Consumer
/Home & Leisure
NYC rent freeze passes in huge win for Mamdani
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board approved a rent freeze for the city’s one million rent stabilized units on Thursday — in a major win for Mayor Mamdani.
The freeze marks the first complete fulfillment of one of Mamdani’s core campaign promises, and it comes just days after candidates he backed swept their primary elections. A legal challenge...Read more
'Surfside changed everything': 5 years later, Miami condo market hasn't recovered
Five years ago, Florida’s millions of condo dwellers awoke to a new reality.
The Champlain Towers South building in Surfside had collapsed in the pre-dawn hours of June 24, 2021 — a generational tragedy that claimed 98 lives and forced anyone living in a large condo building to confront an existential question: What if mine’s next?
Such ...Read more
NYC Rent Guidelines Board member abruptly resigns, alleging impropriety linked to Mamdani freeze
A member of the NYC Rent Guidelines Board resigned hours before the board was scheduled to vote on Mayor Mamdani’s promise of a rent freeze for stabilized tenants, saying the panel’s work had become corrupted as it pursued a preordained political outcome.
Christina Smyth, a landlord representative on the board reappointed by ex-Mayor Adams ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Should I let landscaper use my yard to access neighbor's property?
Q: For years, I have let my neighbor’s landscaper cut through my unfenced yard to reach a strip behind his house, between his fence and the canal. There is no other way in because his fence blocks his side, and the neighbors on the far side are fenced as well. I never minded before, but lately the landscaper has let the bushes along his fence ...Read more
35% of Airbnb and VRBO rentals in Philadelphia don't have the right licensing, new report finds
More than a third of short-term rental properties like Airbnb and VRBO in Philadelphia have licensing issues, according to a new report from the City Controller’s office released Tuesday.
The controller found that of 3,734 analyzed licenses associated with short-term rentals, 1,327 were expired or noncompliant.
“Short-term rentals are an ...Read more
Musk's SpaceX adds billions in debt while cutting interest costs
Elon Musk is no stranger to financial alchemy. His latest feat: adding billions of dollars of debt onto his cash-burning business empire while simultaneously cutting its annual interest burden.
SpaceX sold $25 billion of investment-grade bonds on Tuesday, marking the final step to replace the costly debt that had helped finance Musk’s 2022 ...Read more
Why tech stocks are getting hammered
Tech stocks took another big hit Tuesday as investors sold off shares of companies that have powered the artificial intelligence boom.
Technology companies have been spending billions of dollars investing in data centers and infrastructure needed to support the race to advance AI. But sky-high valuations and geopolitical tensions have some ...Read more
SpaceX stock returns to Earth after record IPO
Shares in Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX halted their three-day slide that had erased roughly $600 billion off its market value.
SpaceX shares closed at $156.11 with a nearly 1% gain on Tuesday, a slight recovery from a 16% fall on Monday.
That loss dropped the stock below $160.95, where it ended the day June 12 after a 19% surge during ...Read more
Strict rent control proposal is struck down in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down a ballot proposal that would have imposed the strictest statewide rent control in the US.
The measure sought to limit apartment rent increases to 5% or the annual gain in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The proposal can’t go before voters in November because it includes an ...Read more
The 'mass affluent' are losing their allure for wealth managers navigating AI
Wealth managers keen to stay relevant in the age of artificial intelligence may soon find that clients with a mere $1 million in liquid assets are no longer worth spending human hours on.
“The mass-affluent client now gets something close to private-banking quality from AI,” said Debasish Patnaik, senior partner McKinsey & Co. That not only...Read more
Should you pay off your mortgage early, or invest instead?
For many people, few financial goals are more satisfying than making that final mortgage payment and owning a home free and clear.
But in an era when technological breakthroughs like AI and private space exploration are creating new investment opportunities — and new fortunes — the decision to pay off a mortgage early isn’t as ...Read more
Real estate Q&A: Can condo board set $42K special assessment for structural repairs?
Q: We bought our condo five years ago and budgeted carefully. Last month, the board sent a letter saying we owe a $42,000 special assessment for structural repairs. We are retired and on a fixed income. Can the board really do this, and is there any way to fight it? — Diane
A: I am sorry you are facing this, and you are far from alone.
The ...Read more
Rents continue their free fall in the Las Vegas Valley, report says
Rents in the Las Vegas Valley continue to decline despite most of the rest of the country starting to flatten out, according to a new study.
May’s rental report from rental marketplace Zumper shows that most all of the areas in the valley have seen declining rental rates both month over month and year over year. The biggest drop year over ...Read more
Her water bill was 'insane.' So she tore out her lawn and planted a 'wabi-sabi' wonderland
Water-hungry lawns are symbols of Los Angeles' past. In this series , we spotlight yards with alternative, low-water landscaping built for the future.
____
LOS ANGELES -- Julia Lee had no need for a new garden when she and her husband purchased their Cheviot Hills home eight years ago. The traditional 1950 home came with mature tropical ...Read more
Malls are making a comeback in Las Vegas -- and Gen Z is driving it
The American mall was once considered a dying relic of the pre-internet era, battered by e-commerce, shifting consumer habits and the collapse of traditional department stores.
But in Las Vegas and across the country, many malls are finding new life by reinventing themselves as destinations for entertainment, dining, fitness and community ...Read more
Video
No body
Video
No body
Video
No body
Video
No body
Have a Shaded Yard? Replace Your Grass With Moss
A shaded yard can feel like a lawn-care failure waiting to happen. Grass thins under trees, turns patchy near fences and sulks in damp corners where sunlight rarely reaches the soil. Homeowners respond with seed, fertilizer, lime, raking, watering and hope. Then the same bare spots return.
At some point, the better question is not, “How do I ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Real estate Q&A: Should I let landscaper use my yard to access neighbor's property?
- NYC Rent Guidelines Board member abruptly resigns, alleging impropriety linked to Mamdani freeze
- 'Surfside changed everything': 5 years later, Miami condo market hasn't recovered
- 35% of Airbnb and VRBO rentals in Philadelphia don't have the right licensing, new report finds
- NYC rent freeze passes in huge win for Mamdani






