After stellar debut, Vietnamese EV maker VinFast shares tumble for second straight session
Its shares fell more than 33% on Thursday after losing 19% in the previous session.
Is the housing market about to crash? What the experts are saying
After a record-breaking run that saw mortgage rates plunge to all-time lows and home prices soar to new highs, the U.S. housing market finally started slowing in late 2022. Mortgage companies engaged in mass layoffs, real estate economists lamented a “housing recession” and home prices seemed poised for a correction.
But a strange thing happened on the way to the housing crash: Home values started rising again. In fact, housing prices have increased for four months in a row, according to the latest Case-Shiller home price index. In another reflection of ongoing price increases, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says more than half of U.S. metro areas registered home price gains in the second quarter of 2023.
While NAR reports that median sale prices of existing homes have declined year-over-year for five consecutive months through June, that comes with an asterisk. Home prices in June 2023 were down slightly compared to June 2022 — but this June’s median price of $410,200 was still the second-highest monthly number ever recorded by NAR, outpaced only by last June’s $413,800.
VinFast’s paltry U.S. new-vehicle registrations contrast with stock market zeal
The Vietnamese automaker launched its VF 8 crossover in March and had 151 new U.S. new-vehicle registrations through the end of June, Experian data shows.
6 tips for cutting costs on back-to-school shopping
By Craig Joseph | NerdWallet
When Meghan Lakata’s kids return to school from summer break, they’ll have new (to them) clothes and supplies. But thanks to some creative shopping habits, the mother of two isn’t stressed over back-to-school spending.
Lakata, a pre-K teacher in Maryland, uses tools like state sales tax holidays, cash-back apps and buy-nothing groups to keep back-to-school costs down. Bulk purchases help, too.
“I have the two kids and there’s a lot of overlap in what they need,” Lakata says. “So if I can get like a big 48-count of pencils, I’m going to do that.”
If back-to-school spending forecasts for 2023 are correct, every little bit of savings might help. According to the National Retail Federation, families with children in kindergarten through 12th grade will spend a record $41.5 billion on back-to-school shopping this year. An additional $94 billion will be spent on back-to-college shopping. Those figures make the back-to-school season the second-largest spending period of the year, after holiday shopping.
Infiniti previews new design language with Monograph concept
The concept is said to be a near-production version of the redesigned QX80 that arrives in stores in the spring.