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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Perhaps one of the most iconic portrayals of a greedy landlord is Benoit from Puccini’s La Boehme . The character arrives on the scene at the opening of the play looking to collect rent and then proudly confesses infidelity to the poor artists he’s trying to shake down. They pretend to be outraged by his immorality, eject him, and use the rent money for a night on the town. The image of the poor but righteous tenants is so compelling a modern musical adaptation of the opera is called Rent . But are housing providers really trying to squeeze every last cent from their residents? A study from Berkeley indicates that often, housing providers leave money on the table, giving discounts and often failing to keep up with the market. The study, Affordable Housing Without Public Subsidies: Rent-Setting Practices in Small Rental Properties , takes a look at how housing providers set their rents and how those rents relate to … [Read more...] about Study: Housing Providers’ Rent Increases Often Don’t Match Market

Representative image Gold hit a four-week high on Tuesday, as a weaker dollar and a dip in U.S. Treasury yields boosted demand for the safe-haven metal amid mounting worries over an economic slowdown. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,778.69 per ounce, as of 0044 GMT, its highest since July 5. * U.S. gold futures gained 0.2% to $1,791.10 per ounce. * The dollar fell 0.2% to a near one-month low against its rivals, making greenback-denominated gold less expensive for other currency holders. [USD/] Close * Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields dropped to a four-month low, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold. [USD/] [US/] * Data showed U.S. manufacturing activity slowed less than expected in July, with the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) index of national factory activity dipping to 52.8 last month, its lowest reading since June 2020. * U.S. construction spending also fell 1.1% in June, as outlays on … [Read more...] about Gold climbs four-week peak as US Treasury yields, dollar fall

Oil prices fell about 1% in early trade on Wednesday, reversing gains from the previous session ahead of a meeting OPEC+ producers on fears of a slowdown in global growth hitting fuel demand and a firmer dollar. Brent crude futures fell 94 cents, or 0.9%, to $99.60 a barrel at 0020 GMT, wiping out the previous session's gain. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 68 cents, or 0.7%, at $93.74 a barrel, after climbing 53 cents on Tuesday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, together known as OPEC+, meet on Wednesday. OPEC+ sources told Reuters last week that the group will likely keep output unchanged in September, or raise it slightly. Analysts are expecting no change due to a weak outlook for demand as recession fears grow, and said top producer Saudi Arabia may be reluctant to beef up output at the expense of OPEC+ partner Russia, hit by sanctions due to the Ukraine conflict. Close Ahead of the … [Read more...] about Oil falls on demand worries, stronger US dollar

Oil languished near its lowest since the start of the war in Ukraine on Friday on fears of a global recession, though stocks ignored such worries, gaining ahead of U.S. jobs data that will give another clue to the health of the world's largest economy. Benchmark Brent crude futures were up a touch at $94.23 a barrel and U.S. crude futures were also a whisker higher at $88.70 a barrel, after both closed the previous session at their lowest levels since February. Losses were partly due to data on Wednesday showing surge in U.S. inventories last week. "It's a combination of the inventory data and a bit of worries about demand. Because the market is worried about growth more than inflation - even though inflation is still a major issue - the oil price has come down," said Prashant Bhayani, chief investment officer for Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management. In another warning sign for the global economy, the closely watched part of the U.S. Treasury yield curve measuring the gap … [Read more...] about Oil languishes on recession fears; unconcerned stocks climb on

Oil headed for a punishing weekly loss on increasing evidence that a global economic slowdown is spurring demand destruction, with prices collapsing to the lowest level in six months. West Texas Intermediate steadied below $89 a barrel in Asia, with the US benchmark down more than 10% this week. Official data showed US gasoline consumption has softened while crude stockpiles rose. The slump came even as Saudi Arabia has boosted prices, and OPEC+ warned of scant spare capacity. After surging in the first five months of the year crude’s rally has been thrown into reverse, with losses deepening this month after falls in June and July. The sell-off, which has wiped out gains triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will ease the inflationary pressures coursing through the global economy that have spurred central banks including the Federal Reserve to hike rates. “The market is still struggling on the back of a deteriorating demand picture in the US, with pressure on its … [Read more...] about Crude oil heads for 10% weekly collapse as slowdown hits demand

Managing time is one of a CEO’s greatest challenges, but it’s not just their own time they are responsible for. One of a leader’s main responsibilities is setting a clear strategy for their organization, and good strategy is about making choices among competing priorities. advertisement advertisement With finite resources and numerous problems to fix, organizations can become inefficient without clear direction. It’s the CEO’s job to provide that direction for the use of limited resources. But with issues, opportunities, and initiatives popping up all the time, it’s not always easy to prioritize. Companies face issues in supply chain, marketing, product, quality, and entering new markets, to name a few. So how can a leader know which issues are most worth addressing? As a business unit leader for Fortune 500 companies, I saw many scenarios where the leadership team needed to decide between competing priorities. Over time, I developed a series of … [Read more...] about How to decide if a business issue is worth solving

Huge, advertising-based, general-purpose social networks aren’t the high-growth cash cows they once were, as Facebook’s recent “growth” numbers would suggest. Many consumers, it turns out, would rather spend their time watching short-form videos than sharing memes and hitting “like” buttons. And new restrictions on user tracking have made it harder for mass-market social networks to target ads. advertisement advertisement The founders of a new social network called Niche believe the next generation of social networks might cater to online communities formed around more specific interests, such as hobbies or creator businesses . So, on the Niche app, which became available in the App Store Tuesday, you would find groups formed around rock climbing or around people who enjoy collecting Star Wars memorabilia. Eventually, Niche will host groups based on many different things, including music artists and business events. advertisement … [Read more...] about These Facebook and Tinder vets are building a Web3 social network called Niche

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When the U.S. recorded two consecutive quarters of negative growth in Q1 and Q2 of 2022, the Biden administration was quick to point out that while the development constituted a widespread definition of recession, the official classification was indeed a different, less clear-cut one and that the U.S. had in fact not entered a recession officially until the National Bureau of Economic Research said so. So far, no unsatisfying. But government analysts might have a point when alleging that a recession only happens when there is “a significant decline in economic activity over more than a few months, which is assessed using several indicators, including the labor market, consumer and business spending, industrial production, and incomes.” Contradictory economic data has characterized the current “weird economy”— as one CNN correspondent put it —which isn’t exactly struggling, but also not exactly doing well. Looking … [Read more...] about U.S. Recession: Just A Technicality? [Infographic]

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin President Biden’s recent infrastructure proposal has a $2 trillion plus price tag and he’s looking for a way to pay for at least some it. During his campaign, President Biden said he would not raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 per year. Since direct tax increases on most people would break his campaign promise, Biden is looking elsewhere. One piece of his current plan is to raise the federal corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%. While this does not directly violate his pledge, there is plenty of evidence that raising corporate income taxes affects all workers by reducing wages, slowing employment growth, and impeding innovation. Federal corporate income tax changes are relatively rare, but with 50 states there is a lot of change and variation at the state level. Rates vary from a high of 11.5% in New Jersey to a low of 2.5% in North Carolina. Economists have studied state corporate tax changes for … [Read more...] about Higher Corporate Taxes Affect Everyone

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Two years after the first rounds of Covid stimulus payments were sent by the federal government, efforts are beginning to assess the effect of direct cash payments. I have long been an advocate for cash payments, especially for rent, instead of expensive and inefficient building programs. A couple of studies point at two important outcomes from the Covid cash. First, the money helped solve real problems associated with Covid and poverty. Second, the money created some subjective impacts, specifically more awareness about money and budgeting and a heightened sense of anxiety about what happens when the subsidy is gone. If we’re going to move toward a cash for rent strategy, it’s worth taking a look at these outcomes. “ How Effective Is (More) Money? ” asks a study completed by a team of researchers looking at hundreds of Covid relief payments sent out to households during the pandemic. At first, their answer – “we find no … [Read more...] about Cash For Housing Better Than More Building Alone