News Summary: Stocks Rise, But Investors Play Safe

Giant homebuilder Lennar recently announced it is acquiring competitor Rausch Coleman Homes, accelerating a housing market trend. Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.

If you’re stressed about your finances during the holiday season, modern technology can help. Here’s how mobile apps and AI can help you enjoy your holidays on a budget. Planning ahead for the holiday season will help you stay on budget—but who actually does that? We’re much more likely to white-knuckle our way through December, buying things when we think of them, and letting money be a problem for our 2025 selves to deal with.

The producer of Netflix’s ‘Buy Now!’ says companies should be accountable for the trash they generate. The last few weeks of the year are always a special time—for shopping.

Unboxing advent calendars is popular on YouTube and TikTok, but Sephora’s Beauty Insider advent calendar backfired on the brand. Branded is a weekly column devoted to the intersection of marketing, business, design, and culture.

Gondolas are frequent, fast, and reliable. And now they’re popping up in cities across the world. In the United States, gondolas (also known as aerial cable cars) have mainly been proposed and developed as a small transportation line serving a private development, like the one proposed for the new Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Psychology and behavioral science explains why there’s no reason to beat yourself up for not being in a better mood, or not reaching higher levels of joy or happiness through your job. Faced with constant societal demands to achieve happiness, spiritual fulfillment, and well-being, it is unsurprising that an average employee will feel guilty and extra miserable if they fail to achieve and maintain positivity, even when dealing with objectively challenging situations.