Category: Business

(NEW YORK) — A thaw in the housing market may deliver relief for homebuyers left out in the cold over recent years, analysts told ABC News.

After the pandemic, a rapid rise in home prices coincided with stubbornly high mortgage rates, shutting out potential buyers.

Glimmers of hope have started to emerge, however. Mortgage rates are falling, wages are rising faster than home prices and homebuyers are scooping up their biggest discounts in years, some analysts told ABC News.

“Housing is becoming more affordable. Are we there yet? No. But we’re on the right path,” Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at the University of Mississippi, told ABC News.

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.09%, Freddie Mac data last week showed. A little more than a year ago, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate exceeded 7%.

Each percentage point decrease in a mortgage rate can save thousands or tens of thousands in additional costs each year, depending on the price of the house, according to Rocket Mortgage.

“It looks like mortgage rates are settling down,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), told ABC News. “That’s great news for homebuyers.”

A measure of housing affordability issued by NAR has improved for seven consecutive months, rising to its highest level since 2022, Yun said. The surge in home prices has slowed while income gains have accelerated, bolstering the purchasing power of homebuyers, some analysts noted.

“Incomes are growing faster than home prices,” Johnson said.

Despite these positive signals, the housing market still faces significant challenges, some analysts said, pointing to a fundamental shortage of housing supply.

The housing market is suffering from a phenomenon known as the “lock-in” effect, Lu Liu, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News.

While mortgage rates have fallen, they remain well above the rates enjoyed by most current homeowners, who may be reluctant to put their homes on the market and risk a much higher rate on their next mortgage.

“The degree of lock-in is unprecedented in the U.S.,” Liu said, noting the prevalence of 30-year mortgages and the inability for homeowners to transfer a current loan to a new property.

Existing home sales declined by 8.4% in January from the previous month, the NAR said in a report last week.

Alongside the lock-in effect, construction has failed to make up for a years-long shortage of new homes, exacerbating the shortfall.

While the lock-in effect remains a significant factor, its impact may be waning as some home owners encounter major life events or other circumstances that force them to move, even if it entails taking on a loan with a higher mortgage rate, Liu said.

“If they really do have to move, maybe they would be more willing to yield to this economic logic,” Liu added.

If homebuyers do move forward with a purchase, they may benefit from major price discounts, Redfin found this month. In 2025, homebuyers received average discounts that amount to 7.9% off a home’s initial listing price, Redfin said, making it the largest average discount in 13 years.

“Homebuyers are more likely to get discounts than they were in recent years because it’s the strongest buyer’s market in recent history,” said Lily Katz and Asad Khan, co-authors of the Redfin report.

Positive signals for homebuyers will likely continue as elevated mortgage rates weigh on consumer demand, slowing the rise in prices, some analysts said. But, they cautioned, an unexpected spike in mortgage rates could hike borrowing costs for homebuyers or an economic slowdown may crimp purchasing power.

“There is uncertainty over the outlook for interest rates,” Liu said. “So the overall price outlook is uncertain.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday in a landmark Los Angeles trial alleging that major social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive for children and teens.

The case, which began last Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, centers on claims against Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — and YouTube, which is owned by Google. Plaintiffs argue the companies knowingly built features that encouraged compulsive use among young users, contributing to long-term mental health harm.

The lawsuit was brought by a now-20-year-old woman identified as “Kaley” and her mother, who allege she was exposed to addictive design features as a child. Her lawyers claim she got hooked on social media apps starting as young as age 6. She says features like auto-scrolling got her addicted to the platforms — ultimately leading to anxiety, depression and body image issues.

In opening statements, the plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Lanier told the jury the case was “as easy as ABC,” which he said stood for “addicting the brains of children.”

The case is the first of more than 1,500 similar lawsuits nationwide to go before a jury, potentially setting a precedent for how tech companies are held liable for product design.

Zuckerberg has appeared before Congress multiple times to address concerns over youth safety and online harms, but Wednesday marks the first time he will testify before a jury on these claims. Legal experts say a verdict in favor of the plaintiff could weaken the broad liability protections tech companies have long relied on under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields platforms from responsibility for user-generated content.(cut)

Several parents of children who died by suicide or accidental harm linked to online trends are expected to attend the proceedings. Some previously watched Zuckerberg apologize during a 2024 Capitol Hill hearing, where he acknowledged families who said social media contributed to their children’s deaths.

The companies deny the allegations, arguing that mental health outcomes are shaped by a range of factors beyond social media use. They say they have implemented safeguards aimed at protecting young users, including parental controls and accounts designed specifically for teens.

In a statement to ABC News at the start of the trial, a Meta spokesperson said, “We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”

Meta said that the company has made “meaningful changes” to its services, such as introducing accounts specifically for teenage users.

Zuckerberg’s appearance follows testimony last week from Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who disputed characterizing Instagram use as an “addiction,” while acknowledging what he described as “problematic use.”

Mosseri testified that there’s always a tradeoff between “safety and speech,” saying users don’t like it when they remove options from Instagram.

The Los Angeles trial is part of a broader wave of litigation targeting social media companies. Meta is also facing a separate child safety lawsuit in New Mexico, while lawsuits brought by school districts — modeled after tobacco litigation in the 1990s — are expected to head to trial later this year.

Social platforms Snapchat and TikTok were previously named in the lawsuit but reached settlements with the plaintiffs last month.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify Wednesday in a landmark Los Angeles trial alleging that major social media platforms were intentionally designed to be addictive for children and teens.

The case, which began last Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, centers on claims against Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — and YouTube, which is owned by Google. Plaintiffs argue the companies knowingly built features that encouraged compulsive use among young users, contributing to long-term mental health harm.

The lawsuit was brought by a now-20-year-old woman identified as “Kaley” and her mother, who allege she was exposed to addictive design features as a child. Her lawyers claim she got hooked on social media apps starting as young as age 6. She says features like auto-scrolling got her addicted to the platforms — ultimately leading to anxiety, depression and body image issues.

In opening statements, the plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Lanier told the jury the case was “as easy as ABC,” which he said stood for “addicting the brains of children.”

The case is the first of more than 1,500 similar lawsuits nationwide to go before a jury, potentially setting a precedent for how tech companies are held liable for product design.

Zuckerberg has appeared before Congress multiple times to address concerns over youth safety and online harms, but Wednesday marks the first time he will testify before a jury on these claims. Legal experts say a verdict in favor of the plaintiff could weaken the broad liability protections tech companies have long relied on under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which shields platforms from responsibility for user-generated content.(cut)

Several parents of children who died by suicide or accidental harm linked to online trends are expected to attend the proceedings. Some previously watched Zuckerberg apologize during a 2024 Capitol Hill hearing, where he acknowledged families who said social media contributed to their children’s deaths.

The companies deny the allegations, arguing that mental health outcomes are shaped by a range of factors beyond social media use. They say they have implemented safeguards aimed at protecting young users, including parental controls and accounts designed specifically for teens.

In a statement to ABC News at the start of the trial, a Meta spokesperson said, “We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”

Meta said that the company has made “meaningful changes” to its services, such as introducing accounts specifically for teenage users.

Zuckerberg’s appearance follows testimony last week from Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who disputed characterizing Instagram use as an “addiction,” while acknowledging what he described as “problematic use.”

Mosseri testified that there’s always a tradeoff between “safety and speech,” saying users don’t like it when they remove options from Instagram.

The Los Angeles trial is part of a broader wave of litigation targeting social media companies. Meta is also facing a separate child safety lawsuit in New Mexico, while lawsuits brought by school districts — modeled after tobacco litigation in the 1990s — are expected to head to trial later this year.

Social platforms Snapchat and TikTok were previously named in the lawsuit but reached settlements with the plaintiffs last month.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Inflation cooled in January, dropping price increases to their lowest level in nine months and defying fears of a tariff-induced hike in overall costs.

Prices rose 2.4% in January compared to a year earlier, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on Tuesday showed. The reading came in lower than economists had expected.

Inflation stands at its lowest level since May, but it remains a half-percentage point higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%.

Affordability remains a concern for many Americans as the political calendar turns closer to election season.

The data arrived days after fresh hiring figures showed stronger-than-expected job growth in January, even though an updated estimate released at the same time indicated a near-paralysis of the labor market last year.

The murky hiring picture marked the latest in a recent series of mixed signals in economic data, which have left observers uncertain about the potential risk posed by elevated inflation alongside sluggish hiring.

Observers closely watched price movements for some household staples, which have faced sharp increases of late.

Coffee prices surged about 18% in January compared to a year earlier, while ground beef prices climbed more than 17% over that span, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.

Grocery prices rose at a faster pace than prices overall, climbing 2.9% over the year ending in January, BLS data showed.

Over the past year, hiring has slowed dramatically while inflation has remained elevated, risking an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation.” Those conditions have put the Federal Reserve in a difficult position.

The central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.

The strain on both sides of the Fed’s mandate presents a “challenging situation” for the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in December.

The Fed held interest rates steady at its most recent meeting in January, ending a string of three consecutive quarter-point rate cuts.

The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts this year, forecasting the first in June and a second in the fall, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

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(NEW YORK) — Hiring increased sharply at the outset of 2026, the year’s first jobs report said, blowing past economists’ expectations and besting sluggish performance from the previous year.

The U.S. added 130,000 jobs in January, according to the report, which marked a sharp increase from 50,000 jobs added in the previous month.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in January from 4.4% in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said. Unemployment remains low by historical standards.

The labor market slowed sharply last year, prompting interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve and concern among some observers about the nation’s economic prospects.

The BLS provided a significant downward revision for job gains in 2025, meaning hiring came in lower than the agency had previously estimated.

The U.S. added 181,000 jobs last year, which amounts to an average of about 15,000 jobs added per month, the BLS said. That updated estimate stands well below a prior count of 584,000 jobs added last year.

The performance in January registered well above the lackluster hiring of a typical month last year.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed the release of the January data due to a partial government shutdown last week, which helps explain why the jobs report was issued on a Wednesday in the middle of the month, rather than its customary release on the month’s first Friday.

The jobs report arrived weeks after a series of job cuts that slashed tens of thousands of workers combined at a handful of name-brand companies.

Amazon said last month it planned to cut about 16,000 employees as it seeks to “strengthen” its business by reducing “layers” and “bureaucracy” within its workforce.

A day earlier, UPS announced it plans to cut as many as 30,000 employees this year. Pinterest also unveiled an effort to slash 15% of its staff, according to a securities filing. The company boasts about 4,500 employees worldwide, a securities filing shows.

So far, the cooling labor market has avoided widespread job losses, making the recent flurry of layoffs an outlier, analysts previously told ABC News. The high-profile cuts reflect trends in tech and some other sectors, however, where companies have reversed a pandemic-era hiring blitz and pivoted in response to artificial intelligence.

The Fed slashed interest rates three consecutive times last year in an effort to boost the flagging labor market. In January, the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady, taking a cautious approach due in part to elevated inflation.

The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, Fed Chair Jerome Powell appeared to view the economy in a favorable light, saying it is expanding at a “solid pace” during a Jan. 28 press conference.

“While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization,” Powell added.

Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts this year, forecasting the first in June and a second in the fall, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

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(NEW YORK) — A jobs report to be released on Wednesday will provide a key barometer of the U.S. economy as policymakers grapple with a combination of elevated inflation and sluggish hiring.

The labor market slowed sharply last year, prompting interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve and concern among some observers about the nation’s economic prospects.

The U.S. added an average of 49,000 jobs each month in 2025, which marked a staggering decline from 168,000 monthly jobs added over the prior year.

Economists expect employers to have hired 55,000 workers in January, amounting to a slight uptick from 50,000 hires in December. Still, the anticipated performance would barely register above the lackluster hiring of a typical month last year.

In a bright spot, however, the unemployment rate remains low by historical standards. Unemployment stood at 4.4% in December, and economists expect that level to have been left unchanged in January.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed the release of the January data due to a partial government shutdown last week, which helps explain why the jobs report is set to be issued on a Wednesday in the middle of the month, rather than its customary release on the month’s first Friday.

The jobs report will arrive weeks after a series of job cuts that slashed tens of thousands of workers combined at a handful of name-brand companies.

Amazon said last month it planned to cut about 16,000 employees as it seeks to “strengthen” its business by reducing “layers” and “bureaucracy” within its workforce.

A day earlier, UPS announced it plans to cut as many as 30,000 employees this year. Pinterest also unveiled an effort to slash 15% of its staff, according to a securities filing. The company boasts about 4,500 employees worldwide, a securities filing shows.

So far, the cooling labor market has avoided widespread job losses, making the recent flurry of layoffs an outlier, analysts previously told ABC News. The high-profile cuts reflect trends in tech and some other sectors, however, where companies have reversed a pandemic-era hiring blitz and pivoted in response to artificial intelligence.

The Fed slashed interest rates three consecutive times last year in an effort to boost the flagging labor market. In January, the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady, taking a cautious approach due in part to elevated inflation.

The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, Fed Chair Jerome Powell appeared to view the economy in a favorable light, saying it is expanding at a “solid pace” during a Jan. 28 press conference.

“While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization,” Powell added.

Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts this year, forecasting the first in June and a second in the fall, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

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(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 50,000 for the first time ever on Friday.

A surge in markets reversed a selloff that hammered tech stocks earlier in the week.

The Dow closed up 1,206 points, or 2.4%, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 2.1%.

In a post on social media, President Donald Trump touted the high-water mark for the Dow, celebrating the feat as “the first time in History.”

“CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA!” Trump said.

Shares of some tech companies worldwide plummeted in recent days after Anthropic unveiled an artificial intelligence tool viewed by some investors as a potential replacement for widely-used software products.

The selloff came in response to a set of new plugins for a digital tool called Claude Cowork, an AI-fueled workplace assistant that can author documents and organize files. The plugins, released last Friday, allow customers to adapt the tool for narrow sectors like legal, finance or data marketing.

Investors appeared to shrug off the AI-related worries in a buying spree on Friday.

AI chip giant Nvidia surged nearly 8%, recovering most of its losses earlier in the week.

Enterprise-software company Workday ticked up more than 2% on Friday, after a selloff in previous days triggered by the release of Claude Cowork.

Some crypto prices also rallied on Friday, ending a days-long plunge for many digital currencies. Bitcoin and Ether — the world’s two largest cryptocurrencies — each soared about 10% on Friday.

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(NEW YORK) — Consumer sentiment ticked higher in February for the second consecutive month as inflation fears appeared to ease, though shopper attitudes remained well below levels registered a year ago, University of Michigan data on Friday showed. The reading exceeded economists’ expectations

At its low point in November, consumer sentiment fell close to its worst level since a pandemic-era bout of acute inflation. Modest gains in recent months indicate some positive momentum for shoppers.

Year-ahead inflation expectations dropped from 4% in January to 3.5% in February, the data showed. The outcome anticipated by respondents would put inflation above its current level of 2.7%.

The labor market has slowed in recent months, while inflation has hovered above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.

Despite these challenges, some major economic indicators remain upbeat.

In the fall, shoppers helped propel the fastest quarterly U.S. economic growth in two years, federal government data in December showed.

Meanwhile, a relatively small fraction of American adults are unemployed and looking for work. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.4% in December from 4.6% in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said, putting unemployment at a low level by historical standards.

Turmoil in markets this week, however, has prompted concern among some observers about the financial outlook.

Some major tech stocks plummeted in recent days after Anthropic unveiled an artificial intelligence tool viewed by some investors as a potential replacement for widely-used software products.

The price of bitcoin plunged more than 10% on Thursday, sinking the world’s largest cryptocurrency to its lowest level since October 2024 and erasing sizable gains made since then.

Geopolitical conflict also looms amid negotiations over Greenland, U.S.-backed leadership in Venezuela, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as persistent tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

In recent weeks, Trump has threatened tariffs against Canada, South Korea and eight European countries, invoking the tool as means of exerting pressure over a range of foreign-policy issues.

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(NEW YORK) — The price of bitcoin plunged more than 10% on Thursday, sinking the world’s largest cryptocurrency to its lowest level since October 2024 and erasing sizable gains made since then.

That was weeks before the election of President Donald Trump, a crypto supporter whose return to the nation’s highest office helped propel bitcoin to record highs.

Bitcoin clocked in at a price of about $66,100 on Thursday afternoon, leaving it 48% below an all-time high of about $126,210 attained just four months earlier, in October 2025.

The decline of bitcoin deepened a days-long stretch of sharp losses stretching back to last week.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also extended recent losses, shedding about 10% of its value on Thursday. Solana, another popular crypto coin, saw its price dip 11%.

Experts who previously spoke to ABC News attributed the recent decline in crypto prices to looming geopolitical and economic uncertainty, which has prompted a momentum-driven selloff as crypto holders raced to the exits. The initial drop likely forced some leveraged buyers to sell off their positions, intensifying the downward pressure, they added.

The labor market has slowed in recent months, while inflation has hovered above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.

Meanwhile, geopolitical conflict looms amid negotiations over Greenland, U.S.-backed leadership in Venezuela, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as escalating U.S. threats against Iran over the past few weeks.

In recent weeks, Trump has threatened tariffs against Canada, South Korea and eight European countries, invoking the tool as means of exerting pressure over a range of foreign-policy issues.

The current market for crypto is a far cry from the boom enjoyed by the sector in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.

Bitcoin climbed more than 40% over the weeks after Election Day, when voters opted for Trump, who had previously vowed to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

On the campaign trail, Trump also vowed to bolster the cryptocurrency sector and ease regulations enforced by the Biden administration. Trump also promised to establish the federal government’s first National Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Bitcoin has proven highly volatile since its launch about 15 years ago

As recently as 2022, bitcoin suffered a downturn that cut its value by more than 60%. A similar drop happened in each of the prior two years, when the pandemic helped trigger waves of buying and selling.

Despite its ups and downs, bitcoin has sustained an upward long-term trajectory. Over the past five years, the price has climbed 63%. Over that period, the S&P 500 has increased 75%.

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