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Buss family to sell Lakers at $10 billion valuation, ESPN says

Buss family to sell Lakers at $10 billion valuation, ESPN says

Reuters8 hours ago

The Buss family is entering an agreement to sell a majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN reported on Wednesday (June 18), marking the end of an era for one of the NBA's most influential owners.

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American Express launches bonus points bonanza for EXISTING customers
American Express launches bonus points bonanza for EXISTING customers

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

American Express launches bonus points bonanza for EXISTING customers

American Express has launched a bonus points bonanza for existing customers who sign up for its American Express preferred Gold rewards card. A select few existing Gold card members have been offered an exclusive deal of 25,000 bonus points if they rejoin as a Gold card member. Some of the existing members who have been offered the deal include those who have previously held a Gold card and now hold a different American Express credit card. Amex does not usually offer its boosted points deal to existing members, with new card members usually able to scoop up the most points. This is one of a handful of offers it has run in the past. In an email to certain existing American Express customers, it said: 'Welcome offers are not normally available to existing Cardmembers.' The credit card giant said it had 'specially selected' some existing American Express members to receive the exclusive deal of 25,000 bonus points. They must apply through the link in the email they received, and spend £3,000 on the card with three months. The offer can only be claimed until 15 July. Existing American Express members usually only receive boosted points if they refer someone. New Gold card members who have not had a Gold card before can earn up to 35,000 points on joining, depending on how they join, as American Express has relaunched its 'invite a friend' offer. If a new customer takes out a Gold card through a referral link, they can get 35,000 bonus points if they spend £3,000 within the first three months of having the card. The existing Amex customer who referred the friend will get an extra 18,000 once the person they referred has been approved for a card. This offer also runs until 15 July. New customers signing up for a Gold card through the website can get a boosted points offer of 20,000 if they spend £3,000 within the first three months of being a gold card member. You will receive the 20,000 bonus points if you have not held a personal American Express card in the previous 24 months. What does the Gold card offer and should you get it? The annual fee for an Amex Gold card is a hefty £195, but this is waived in the first year of having the card. This means you are getting the benefits that come with the card for free for a year. You can cancel before the £195 annual fee kicks in and there is no obligation to keep the card beyond the first year. Gold card members receive four airport lounge passes each year, They also get £120 in Deliveroo credits a year, and enhanced points-earning opportunities including 2x points for every £1 spent directly with airlines or in a foreign currency. Membership Rewards points can also be converted one-for-one into Avios meaning you can get 20,000 Avois points with the bonus deal. Those who fail to pay their balance off each month will be hit with a 31 per cent purchase rate. The representative APR is 88.3 per cent, including the annual fee. It makes it crucial to pay off as you go along, or you wipe out any potential benefits - and could end up with a hefty interest bill. Burgess said: 'This package is an exceptionally generous deal for a card which is free for the first year.'

'Chill' sweeps housing market as troubling construction milestone flashes latest crash warning
'Chill' sweeps housing market as troubling construction milestone flashes latest crash warning

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

'Chill' sweeps housing market as troubling construction milestone flashes latest crash warning

A key indicator of the health of the housing market has plummeted to its lowest level in five years. Construction of single-family homes — like stand-alone houses — rose just 0.4 percent in May. Apartment and condo building starts dropped a staggering 30.4 percent. Overall, new-home building fell 4.6 percent from April to May, hitting the slowest pace since May 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The sharp slowdown comes as buyers pull back — worried about a possible recession or holding out in hopes that prices will drop. 'Builders are already adjusting their outlooks, and slowing the development pipeline which could mean that new homes are harder to come by in the next year,' economist Danielle Hale told Building permits, a sign of future construction, also fell 2 percent to 1.26 million from April to May, according to the government. New-home construction did grow in the West by 15.1 percent, but fell across the rest of the US. The biggest dip in new-home construction was in the Northeast, which saw a 40 percent drop. That's an alarming dip. 'Cracks are appearing in the housing market as negative homebuilder sentiment, elevated mortgage rates, and higher building costs due to tariffs weigh on activity,' said Matthew Martin, senior US economist at Oxford Economics. 'Building permits point to a slower pace of construction, while May retail sales data suggested home improvement spending is slowing.' He added that housing starts were far weaker than consensus expectations. 'The decline in permits was concentrated in single-family, signaling a trend rather than seasonal volatility,' said Martin. 'A truce between the US and China tariffs has done little to assuage homebuilder sentiment, and continued uncertainty will keep construction depressed this year.' As the demand for new construction is crashing, the number of existing homes sitting on the market for sale is growing. Buyers now have the upper hand in a shifting housing market The toxic mix of the slow construction, rising inventory levels and weak buyer demand have also resulted in homes sitting longer on the market. Some builders are also starting to lower home prices to lure buyers. 'Builders are operating in a very challenging environment and it showed up in the May construction data,' said Hale. Tariffs are also raising the cost of building materials and Donald Trump's immigration policy is causing labor shortages. Sellers are panicking as they are being forced to slash prices and offer buyers concessions. In early June, the overall US housing market underwent a dramatic reversal, landing in favor of buyers. Buyers now have the upper hand since they have a list of options in many different markets and are in a good place to negotiate a good price. This month, there are around 2 million homes are for sale across the country, but only about 1.5 million active homebuyers are looking. That 500,000 gap marks the largest imbalance ever recorded. At the same time the total value of homes on the market has hit a record-shattering $698 billion, up more than 20 percent from the same time last year. But with far fewer buyers in the game, sellers are being forced to slash prices. 'The balance of power in the US housing market has shifted toward buyers,' Redfin senior economist Asad Khan told 'But a lot of sellers have yet to see or accept the writing on the wall.' Meanwhile, the total value of homes on the market is now $698 billion, up 20.3 percent from a year ago, and a new record, according to Redfin. Too much inventory flooding the market is also slowing demand. The number of sellers is much higher than buyers, Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather told the Daily Mail. 'Right now there are nearly half a million more home sellers than buyers in the market, which means that prices will have to come down in order to lure enough buyers back into the market to match the number of sellers,' she said.

EXCLUSIVE Target's own staff blow whistle on HUGE price hikes across the store: 'Everything's going up'
EXCLUSIVE Target's own staff blow whistle on HUGE price hikes across the store: 'Everything's going up'

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE Target's own staff blow whistle on HUGE price hikes across the store: 'Everything's going up'

Target workers say prices are exploding — and shoppers are about to feel it. Store staff are posting pictures of their early morning price-changes on social media. The images show shelf labels adjusting with giant price bumps. 'I feel bad doing all these price changes when everything goes up,' one Target staffer said in a Reddit post. Another commenter added: 'I've been doing price change everyday for the past 4 months or so. Seeing everything going up all at once is really making me sad.' In one post, a Target employee shared a picture of pricing labels for a Paw Patrol toy that sold for $51.99 until May 29. The same item's price ballooned to $101.99 on June 7 — a 96 percent jump. Another post showed a box of Monster Energy drinks increasing from $15.59 to $24.99 — a nearly 38 percent spike. The hikes come as retailers grapple with inflationary pressures. Target didn't respond to questions about the cause of the price increases. But the adjustments aren't a huge surprise. At the beginning of the year, multiple executives — including Target's CEO — warned that President Donald Trump's tariffs would push prices higher on a broad range of consumer goods. Since that announcement, Target has seen a steady stream of employees turning to social media to vent about price changes. In mid-May, another employee posted a picture of an old and new label for a Heyday brand USB-C cord. The price increased from $9.99 to $17.99, an 80 percent increase. Independent analysts say the price adjustments are the result of careful modeling, not sticker shock theater. Retailers like Target rely on data and competitive pricing tools to avoid losing customers over even small increases. 'Price changes are a constant in retail and shouldn't be assumed to be nefarious,' Carol Spieckerman, a retail analyst and president of Spieckerman Retail, told 'If Target is over-stepping or gouging, it will feel the pain quickly. Shoppers are smart and do research.' Still, the price swaps are worrying Target employees, who have increasingly voiced concern over the retailer's direction and profit drops. And it's not just Target. Other major chains are seeing the same kind of social media blowback from employees tasked with adjusting thousands of prices. Target has been warning customers that some products will see price increases (stock image) Walmart staffers are posting screenshots from handheld devices on Reddit, revealing sweeping internal price hikes. 'Lately my section has been getting 5,000 to 9,000 a week,' one Walmart employee claimed, saying it marked a 40 to 50 percent increase from normal. The wave of price changes is even extending into the automotive world. At Ford and BMW dealerships, employees have leaked internal bulletins showing MSRP hikes of more than $1,000. Subaru, Toyota, and Mitsubishi have all said they're raising prices. Unlike retail chains, carmakers are often more upfront about cost shifts. But transparency comes with risk. Large corporations that openly tie rising prices to tariffs are drawing fire from the Trump administration. In May, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon warned that prices would rise in response to sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods — a comment that drew backlash from President Donald Trump. 'Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,' Trump threatened on social media.' Amazon briefly considered adding a line item for tariff costs on product pages. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the potential change a 'hostile and political act. ' Since then, both Walmart and Amazon have silently raised prices — but they've kept quiet on why. And customers should expect more price hikes. According to Spieckerman, consumers scanning the toy aisle should prepare for fluctuating prices, like the Paw Patrol toy, because margins are thinner and costs are rising fast. 'They're definitely a tariff-sensitive category that is in high demand for the holidays,' she said. 'I expect prices will rise and fall based on aggressive promotions.' But for workers on the ground, that just means more price changes — and more customers asking why everything suddenly costs more.

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