Latest news with #countrywide
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing contract activity slumped again in June as buyers remain priced out
Home contract signings slumped more than expected in June, the latest sign that the housing market is still essentially frozen. The Pending Home Sales Index slumped 0.8% from May and 2.8% from a year earlier to a reading of 72. A level of 100 is equal to contract activity in 2001. Economists had expected a small month-over-month gain and a smaller annual decline. Contract signings fell in all regions of the country on a monthly and annual basis, except the Northeast, where they were flat from 2024 and up 2.1% from May. Mortgage rates near 7%, coupled with high prices, have dampened the traditional spring homebuying season. Homes typically go under contract a month or two before they're sold, meaning June's contract activity reflects the end of the typical busiest time of the year for sales. Read more: Will mortgage rates go up to 7%? Signs to watch for. Sign up for the Mind Your Money weekly newsletter By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy This spring and summer, for-sale inventory has surged, but it hasn't been enough to convince buyers to come off the sidelines with home prices at record highs. Not all homes that go under contract end up converting to sales. Contract cancellations have been on the rise in recent months as buyers and sellers remain far apart on price and repair expectations. Shop Top Mortgage Rates Your Path to Homeownership A quicker path to financial freedom Personalized rates in minutes Pending home sales are typically an early indicator of housing market activity. Completed home sales also dropped more than expected in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.93 million. Lisa Sturtevant, the chief economist of Bright MLS, said in a statement that the latest numbers are a sign that home sales in 2025 will be even worse than last year's 30-year low. 'Unfortunately, there is little to suggest any sort of major rebound in home sales as we head into fall,' she said. Read more: Is it a good time to sell your house? Claire Boston is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Sign in to access your portfolio
Phone Arena
2 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
Mint Mobile customers say it feels like they don't even have service
Mint Mobile's killer prices have always been a major selling point, especially when a promo like the current 50% off for new customers kicks in. A full year of half-off service? Hard to ignore. But while that kind of deal might bring in fresh faces fast, it seems like the network struggles to keep them happy – because lately, things haven't exactly been smooth sailing. Over the past couple of weeks, users have been flooding Reddit with complaints about Mint's network performance. We are talking dropped calls, unusable data and texts not going through. And this isn't just isolated to one city – these issues are being reported all across the country. – Confident-Ad-6978, Reddit, July 2025 For a lot of these users, the problems seemed to hit out of nowhere – and all around the same time. –Bulgogi_Yogi, Reddit, July 2025 Yeah, one common thread? Many say it all started around two weeks ago. And while some have tried to troubleshoot with customer service, the fixes don't always stick. –Brown_Noise_76, Reddit, July 2025 And even long-term users are saying this is the worst it's ever been. –Advanced-Level-5686, Reddit, July 2025 – Sad_Researcher_3344, Reddit, July 2025 Of course, not everyone is having issues – but there are enough long-time users speaking up that it doesn't seem like just a fluke. – z06tim, Reddit, July 2025 – DetrashTheTriangle, Reddit, July 2025 So what could be going on? There could be a few reasons, but the most likely one starts with the fact that Mint Mobile is an MVNO running on T-Mobile 's network. And when the T-Mobile network gets congested – like during peak times or in busy areas – priority might go to T-Mobile 's own postpaid customers. MVNOs like Mint? They might get the leftovers. Last year, T-Mobile bought Mint Mobile's parent company, Ka'ena Corporation. | Video credit – Mint Mobile On top of that, the timing is interesting. These user reports all started around the same time, which could mean something changed on the network. T-Mobile has been prepping its Starlink-powered satellite-to-phone service and that launch didn't go entirely smoothly. A major outage happened shortly after and it was reportedly due to an internal software failure. While that is a separate system, it does suggest there may be broader network-level changes happening in the background. If T-Mobile rolled out a new software update, changed traffic management setting, or tweaked how MVNOs get prioritized, that could easily explain the sudden headaches Mint users are seeing. And then there is that massive 50% off promo Mint is running right now. If it brought in a wave of new users, even with more network capacity purchased, the added traffic could be pushing the system to its limits – making deprioritization even worse. All of this is just a guess, of course. The real issue could lie somewhere else entirely. We've reached out to both Mint Mobile and T-Mobile for comment and will update this story once we hear back.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
AI Is Retail's Smartest Investment In An Uncertain Economy
Brett Beveridge is the Founder and CEO of T-ROC Global. Retailers big and small are feeling the squeeze from rising production costs, shifting trade regulations and constantly evolving consumer habits. AI has become one of a retailer's most powerful allies, quietly reshaping the rules of the game. While considered futuristic or even reserved strictly for tech giants, AI has stepped into the retail spotlight as a lifeline. Helping to streamline operations and deliver smarter customer experiences, AI is enabling retailers to survive economic turmoil, adapt and thrive. Let's face it—customer shopping preferences and habits vary tremendously based on demographics, location, cultural influences, lifestyle choices or even just the time of day they shop. Inflation has tightened wallets, supply chains remain unpredictable and businesses are under pressure to do more with less. AI can process enormous amounts of data and make lightning-fast decisions. It is giving retailers an edge when they need it most. AI And Smarter Inventory Decisions AI is extremely valuable for inventory management. A store might overstock to avoid losing sales, but AI helps make informed decisions by analyzing patterns such as consumer buying habits, seasonal trends and even weather forecasts. It can predict what products will be in demand and when—helping retailers eliminate waste and save money. We worked with a retailer in television sales with stores across the country. Using AI, we analyzed customer purchasing behavior and the demographics of the store's visitors and the surrounding community. We discovered that customers in that area preferred smaller TV screens. We recommended adjusting inventory to reflect that demand. Within a few months, the store not only met its sales goals—it skyrocketed past them. Enhancing Customer Experience And Supporting Retail Teams Many people notice that their phones or apps recommend products that feel perfectly tailored to what they need. That's a perfect example of AI at work. Retailers are using machine learning to better understand customer behavior and deliver more personalized experiences—ranging from emails featuring favorite brands to apps that suggest outfits based on past purchases. Retailers use these tools for good reason. Personalized experiences have been shown to increase loyalty, even when consumers are spending less. With an impending recession, keeping customers happy and returning matters more than ever. One of the biggest concerns surrounding AI is that it will replace human workers. But in retail, many companies are using AI to support teams, not eliminate them. For example, chatbots handle basic customer questions 24/7, freeing staff to solve more complex issues. Automated systems manage scheduling, so managers can focus on people rather than paperwork. It's not about replacing workers—it's about filling the gaps. The Seamless Shopping Journey Shopping only in-store or only online is a thing of the past. Today's consumers move between mobile apps, websites, brick-and-mortar locations and social media. AI helps connect all of these touchpoints to create a seamless omnichannel experience—so smooth that moving between platforms feels effortless. For example, AI can recommend in-store pickup based on a customer's location or remember what that customer browsed online when they later visit a store. That kind of integration builds trust and convenience—especially important when shoppers are cautious about spending. Responsible Use Matters As with all aspects of retail, AI needs checks and balances. Retailers must handle customer data responsibly and be transparent about how AI is used. When used ethically, AI has the potential to make shopping not only smarter but fairer and more responsive to real needs. Looking Ahead: AI As Retail's Smartest Investment AI isn't here to replace the in-store experience. It's here to power the future—and help retailers, physical or online, to evolve. It can make businesses more efficient, customers more satisfied and the industry more resilient in uncertain times. As retail weathers economic storms and reimagines the future, AI is becoming one of the smartest investments a business can make. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
The Review Geek
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Trigger – K-Drama Episode 9 Recap & Review
Hyun-sik Episode 9 of Trigger starts where we left off with Hyun-sik confronting the scammers. One of them manages to escape from the karaoke room with a gunshot to the leg, and Hyun-sik follows him. He leads Hyun-sik outside, where Reporter Wang is ready to shoot a live video of the confrontation. The police arrive, and Lee Do asks them not to shoot but to give him time to convince Hyun-sik. Hyun-sik is overcome with grief and thinks back to when he stopped Lee Do from killing the man responsible for killing his family. Lee Do reminds Hyun-sik of what he told him. He begged Lee Do not to shoot and to think about his future. Similarly, Lee Do convinces Hyun-sik that he still needs him and manages to calm him down. Moon-baek watches everything from his car. When Hyun-sik fails to shoot, Moon-baek does not get the outcome he wants. Therefore, Moon-baek storms the scene with his men, shooting the police officers, Hyun-sik, and Lee Do. He then calls down Reporter Wang and speaks directly to the citizens. Moon-baek promises to give guns in the country, whether to locals or foreigners, for free and without strings attached. After the incident, Lee Do is rushed to the hospital in a critical condition. Moon-baek starts a countrywide supply of guns. Everyone, including influencers, started sharing videos of unboxing guns and testing them. A woman storms a courtroom where a suspect is about to be sentenced to three years for something he did that affected the woman. The woman objects to the ruling, pulls a gun and shoots the suspect. On the subway, passengers are no longer afraid when a seller pulls out a gun, but they are all eager to purchase one. In another household, a father arrives home for his daughter's birthday and sees her playing with a gun. As a result, the president decides to declare a state of emergency. The citizens start holding rallies on gun legalisation, with one group in support and the other strictly opposed. The country plunges into chaos, all the shipments of Moon-baek's guns are delivered successfully, and he tells his men to prepare for the next step in his master plan. The nurse, being bullied by colleagues, still works diligently to take care of the patients. One of her bullies hands her a paper stuck with forms. She has to get all the forms done by the end of the night since they need them for the evaluation next week. The nurse has to work tonight, which she has to tell her bully. However, the bully insists that the forms given are easy and can be finished quickly. If the nurse cannot finish them, it just shows that she is too stupid. The nurse agrees to handle the forms. Back in her locker room, the nurse takes out a package with a gun inside. Elsewhere, Moon-baek gathers the gang leaders for a meeting. He hands them a gun and says that whoever takes it and shoots him will become his partner. One of them picks up the gun and shoots. Moon-baek's men kill all the other gang leaders, leaving only the one with the gun alive. Moon-baek gives the man a phone and tells him to make sure that he picks up his calls. At the hospital, Lee Do regains consciousness. He immediately starts looking for Hyun-sik, only to learn that Hyun-sik is dead. At the end of Trigger Episode 9, he attends Hyun-sik and his daughter's funeral. The Episode Review Trigger Episode 9 tugged at our hearts and made Lee Do experience loss all over again. Lee Do lost his family to gun violence when he was a child, but the experience gave him a secondary family. In this penultimate episode, he now loses his second family in the same way, amplifying his anger and resentment. By the end of the episode, Moon-baek has the upper hand while Lee Do yearns for revenge. The country is in chaos, and Lee Do's moral ground will be shaken in the final episode. Will he prioritise getting justice for his family or retrieving the guns from the people? What is Moon-baek's final plan? Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
Washington Post
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Who has the best chicken wrap? We ranked 8 fast-food brands.
The music video dropped on July 10, the very day McDonald's reintroduced its chicken snack wraps to menus across the country. Popeyes, the preeminent purveyor of fried bird parts, couldn't sit back as an archrival stuck his oversize clown shoe in the door of this nationwide wrap party. So the Louisiana Kitchen ordered up a diss track from PJ Accetturo, a filmmaker known to harness the power of human and artificial intelligence, and he delivered a gut punch to the famous mascot in face paint and a yellow jumpsuit.
