Money update

CBS -  Home sales plunged in 2023 to a nearly 30-year low amid surging mortgage rates, a shortage of available properties and rising real estate prices.  The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.09 million last year, an 18.7% decline from 2022. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007, the start of the housing slump of the late 2000s. The median national home price for all of last year edged up just under 1% to record high $389,800, the NAR said. Only about 16% of homes around the country were affordable for the typical home buyer last year, Redfin economist Zhao Chen told CBS News last month. By comparison, the share stood at about 40% prior to 2022.

1440 Daily Digest - Panama Canal officials announced Wednesday they would reduce the daily number of vessels allowed to transit the shipping passage to 24, down from the average of 36 this time last year, amid severe drought conditions. Estimated losses from the cutbacks are expected to cost Panama nearly $700M this year and have domino effects on global shipping. The 50-mile canal across the isthmus of Panama is one of the world's busiest trade routes, seeing roughly 5% of global maritime volume and 40% of all US container traffic, a total of roughly $270B in cargo annually.

Macy’s plans to cut 13% of its corporate staff and shutter five stores. 

A new report claims “resounding evidence” shows that high corporate profits are a main driver of ongoing inflation, and companies continue to keep prices high even as their inflationary costs drop.The report, compiled by the progressive Groundwork Collaborative thinktank, found corporate profits accounted for about 53% of inflation during last year’s second and third quarters. Profits drove just 11% of price growth in the 40 years prior to the pandemic, according to the report