Monday, April 6, 2026

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) Increased in February

Mon, 08 March 2021  |  employment 

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased in February, after an increase in January. The index now stands at 101.01, up from 99.69 (an upward revision) in January. The index is currently down only 7.8 percent from a year ago, which was the last pre-Covid reading.

"The Employment Trends Index increased again in February and signals strong job growth in the coming months," said Gad Levanon, Head of The Conference Board Labor Markets Institute. "The combination of declining new infections, lower pandemic-related restrictions, households flush with savings, and... Read More

Americans Spending More Time Managing Savings

Thu, 04 March 2021  |  savings 

Some Americans are spending more time managing their savings since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and average seven hours per month managing their finances (e.g., paying bills, budgeting everyday expenses, and the like), according to a new survey from CIT's national direct bank, CIT Bank, conducted by The Harris Poll.

Twenty-six percent of Americans say they are spending more time managing their savings now than they were this time last year (i.e., before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic), with just 9% spending less time. Similarly, Americans report spending more time budg... Read More

Houses Driving Renewed Buyer Interest in Cities

Thu, 04 March 2021  |  housing real estate 

Houses, not condos, are driving a renewed buying interest in cities according to a new report from Redfin. The median home-sale price in urban areas nationwide rose 15.9% year over year to $292,263 in the four weeks ending February 21. This compared with a 15.5% increase to $332,291 for homes in suburban neighborhoods and a 14.3% increase to $284,593 for those in rural neighborhoods.

Although price growth is just slightly higher for homes in urban areas than the two other neighborhood types, it marks the first time since March 2020 that home-price growth in urban areas has surpa... Read More

The Real Estate Market Continues to Tighten

Fri, 26 February 2021  |  real estate 

Redfin, the digital real estate brokerage, reported that median home sale prices increased 15% year over year to $321,250 for the period ending February 21. Asking prices of newly listed homes hit a new all-time high of $343,961, up 11% from the same time a year ago. Pending home sales were up 18% year over year. During the single week ending February 21, pending sales were down 9% from two weeks prior. Over the same period in 2020, pending sales were up 7%. It's likely that last week's massive winter storm impacted housing market activity in many parts of the country.

Additio... Read More

Boomers Have Different Expectations of International E-Commerce Than Younger Consumers

Fri, 26 February 2021  |  retail global 

Global e-commerce shoppers who are baby boomers have different expectations than younger groups when purchasing online from international brands, according to Global Voices 2021: Cross-Border Shopper Insights, a new global survey from eShopWorld, a leading cross-border e-commerce company. Unlike Gen Zers, who might prioritize the latest buy now, pay later payment options when shopping online internationally, baby boomers tend to look for fundamental best practices like the use of local language and currency and clear refund policies.

“Our data show that baby boomers a... Read More

Will Real Estate Commissions Fall?

Thu, 25 February 2021  |  housing 

Online real estate broker Redfin released new data showing that real estate commissions have changed little since 2012. Redfin's analysis found the typical U.S. home seller in 2020 paid the brokerage representing the buyer a commission equal to 2.7% of the sale price—down only slightly from 2.8% in 2012. However, Redfin expects fees will likely decline in 2021 and beyond as data on agent commissions becomes widely available for the first time.

Real estate websites are now allowed to publish commission rates that homesellers offer to the broker who brings a buyer as the resul... Read More