U.S. housing-market sentiment at its highest level in two-plus years
In the housing market, what goes down must come up....
In the housing market, what goes down must come up.
A new survey by Fannie Mae found that housing sentiment has improved significantly. A record share of consumers are optimistic about mortgage rates falling over the next 12 months.
But an increasing share are also expecting home prices to increase.
In September, the share of respondents who said they expect mortgage rates to go down in the next 12 months rose to 42% from 39% the previous month, according to a monthly survey by housing finance giant Fannie Mae.
The share of respondents who expected home prices to increase over the same period also increased to 39% from 37%.
Tesla will finally reveal its robotaxi on Thursday: Much...
Tesla will finally reveal its robotaxi on Thursday: Much like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown, Elon Musk is once again promising to unveil Tesla’s fully autonomous robotaxi to a public that doesn’t want it pulled away at the last moment. The robotaxi reveal was delayed from its original August date this year, and Musk has been talking about robotaxis since 2019 and claimed in 2022 that they’d be introduced in 2023. The event could be a watershed moment for Tesla, which has an aging fleet, heightened competition, and a desire to find its Next Big Thing to excite investors.
Republican leaders in North Carolina, including Senator Thom Tillis, called out conspiracy theories surrounding the government response to Hurricane Helene promoted by Elon Musk and others on social media, saying they’re not helping actual recovery efforts.
Google’s share of the US search ad market is projected to fall below 50% next year for the first time in more than a decade, per eMarketer.
Joker: Folie à Deux, the musical sequel to 2019’s Joker, earned a measly $40 million over its opening weekend at the domestic box office. That’s less than half the original’s opening weekend haul.
Ben Horowitz and his wife, Felicia, will make a "significant" donation to the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, Axios reported. The prominent venture capitalist and his business partner Marc Andreessen endorsed and donated to Donald Trump in July when President Biden was still pursuing reelection.
Keanu Reeves didn’t learn anything from Speed. The actor spun out in his pro auto racing debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
US drillers cut oil and gas rigs for third week in a row
According to Baker Hughes ' latest report on Friday, U.S. energy firms...
According to Baker Hughes ' latest report on Friday, U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs for the third week in a row. The total rig count, a key indicator of future production, fell by two to 585 in the week ending October 4.
This drop puts the overall rig count 34 rigs, or 5.5%, lower than the same time last year. The number of oil rigs decreased by five, bringing the total to 479—their lowest level since July 19. In contrast, natural gas rigs increased by three to 102, marking their highest count since mid-July.
The rig count has significantly declined, dropping around 20% in 2023 after substantial increases of 33% in 2022 and 67% in 2021. This year's reduction has been driven by weaker oil and gas prices, rising labor and equipment costs due to inflation, and companies' focus on reducing debt and increasing shareholder returns rather than expanding production.
This reduced drilling activity is expected to lead to a slight decline in U.S. natural gas production, which is projected to fall to 103.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2024, down from a record high of 103.8 bcfd in 2023, according to the EIA.
Biden discourages Israel from striking Iran’s oil industry, crude posts best week in more than year
U.S. crude oil on Friday posted its biggest weekly gain in more than...
U.S. crude oil on Friday posted its biggest weekly gain in more than a year, as traders fear Israel could strike Iran’s crude facilities in retaliation for Tehran’s ballistic missile attack.
U.S benchmark West Texas Intermediate surged 9.09% this week for the biggest weekly gain since March 2023. Global benchmark Brent jumped 8.43% for the biggest weekly advance since January 2023.
Here are Friday’s closing energy prices:
West Texas Intermediate November contract: $74.38 per barrel, up 67 cents, or 0.91%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has gained nearly 4%.
Brent December contract: $78.05 per barrel, up 43 cents, or 0.55%. Year to date, the global benchmark has risen more than 1%.
RBOB Gasoline November contract: $2.0958 per gallon, up 0.15%. Year to date, gasoline is little changed.
Natural Gas November contract: $2.854 per thousand cubic feet, down 3.91%. Year to date, gas is ahead more than 13%.
Oil prices would spike by $10 to $20 per barrel if an Israeli strike knocks out 1 million barrels per day of Iranian production over a sustained period, said Daan Struyven, head oil analyst at Goldman Sachs.
Offshore, tight oil stay competitive as breakevens climb
Rising inflation and ongoing supply chain issues are driving up the cost...
Rising inflation and ongoing supply chain issues are driving up the cost of new upstream oil projects, pushing average breakeven prices for non-OPEC developments to $47 per barrel, a 5% jump from last year, according to Rystad Energy. Onshore Middle East, offshore shelf and North American shale are the most affordable sources of new production, while oil sands stand out as the most expensive option.