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SEC exempts data-center bonds from key securitization rules

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

The Securities and Exchange Commission has made it easier for data center owners to sell asset-backed securities, potentially opening the door for more debt sales as tech firms scour Wall Street for ways to pay for artificial intelligence.

The SEC said a major subset of data-center securitizations don’t need to have disclosures and investor ...Read more

Mandel Ngan/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Millions sign up for Trump Accounts, but are they wise investment?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Karla Perez and her husband are supporters of President Donald Trump, so when they learned this summer about new investment accounts his administration designed for children, they quickly signed up their one-year-old son.

“What we hope is that when he’s 18 and he can access it, that he has money to set up his future, whatever he wants to do...Read more

Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune/TNS

A house, a car, a little breathing room: Why middle-class life feels increasingly out of reach

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

It’s a good time to be a middle-class American. And yet it’s never felt worse.

By many traditional measures, the economy is strong. Unemployment remains near historic lows, and middle-income Americans are making more than they were 50 years ago.

Yet millions of Americans who have followed what was long considered the formula for a middle-...Read more

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7 tips for reining in an out-of-control bill

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

When an electric bill suddenly jumps, it can feel as though the house has developed an expensive habit while nobody was looking. Sometimes the culprit is obvious — a heat wave, a cold snap or guests staying for several weeks. Other times, seemingly small changes in everyday energy use quietly add up.

The good news is that lowering a power ...Read more

5 things you'll love about LVP, and 2 that you might not

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Luxury vinyl plank flooring has gone from a budget-minded alternative to hardwood into one of the most popular flooring choices for busy homes. Known as LVP, the material combines realistic wood looks with durability, relatively easy installation and low-maintenance care.

For households with pets, children, muddy shoes or the occasional spilled...Read more

Kristian Carreon/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Study: All the ways San Diego homeownership is cheaper than other US cities

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

If you take away the substantial purchase price of a San Diego home, a new study claims that the rest of the cost associated with owning a home here is less than many cities.

An index from the University of San Diego, which launched in April, says the overall cost of owning a home in the county is lower than many areas in terms of energy bills,...Read more

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Chicago high-rise powered by geothermal could set new standard for development

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

One of Chicago’s first all-electric, geothermal-powered residential high-rises is taking shape in Fulton Market.

The 33-story apartment project at 410 N. Elizabeth St. could set a new standard for Chicago development, perhaps proving that massive new high-rises can drastically reduce reliance on fossil fuels, cut carbon emissions and reduce ...Read more

Real estate Q&A: Is my plan to lower my homeowners insurance premium smart?

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Q: My homeowners insurance premium jumped again this year, and I am trying to bring the bill down. I am thinking about lowering the coverage amount on my house and raising my deductible to save some money. Is that a smart way to cut the cost, or am I setting myself up for trouble? — Gerald

A: There is a right way and a wrong way to cut costs,...Read more

Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS

Seattle's 'wary' home shoppers leave housing market in limbo

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

SEATTLE — As more for-sale signs sprouted in front yards this summer, homes across the region sat on the market awaiting home-shoppers willing to make a leap despite high prices and stubborn mortgage rates.

At current demand, it would take more than three months to sell all the single-family homes listed in King County, according to a measure...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'It's not like I'm painting a tiger on my house': Hollywood's Sunset Square squabbles over its historic preservation rules

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

LOS ANGELES — In 2017, Hollywood's Sunset Square was named a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, solidifying its place in L.A.'s architectural history. Four years later, Lady Gaga's dogwalker was shot in the chest outside a vacant house in the middle of the neighborhood.

A small contingent of Sunset Square residents insist the two events are ...Read more

Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post/TNS

Family's home lost to foreclosure sits empty in legal limbo: 'The system feels like gangsters'

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

DENVER — A two-story house that once sheltered a family of six sits empty on a corner lot in Green Valley Ranch as years of legal wrangling over homeowners association fines, metro district foreclosures and Denver’s affordable housing covenants continue to move through Colorado’s judicial system.

A year after a Denver District Court judge...Read more

Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Port of Long Beach buys downtown office tower as vacancies surge

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

LOS ANGELES -- The Port of Long Beach has continued to plant roots downtown with the acquisition of an office tower.

The port spent $36 million to buy the property at 100 Oceangate, a 13-story building across the street from the port's headquarters and less than a 10-minute drive from the port.

The purchase comes as the office vacancy rate in ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

Home prices pick up in 80% of US metro areas, led by Northeast

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Prices of existing homes rose in 80% of U.S. metropolitan areas in the second quarter, as home values pick up pace after several months of weakness.

The figure is up from 71% that saw year-over-year increases in the first quarter, National Association of Realtors data released Tuesday showed. By region, the Northeast — where the supply of ...Read more

AI isn't a catch-all trade for stocks in this earnings season

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Equity investors are learning a harsh lesson this corporate earnings season: Not all artificial intelligence trades are created equal.

While profits at S&P 500 and Stoxx Europe 600 constituents as a whole are tracking one of the best quarterly increases in years, traders have been much more discerning about how much cash is being spent on ...Read more

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Searching for an affordable house in SoCal, she fell for a scam sweeping social media

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

Pam Yeager thought she had found her perfect next rental in a cute bungalow near downtown Fullerton, California.

It seemed like a no-brainer: It was priced slightly below the region's average for a two-bedroom home, would allow her to live closer to her son and was available right as her current lease was expiring.

But it turned out to be one ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Judge tosses lawsuit alleging Zillow deceived home shoppers

Consumer / Home and Consumer News /

A federal judge has thrown out the central claims in a lawsuit alleging that Zillow illegally deceived home shoppers into working with certain real estate agents.

The case, filed in September, said that prominent buttons on Zillow’s website inviting browsers to “Contact agent” or “Request a tour” make home shoppers assume they’re ...Read more