Sales of new homes fell a bigger-than-expected 5.9% in April, a drop that analysts blamed in part on rising home prices and lack of inventory.  Sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 863,000 last month. That followed a sales pace of 917,000 in March, which was revised down from an original estimate of 1.02 million.  The median price of a new home sold last month was $372,400, up 11.4% from March while the average price of a home sold in April was a record $435,400, up 8.7% from March.

It finally happened; a large technology company finally acquired a significant legacy media company.  Amazon has purchased MGM Studios for $8.45 billion.  Amazon needed more content for Prime Video to stay relevant against Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max and the many other streaming services competing for eyeballs. Buying MGM not only gives it library favorites like “James Bond,” “Rocky,” “Real Housewives” and “Survivor.” It also improves its odds of making better originals with a full-fledged studio that has made recent hits such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Fargo.”

Ford expects 40% of its global sales to be battery-electric vehicles by 2030 as it adds billions to what it’s spending to develop them.  The automaker says it will add about $8 billion to its electric vehicle development spending from this year to 2025.