Zillow’s exit from its iBuyer venture prompted the question: Is the business model flawed? As recent earnings reports from two of Zillow’s competitors showed, it’s too early to write it off. … READ MORE >
pandemic
Chart of the day: Consumer confidence erodes to decade low in November
Concerns over inflation crept into consumer confidence in November, pushing the index from the University of Michigan to a decade low of 66.8 from 71.7 in October, according to data released on Friday. … READ MORE >
Strong labor demand pushed quit rate to a record
Demand for labor showed little change in September as job openings stayed at 10.4 million and the rate of people quitting their jobs reached an all-time high at 3.0%, according to new data on Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Jobless claims approach pre-pandemic level
Claims for jobless benefits continued to signal a steady bounce back of the labor market as new filings declined to a pandemic low of 267,000 for the week ending Nov. 6. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Producer prices rise as cost pressures mount
The producer price index inched up 0.6% in October with about a third of the increase coming from higher gasoline prices. … READ MORE >
U.S. October jobs report: Hiring booms as unemployment falls to 4.6%
The October U.S. employment report released on Friday showed an increase of 531,000 jobs and a decline of roughly 255,000 in the jobless rolls as the unemployment rate fell to 4.6%. … READ MORE >
Canada’s trade surplus widened amid microchip shortage
Canada’s merchandise trade balance had the fourth consecutive month of surplus in October as global supply chain bottlenecks debilitated the automotive industry. … READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims drop to pandemic low as labor market rebounds
Initial jobless claims declined to 269,000 for the week ending Oct. 30, only 57,000 higher than the 212,000 in March 2020, before the pandemic. … READ MORE >
Fed slows asset purchases as it moves to end pandemic-era accommodation
The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it later this month would start paring back its pandemic-era monetary accommodation even as it held its policy rate between zero and 25 basis points. … READ MORE >
Chart of the day: Service sector grew at record pace
The Services Purchasing Managers’ Index hit a record high in October at 66.7%, 4.8 percentage points higher than September, confirming the recent shift in consumption from goods to services. … READ MORE >