>>Home Prices Post Largest Gain Of 2023 In October
(Washington, DC) -- Home prices posted their biggest gain of 2023 in October. The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index reported a four-point-eight percent annual increase in October. The jump in prices came despite a sharp rise in mortgage rates. Among the top 20 cities, Detroit reported the biggest annual gain with home prices up just over eight percent. San Diego and New York round out the top three with increases of about seven percent. Tesla EV Record
>>Tesla To Post Record Deliveries, But Fall Short Of Musk Prediction
(Austin, TX) -- Tesla is expected to hit another record for delivering electric vehicles. Financial analysts say it's likely Tesla delivered over one-point-eight million vehicles globally in 2023, with over 470-thousand units delivered in the fourth quarter. That would be a rise of 37-percent from last year. The record, however, would fall short of Elon Musk's forecast back in January, when the CEO said Tesla had the potential to reach two-million deliveries this year.
>>Apple Appeals ITC Apple Watch Import Ban
(Washington, DC) -- Apple is filing an appeal to overturn a ruling that bans imports of Apple Watches. An order by the U.S. International Trade Commission took effect Tuesday that blocks sales and imports of Apple Watches that use medical monitoring technology which has been patented by the Masimo technology firm. The ruling affects the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. Apple is calling for the ban to be put on hold until U.S. Customs and Border Protection can decide whether its redesigned watches violate Masimo's patent. The Customs office is expected to make its decision on January 12th.
>>SpaceX Booster Tips Over Due To Weather Off East Coast
(Port Canaveral, FL) -- It's the end of an era for one of SpaceX's rocket boosters. The company says its Falcon 9 booster made its final flight from Florida's East Coast after sending another batch of Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit over the weekend. Officials say high seas forced the equipment to fall over on its side during transport back to Port Canaveral Tuesday morning. Over the last three and a half years, the reusable rocket has launched two astronauts and more than 800 satellites.
>>Holiday Retail Sales Up 3.1%, Despite Fears Of Pullback
(Undated) -- Americans spent more during the holidays than they did last year, despite fears they might cut back because of inflation. Results of a survey by Mastercard released Tuesday show retails sales were up three-point-one percent over last year. Online sales grew six-point-three percent while sales at brick-and-mortar stores rose over two-percent. Restaurant spending was up seven-point-eight percent while clothing and grocery spending both were up more than two-percent.
>>Free Returns Are On The Decline
(New York, NY) -- Free returns seem to be vanishing when shopping on online. More and more retailers are adding shipping fees for mail-in returns, including Macy's, H&M, Abercrombie and J. Crew. According to Happy Returns, a logistics company, 81-percent of merchants are charging a fee for at least some return methods. Amazon is now charging customers a one-dollar fee if they choose to return items to a UPS store if there's a Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh grocery or a Kohl's closer to their address. A spokesperson for the e-retail giant said it recently began flagging "frequently returned" products on its website.
>>Sluggish Federal Grants Delay Work At New Samsung Facility
(Austin, TX) -- Samsung is pumping the brakes on a new high tech plant in Texas. Computer chip production was set to start next year at the facility outside of Austin. That's now been delayed until the year 2025. It's a blow to the Biden Administration's push for increased domestic manufacturing. Samsung is reportedly upset that federal subsidies under the CHIPS Act are not being granted fast enough. Earlier this year, the world's largest chip maker announced they were pushing back plans to start manufacturing at an Arizona facility.
