Business
Here we bring you business news affecting both our economy and our daily lives. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
How extreme weather, high home prices could affect the 2025 housing market
Daniella Genovese / FOXBusiness
The U.S. housing market has been hit hard by extreme weather – from the wildfires in Southern California to the freezing cold and snow in the Northeast, Midwest and South – at the start of the new year, in addition to the rising cost of homes.
These factors have dampened home tours and caused a drop in pending sales during the four weeks ending on Jan. 12, according to the real estate brokerage firm Redfin.
Still, Redfin said it’s still “too early in the new year to determine how 2025’s housing market will shape up.”
Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, which is a seasonally adjusted measure of tours and requests for other buying services from Redfin agents, has fallen 11% month over month, notching its lowest level since August.
Pending home sales fell 8.4% year over year, which marked the biggest decline since October 2023. New listings had their biggest annual decline since September 2023, falling 3.6% on an annual basis.
Active listings rose 9.8% year over year, which was also the smallest increase in nearly a year, according to Redfin data. Read more and see videos here.
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Federal Reserve exits global climate change regulation group
Eric Revell – FOXBusiness
The Federal Reserve on Friday announced that it has withdrawn from a global climate change regulation group due to its activities exceeding the scope of the Fed’s legal authority.
The Fed exited the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), which was created in 2017 to help facilitate the advancement of green finance and climate policy. The group develops policy recommendations for central banks and financial regulators to take a role in the fight against climate change by incorporating climate risks into their oversight work.
In 2020, the Federal Reserve joined the NGFS as a permanent member, and the organization had more than 100 central banks and financial regulators as members.
“While the Board has appreciated the engagement with the NGFS and its members, the work of the NGFS has increasingly broadened in scope, covering a wider range of…Read more here.
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Palisades Plumbing company decimated in fire: ‘We just need to survive’
Daniella Genovese / FOXBusiness
A family lost their entire plumbing business, and the community they served, from the harrowing California wildfires.
Palisades Plumbing’s building, trucks, and a majority of their clients’ homes are gone, but the owners haven’t lost the will to keep going. They are pleading to get the word out to surrounding communities that they are ready to work.
“We just want work,” Palisades Plumbing co-owner Mandy Church told FOX Business. “My guys need to get paid. You know? We need to survive.”
Mandy Church and her husband, Ray Church, fought hard to make a living after moving to the United States in 1985. They battled racism as Ray Church tried to secure a job as a plumber. Finally, he landed a job at Palisades Plumbing, a company they eventually took over in 2007.
It was a family run business that quickly became their second home. Ghey’re not willing to lose it without a fight. Read more here.
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West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice praises Trump’s energy ‘dream team’ nominees, Wright and Burgum
Breck Dumas – FOXBusiness
Freshman Sen. Jim Justice began his first week on the job warning that America faces a “crisis” unless the country addresses its energy policies – and fast. But he expressed confidence in two of the nominees President-elect Trump has selected to tackle the issue.
The Republican from West Virginia, who was sworn in several days later than other senators in order to complete his term as governor of the state, sits on the upper chamber’s Energy & Natural Resources Committee, which held confirmation hearings for Trump’s picks to lead the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior this week.
Trump’s nominee for energy secretary, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, and the president-elect’s pick for interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, were dubbed the “dream team” by American Conservation Coalition (ACC) President Christopher Barnard when their nominations were announced in November. Read more here.
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