L.A. wildfire victims face financial anxiety amid recovery: ‘The uncertainty is very unsettling’
Alicia Kalvin awoke the morning of Jan. 7 to an urgent text from a friend: “There’s a fire on your street.” She hurried outside, alarmed to see red skies and low-flying planes dumping water. “I have to get out of here,” thought Kalvin, 53, who lives in the Pacific Palisades of Los Angeles. Back inside, she glanced […]
Homebuyer mortgage demand drops further, a troubling sign for the spring market
Homebuyers are seeing very little reason to get a jump on the all-important spring housing market, even with more listings coming up for sale. Mortgage rates haven’t moved much in the last few weeks, and home prices continue to rise. Mortgage applications to purchase a home last week dropped 4%, compared with the previous week, […]
Mortgage demand drops further, even as interest rates settle
Mortgage rates didn’t move last week, but demand for new home loans continued to weaken. Both homebuyers and current homeowners are hampered by today’s higher interest rates. Total mortgage application volume decreased 2% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate […]
Pending home sales drop sharply in December as mortgage rates surge back over 7%
Signed contracts on existing homes dropped a sharp 5.5% in December from the previous month and fell 5% from the prior year, according to the National Association of Realtors. The drop followed four straight months of gains and the index was at its lowest level since August. These so-called pending sales are an indicator of […]
New tariffs could raise home prices and sideline potential buyers
The U.S. housing market was already struggling under the weight of high mortgage interest rates, a low supply of existing homes for sale and historically high home prices. Now tariffs on building materials are adding even more pressure. About 30% of softwood lumber consumed in the U.S. is imported, largely from Canada. Wallboard, known as gypsum, is […]
Meta posts big profit, plans massive AI investment
Social media giant Meta on Wednesday reported surging profits and revenue for 2024, announcing ambitious plans to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure in the year ahead. The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp saw its net income soar 59 percent to $62.36 billion for the full year, while fourth-quarter profits jumped 49 percent to […]
Ireland fines Meta 251 mn euros over Facebook hacks
An Irish regulator helping police European Union data privacy on Tuesday said it had fined Facebook-owner Meta 251 million euros ($263 million) for a data protection failure that saw users’ accounts hacked. The Data Protection Commission (DPC) criticised Meta for a security flaw in its video upload function which hackers were able to exploit to […]
Venezuela fines TikTok $10 million over viral challenge deaths
Venezuela’s highest court on Monday fined TikTok $10 million in connection with viral challenges that authorities say left three adolescents dead from intoxication by chemical substances. Supreme Tribunal of Justice Judge Tania D’Amelio said that the popular video-sharing app had been negligent in failing to implement “necessary and adequate measures” to stop the spread of […]
Telegram boss admits ‘seriousness’ of French allegations: source
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has told investigating magistrates in France, where he is charged with multiple infractions linked to enabling organised crime, that he “realised the seriousness of all the allegations”, according to a source close to the case. Extracts from Durov’s questioning in December through an interpreter after his August arrest, seen by AFP, […]
Tens of thousands protest Germany’s far right as Musk backs AfD
Tens of thousands of Germans rallied Saturday against the far right ahead of next month’s legislative elections, as US tech billionaire Elon Musk again endorsed the anti-immigrant AfD party. Musk, speaking by video link, told thousands of AfD supporters gathered in the eastern city of Halle that their party was “the best hope for the […]