Comment on Consumers gloomier for 2nd straight month

TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram will be liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts. A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Parliament on Friday in a world-first law.

The 2024 National Association of Realtors report shows a significant shift in homebuyer demographics. First-time buyers now represent only 24% of the market, with their median age rising to 38. In contrast, the median age of repeat buyers increased to 61. These trends highlight challenges in the real estate market, as rising prices and limited availability challenge potential homebuyers. This year’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reveals that the share of first-time home buyers dropped to a historic low of 24%, while the median age of first-time homebuyers climbed to a record high of 38. Overall, the median age of homebuyers hit 56, up from 49 in 2023.

The energy council will be key in Trump’s pledge to ‘drill, drill, drill’ and sell more oil and other energy sources to allies in Europe and around the globe. President-elect Donald Trump is set to create a National Energy Council that he says will establish American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.

Two years after buying Cherry Creek Food Hall & Brewery for $5.2 million, Houston-based RCI Hospitality Holdings Co. plans to close the business on Nov. 30, according to a Facebook post. RCI purchased the operation, 6575 Greenwood Plaza Blvd., from well-known Denver chef and restaurateur Troy Guard, who had opened it in 2021.

It’s official: A legal settlement that will rewrite the way many real estate agents are paid in the United States has received its final approval from a federal judge. Judge Stephen R. Bough of the Western District of Missouri on Tuesday approved an agreement between the National Association of Realtors and a group of home sellers who sued the real estate trade group over its long-standing rules on agents’ commissions, which they say forced them to pay excessive fees. It was the last step in an eight-month process that was set in motion when NAR, the nation’s largest trade association, agreed to the landmark deal on March 15.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, HALELUYA HADERO and ALEXANDRA OLSON NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers in the U. S. rewarded shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday with giveaways and bigger-than expected discounts on a day that still reigns as the much-hyped kickoff of the holiday shopping season despite losing some luster. Department stores, shopping malls and merchants — big and small — see the day after Thanksgiving as a way to energize shoppers and to get them into physical stores at a time when many do the bulk of their browsing and buying online. Enough consumers enjoy holiday shopping in person that Black Friday remains the biggest day of the year for retail foot traffic in the U.