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on Friday was $4.60, up from $3.04 a year ago, according to AAA. Airfares, which typically move up and down with jet fuel prices, have risen even faster.

One reason for the climb in prices is that national and global fuel inventories are low. Roughly 3 percent of U.S. refinery capacity was taken off line during the pandemic when oil companies closed older, unprofitable plants as demand shrank. Other refineries around the world were shut down as well.

Gasoline prices are largely determined by the price of oil, and that is set in a global market. Analysts disagree about what happens next, largely because international politics have become so unpredictable. A Russian retreat from Ukraine would immediately send prices down, as would any loosening of Western sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. A Russian escalation would do the opposite.

Many experts had thought that energy prices would rise even more than they have. But China has imposed harsh lockdowns in Shanghai and other areas to stop the spread of the coronavirus, significantly reducing energy demand in the world’s biggest fuel-importing country.

A change in Chinese policy could cause prices to jump. But prices could fall if producers in the United States, Canada, South America and the Middle East start to ramp up production.

Production in Russia, which accounted for about 10 percent of global oil supplies in recent years, is expected to decline further.

But the country has been able to find new buyers for its energy in China and India. That has meant that Middle Eastern countries are now selling more oil to Europe as they sell less to Asia.

A recent report by analysts at Citi said expectations of large drops in Russian production “are exaggerated.” The analysts said that up to 900,000 barrels a day that Russia ships by tankers could be diverted away from Europe or to countries in Europe that are not able to switch to other suppliers.

An Rong Xu for The New York Times

Another report this week by ESAI Energy, a global energy market analysis company, projected that after seasonal maintenance, summer refinery output would surge in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and India. China is also seeking to sell more refined gasoline, diesel and other fuels.

“These supply increases will temper summertime price increases at the pump,” said Sarah Emerson, ESAI’s president.

“You have a lot of different puzzle pieces,” Ms. Emerson added, explaining why predicting energy prices is so difficult. “The juxtaposition of recovering from a pandemic and starting a war in Europe makes it very complicated.”

Another unpredictable variable that could send oil and gasoline prices spiraling up this summer: hurricanes. A powerful storm could knock out refineries and pipelines along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and government forecasters expect an “above normal” hurricane season.

“Toward the end of June, when the real summer begins, you could see some real pent-up demand manifest itself,” Mr. Kloza of Oil Price Information Service said. “I fear July because of the demand increase, and I fear August because of the hurricane potential.”

Oil industry executives have often said the cure for high prices is those very high prices. That’s because they force consumers to buy less fuel or switch to more fuel-efficient cars. But drivers do not seem to be cutting back or making other big changes — at least not yet.

There are tentative signs that gasoline demand may be flattening or even falling a little, at least during weekdays, according to energy analysts. Energy Department data from May suggested that gasoline sales had dropped by more than 2 percent from the same period last year. But the government measures fuel supplied by refiners, traders and blenders, not retail sales to drivers at the pump. Analysts still expect a jump in gas sales during the summer but some drivers may change their plans should prices go much higher.

In a recent survey of 2,210 adults by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, 60 percent said they were likely to take more vacations this year than last. But 82 percent also said gasoline prices would have some impact on where they went.

“The pandemic has instilled in most people a greater appreciation for travel,” said Chip Rogers, president of the association, “and that’s reflected in the plans Americans are making to get out and about this summer.”

People have also found it hard to switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles. Sales of electric and hybrid cars are rising, but parts shortages have limited the supply of all new cars, and some new electric and hybrid models have monthslong waiting lists.

Perhaps the only good thing about the pandemic for consumers was the swift slide in energy prices as the global economy sputtered. But because oil prices slumped to levels not seen in decades, international oil companies slashed investments.

Once demand began to climb last year, oil companies scrambled to rehire people and recommission drilling rigs. But many oil executives have been reluctant to invest too much money in new wells because they fear that prices could fall before those wells start producing, leaving them with big losses and debts. As a result, large energy companies are spending much of their fast-rising profits to pay dividends and buy back shares of their own companies.

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The Fed’s favorite inflation measure rose 4.9% in April in a sign that price increases could be slowing - CNBC

People shop in a supermarket in Washington, DC, on May 26, 2022, as Americans brace for summer sticker shock as inflation continues to grow.
Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose 4.9% in April from a year ago, a still-elevated level that nonetheless indicated that price pressures could be easing a bit, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

That increase in the core personal consumption expenditures price index was in line with expectations and reflected a slowing pace from the 5.2% reported in March. The number excludes volatile food and energy prices that have been a major contributor to inflation running around a 40-year peak.

The 0.3% increase on a monthly basis was the same as March and in line with Dow Jones estimates.

Including food and energy, headline PCE increased 6.3% in April from a year ago. That also was a deceleration from the 6.6% pace in the previous month. However, the monthly change showed a more marked pullback, with an increase of just 0.2% compared with the 0.9% surge in March.

The data showed that consumers continued to spend but were tapping into their savings to do so.

"Consumers remained undaunted by inflation last month, strongly increasing spending and changing their mix to more services such as at bars and restaurants, and travel and recreation as the weather warms," said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. "The spending was fueled in part by higher wages, and also by Americans drawing more money out of savings, which is a giant stockpile of at least $2 trillion."

Inflation for the past several months has been moving at a pace not seen since the early 1980s. The inability of supply to keep up with demand has pushed prices higher, fed by unprecedented fiscal stimulus during the Covid pandemic, clogged global supply chains and the war in Ukraine that has sent energy prices soaring and led to fears of food shortages.

Responding to the price pressures, the Fed has implemented two interest rate increases totaling 75 basis points and has indicated that a series of hikes are likely ahead until inflation comes closer to the central bank's 2% goal.

The PCE numbers reported Friday are lower than the consumer price index used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Headline CPI for April rose 8.3% from last year.

The two numbers differ in that the CPI tracks data from consumers while PCE is extracted from businesses. The Fed considers PCE a broader-based measure of what is happening with prices on a variety of levels.

Along with the inflation data, the BEA reported that personal income rose 0.4% during the month, a 0.1 percentage point decline from March and a slight miss on the 0.5% estimate. Consumer spending, however, held up, rising a better-than-expected 0.9%, though that was below March's upwardly revised 1.4%.

Income after taxes and other charges was flat for the month after falling 0.5% in March.

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Home sellers are lowering their prices at the fastest clip since 2019 - CNBC

The U.S. housing market may finally be cooling off.

Nearly one in five home sellers dropped their price during the four-week period ending May 22 — the highest rate since 2019, according to a weekly Redfin study published Thursday. The same four-week period saw 13% fewer "homes for sale" browser searches on Google, and a 12% year-over-year drop in home tours and other related services from Redfin agents — the largest such decline since April 2020.

Meanwhile, the Market Composite Index, which tracks mortgage purchase applications, dropped 1.2% during the week ending May 20. And sales of new homes are at their lowest level since April 2020, down 16.6% from March, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report published Tuesday.

Taken together, the numbers suggest that increasing homeownership costs have shrunk the pool of potential homebuyers, forcing sellers to lower their prices. The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has surged by nearly 2% since January, increasing monthly mortgage costs by 42.1% year over year as of May 22, per Redfin's data.

Sellers are still asking for a lot of money: The median asking price for a home climbed to a record-setting $418,000, up 17.8% year over year, according to the Redfin study. But the rate of price growth has been relatively low over the past four weeks, suggesting a possible plateau.

"The picture of a softening housing market is becoming more clear, especially to home sellers increasingly turning to price drops as buyers become more cost-conscious under higher mortgage rates," Daryl Fairweather, a Redfin chief economist, wrote in the study's report. "For now, mortgage rates have stabilized, and I expect prices to do the same."

In Redfin's previous report, Fairweather also commented on the potential slowdown, noting that homebuyers might be able to take advantage of sinking prices throughout the upcoming summer.

"This sudden pressure on sellers is good news for those homebuyers who can still afford to buy at today's higher mortgage rates," she wrote. "These trends point to an even cooler market this summer."

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U.S. inflation rate slows to 6.3%, PCE shows, in sign price pressures could be near peak - MarketWatch

Small Bitcoin whales may be keeping BTC price from 'capitulation' — analysis - Cointelegraph

Amid distribution by the "giant" whales of Bitcoin, data shows that smaller ones are still resisting the urge to sell.

Small Bitcoin whales may be keeping BTC price from 'capitulation' — analysis

Bitcoin (BTC) could still see a major price capitulation, but more whales need to start selling first, data suggests.

In one of its daily QuickTake market updates on May 27, on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant highlighted increasingly bearish whale behavior.

Small whale selling should spark "absolute capitulation"

Amid widespread consensus that BTC/USD should put in a lower low than its May 12 pivot price of $23,800, some of Bitcoin's largest holders are showing signs of impatience.

Looking at unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) from various "bands" of whale wallets, CryptoQuant contributor Binh Dang flagged selling from the top cohort increasing since April.

Those entities with $1 million or more, known as "giant" whales, have upped their distribution of coins, while smaller whales — those with under $1 million — have been slower to shift their position.

"After the dip was at the end of January, we still saw the accumulation because all of the leading value bands went up, but from the 21st of April to now, giant whales (range over 1M$ - USD) have been distributing and do not get any signals to accumulate now," Dang explained.

"If minor whales and retailers give up, I think we will see the absolute capitulation and bottom also. If not, I will keep an eye on positive movements in the range of $1M to consider a reversal." 

An accompanying graphic showed realized supply from giant whales decreasing sharply, with $100,000-$1 million whales only now beginning to follow suit.

By contrast, the $10,000-$100,000 and $1,000-$10,000 bands showed no signs of capitulation.

"Giant whales keep going on the distribution. Minor ones and retailers keep the defensive state," CryptoQuant lead on-chain analyst Julio Moreno added in private comments to Cointelegraph.

Data from fellow on-chain analytics firm Glassnode meanwhile confirmed an overall decrease in the number of entities qualifying as whales.

Once again, an acceleration since April pointed to whale distribution, and as of May 27, overall whale numbers were at their lowest since July 2020.

Bitcoin entities with a balance above 1,000 BTC vs. BTC/USD chart. Source: Glassnode

Eyes on volume triggers

Earlier in May, whale buy levels formed key support targets below $27,000.

Related: Bitcoin 'good to go up' after BTC price hits lowest since Terra crash

For on-chain monitoring resource Whalemap, these were of interest in the aftermath of the initial May 12 dip.

In subsequent analysis, researchers showed that capitulatory events of the kind forecast for BTC/USD required coins moving at both a profit and a loss in elevated amounts.

"On May 12th both profits AND losses were higher than usual," part of an explanatory tweet stated, alongside a chart of moving profit/ loss (MPL) data.

"A good example of capitulation was in Dec 2018 when similar MPL activity was present (but at a much larger scale)."

This week, on-chain transaction volume saw a noticeable increase, Cointelegraph reported.

Bitcoin moving profit/ loss (MPL) vs. BTC/USD annotated chart. Source: Whalemap/ Twitter

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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Thursday, May 26, 2022

We're buying more shares of this chipmaker and updating our price target - CNBC

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, shows the NVIDIA Volta GPU computing platform at his keynote address at CES in Las Vegas, January 7, 2018.
Rick Wilking | Reuters

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Hungary Fights 'Petrol Tourism' With Foreigner Price Cap Ban - Bloomberg

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Hungary Fights 'Petrol Tourism' With Foreigner Price Cap Ban  Bloomberg

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Dover NH Big Sky Farm sells for $4.35M; Strafford County prices surge - Foster's Daily Democrat

Glencore Will Pay $1.1 Billion to Settle Bribery and Price-Fixing Charges - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Glencore, the mining and commodity-trading giant, has agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle charges that two of its units bribed officials in several countries and manipulated oil prices.

The settlement, announced Tuesday by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, followed months of negotiations between the company and prosecutors in the United States, Britain and Brazil over Glencore’s operations in the U.S., the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela and Nigeria dating back to 2018.

The announcement comes as gas prices have soared, in large part because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as the Biden administration, concerned with how high prices might affect Democrats during the midterm elections in November, has struggled to find effective ways to bring Americans relief at the pump.

“The rule of law requires that there not be one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless, one rule for the rich and another for the poor,” Mr. Garland, flanked by federal prosecutors and regulators from New York and Connecticut, told reporters during a news conference at the department’s headquarters.

The settlement was not a surprise. In February, the company set aside $1.5 billion in reserves to pay for fines and clawbacks that might result from international investigations into its operations in a handful of resource-rich countries in Africa and South America.

As part of the settlement, two units of Glencore admitted guilt and the company agreed to pay two separate penalties — $700 million to resolve the bribery investigation and $485 million in connection with “a multiyear scheme to manipulate benchmarks used to set prices for oil at two of our country’s busiest ports,” said Kenneth A. Polite Jr., who heads the department’s criminal division.

Two midlevel traders have pleaded guilty, one for conspiring to manipulate a fuel-oil benchmark, the other for bribing officials in Nigeria for a favorable contract with a state-owned oil conglomerate.

The company has yet to resolve investigations in Switzerland, where it is based, and the Netherlands, but executives said in a statement posted on the company’s website that they believed they would not need to earmark money in addition to the $1.5 billion already set aside.

Gary Nagle, the chief executive of Glencore, sought to distance the company’s current leadership from the activities of executives four years ago, listing a set of internal controls put into place to help ensure the company complies with the law and accepted industry practices.

“We acknowledge the misconduct identified in these investigations and have cooperated with the authorities,” he wrote in his statement. “This type of behavior has no place in Glencore, and the board, management team and I are very clear about the culture that we want and our commitment to be a responsible and ethical operator wherever we work.”

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Local gas station offers half-price gas to customers, local rep speaks out against inflation - Heart of Illinois ABC

PEORIA (Heart of Illinois ABC) - If you drove past University and War Memorial earlier Wednesday, you probably saw the long lines at Beachler’s station.

The organization ‘Americans for Prosperity partnered with congressman Darrin LaHood to show how inflation is affecting everyday people.

Gas prices were lowered to $2.38/gallon, the price of gas was when President Biden took office.

LaHood says high gas prices are a hot topic when he meets with constituents and says congress can do something about them.

“We have the cleanest water, cleanest environment now,” he said. ”We got to open up that oil production, there’s a way to do that and get back to energy independence. This is the number one issue when I come back to Peoria: gas and groceries which are directly affected by the high cost of fuel”

The group behind today’s efforts are going to Springfield tomorrow and have a goal of traveling to 100 cities in the next 100 days.

Copyright 2022 Heart of Illinois ABC. All rights reserved.

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Companies' reluctance to roll back price rises poses US inflation risk - Financial Times

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Companies' reluctance to roll back price rises poses US inflation risk    Financial Times from...