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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Zillow economists just published their updated 12-month forecast, projecting that U.S. home prices—as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index—will rise +1.2% between August 2025 and August 2026. Heading into 2025, Zillow’s 12-month forecast for U.S. home prices was +2.6%. However, many housing markets across the country softened faster than expected, prompting Zillow to issue several downward revisions. By April 2025, Zillow had cut its 12-month national home price outlook to -1.7%. However, in recent months, Zillow has stopped issuing downward r…

Donald The President surprised many in August when he made the government the owner of 9.9% of the troubled U.S. chip maker Intel. The administration paid for the Intel equity using $8.9 billion of the Biden administration’s CHIPs and Science Act grant money that had already been earmarked for Intel. The new grant money comes on top of the $2.2 billion in CHIPS Act grants Intel already received, bringing the government’s total investment to $11.1 billion. Intel’s finance chief David Zinsner said the government’s investment is meant to incentivize Intel to keep majority control over its contract chip-fabrication business. As part of the deal, the government gets a five…

As a small child in the 1980s, I tuned in weekly to see the hilarious antics of the Golden Girls. I loved seeing the friendship and support between the three 50-something housemates of Blanche (Rue McClanahan), Rose (Betty White), and Dorothy (Bea Arthur), while the affectionate bickering between Dorothy and her unfiltered 80-something mother Sophia (Estelle Getty) always struck me as mother-daughter relationship goals. While the show was ahead of its time in myriad ways, one important legacy it has given Generation X is a blueprint for adult communal living. Our generation understands what a “Golden Girls retirement” means, and we have all likely spent some happy hou…

It’s that time of year. Fall is around the corner, but it still feels like summer on some days. In an age of global warming, this transitional season is likely to stretch out longer than it did before. Designers are aware they need to create jackets and coats appropriate for this in-between season. The market is now full of good options beyond the outdoorsy puffer or fleece that will keep you at the right temperature. Many are designed to be good for both work and life, allowing you to look put-together for the office, but also relaxed enough for weekends. We’ve scoured the market for five coats that offer an additional layer, along with some style and polish, th…

Fall brings colder weather, sweaters, pumpkin-flavored treats, and new television shows to binge-watch. Historically, TV networks used the autumn season to launch their new programming because it coincided with big advertising agencies’ spending schedules after a slow summer of reruns. Today, thanks to cable TV and streaming, the rules have altered, but the fall still maintains its dominance—especially since audiences have been so well trained. Although the 2025 fall television lineup is drama-heavy, there’s still a little something for everyone. Many well-loved universes, such as Stephen King’s It, are expanding yet again, and Netflix’s enduringly popular Stranger Th…

The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday said it was extending an order limiting operations at Newark Liberty International Airport through October 24, 2026. The order, which limits the rate of arrivals and departures, follows comments from the New Jersey airport’s operator and airlines on extending flight limits to help address congestion at one of three main airports serving New York City. Newark is a major hub for United Airlines. —Jasper Ward, Reuters View the full article

For years, Mercedes-Benz has relied on touchscreens as the command center of its vehicles. Is it too hot? Tap the screen to set the AC temperature. Want to listen to the news? Tap. Defrost the rear window? Tap, tap, tap. While the automaker has retained some physical controls in its cars, its modern user experience is effectively built around the screen. But that’s about to change. Magnus Östberg, chief software officer for Mercedes-Benz, recently announced that the company would be centering future car design around physical controls instead of screens. “The data shows us physical buttons are better,” Östberg told Autocar at the Munich motor show. He says Mercede…

What’s the biggest company in the world? Apple? Amazon? Microsoft? No. It’s Nvidia, which in early August became the world’s first $4 trillion company, overtaking both Apple and Microsoft. Last week’s results were eagerly awaited by the world’s markets and actually helped push the S&P 500 and Dow Jones to all-time highs. By the end of August, Nvidia accounted for more than 8% of the S&P 500, the largest weighting for a single stock in the index’s history. Yet, Nvidia isn’t a household name. It doesn’t make the devices in your pocket or the apps you use every day. Nvidia makes chips. Excellent chips, yes, but not unique in the way we tend to assume a $4 tri…

Following the The President administration’s cuts to foreign aid, two-thirds of Mercy Corps’ U.S.-funded programs have been rescinded. CEO Tjada D’Oyen McKenna shares how she’s leading her team amid immense pressure—scrambling to find new ways to help those in need, even as she resorts to layoffs to keep the business afloat. McKenna reveals what she’s hearing from her team of aid workers on the ground in Gaza, and why she isn’t running away from burnout but embracing it. Like many business leaders experiencing political or economic volatility right now, McKenna is faced with a complex conundrum: fight, flight, or freeze. This is an abridged transcript of an interview …

Artificial intelligence is infiltrating every corner of professional sports, from scouting and injury prevention to scheduling. Now, it looks like golf has its most sophisticated AI adoption yet, and it’s happening in the bag of Bryson DeChambeau, the sport’s most notorious tinkerer. “We’re building an AI golf coach,” DeChambeau says. “Essentially, it will be a golf coach that, based on data, will be able to tell you exactly what you’re doing, how to practice, and how to improve your game. We can take a golf swing, compile the information, upload it, and within a minute, it will give me what’s different from my gold standard set of swings.” The setup is decep…

It’s Sunday night. Before kids, this was the time to nurse a mimosa hangover and zone out to The Sopranos. Now? It’s a very different playbook. Sunday evenings feel less like a gentle exhale from the weekend and more like staging a Broadway play with a cast that hasn’t rehearsed and refuses to put on pants. You are simultaneously the chef, chauffeur, hairdresser, homework coach, and emotional support animal. For parents, the Sunday Scaries don’t whisper “your inbox is waiting.” They shout: Did you wash the soccer uniform? Are there enough snacks for afterschool? Is the social studies project due tomorrow or Wednesday? Ugh! Did I RSVP for that birthday pa…

Almost as soon as the first iPad was announced, a range of competitors sprung up in an attempt to become the “iPad killer.” Devices like the Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry PlayBook, and HP TouchPad all put another spin on the formula but couldn’t come close to the iPad’s blend of performance and App Store dominance. Android tablets are still around today, of course, but most manufacturers don’t push them too hard. They’re all fine at doing tablet things like watching videos, and they’re all worse than the iPad when it comes to the app ecosystem. In recent years I’ve used some great hardware from Xiaomi in particular that I still wouldn’t outright recommend over an iPad. …

I was one of the millions of people who lost someone to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the nonstop news about the “new normal,” my grief felt invisible. I took shallow solace in my phone and turned to social media to numb me from the reality that I now lived in: a world without my dad. One day, while mindlessly scrolling, I came across the r/Squishmallow subreddit, where a girl had posted her collection of more than 100 round plush toys. They were called Squishmallows—round stuffed animals invented in 2017 that have become one of the most popular toy lines in the world, with more than 100 million sold each year. I was hypnotized. I expected that my dive into the S…

The latest wave of tech layoffs doesn’t have to be a step backward—it can be a launchpad. If you’ve spent years shipping products, debugging systems, and partnering with go-to-market teams, you already have what many founders don’t: domain insight and a network. Pair that with AI “employees,” (role-specific software agents trained on your company’s data that can perform defined tasks like drafting on-brand content, qualifying leads, and updating CRMs) and your severance becomes seed capital for a lean, scalable company. What’s different now is that the traditional barriers to starting a business have collapsed. The math is transformative: What once required $500,000 …

According to a recent study conducted by the global consulting firm, EY, 97% of respondents reported that it is important for companies to act with integrity. Many companies tout integrity as a core principle of their organizations in an attempt to reassure customers, employees, and the wider public that their organization “plays by the rules.” By some estimates, integrity is ranked as one of the most cited corporate core values, with over 80% of companies listing integrity as a core value. But simply including integrity on your list of core values and mounting that list on a plaque on a wall (as many companies do) won’t positively influence your culture unless your c…

Early in my career, a boss encouraged me to leave a stable operations role for a position in sales. They noticed my natural persuasiveness in communication and approach to problems, skills they believed could translate into success in a completely different discipline. It felt like a gamble. I was trading a steady income for compensation directly tied to performance and sales volume. And, I would be venturing into a role where I had no prior experience. But I ultimately took the leap, and that shift changed the entire trajectory of my career. That experience taught me to embrace discomfort and trust in my capacity to grow. It also revealed something fundamental …

A few years ago, I read an article that changed how I think about bourbon. It wasn’t about distilling or aging. It was about bread. Bread Is Broken by Ferris Jabr explores how modern industrial farming stripped grains of their flavor and nutritional value in exchange for higher yield, longer shelf life, and cost efficiency. As I read, I kept wondering if flavor has been lost in wheat; what does that mean for the wheat in our whisky? So, I called Dr. David Van Sanford, a wheat breeder at the University of Kentucky, to ask if anyone had studied how farming practices impact flavor. He paused and said, “You’re the first person who’s ever asked me that.” That one q…

Reports Wednesday that Apple has held talks with Intel about a possible strategic investment sent shockwaves through the stock market. Intel shares shot up. Apple, the reports said, had begun the talks—initiated by Intel—even before the The President administration made its controversial announcement that it would buy an $8.9 billion share in the chip maker. The government’s move had the effect of attracting more investment in Intel, however. U.S.-based Nvidia said it would invest $5 billion and Japan’s Softbank said it would invest $2 billion. Intel is a special case. The storied U.S. chip maker has fallen on hard times after missing the chance to supply the chi…

As the dust settles on a botched logo redesign that turned it into a political and cultural flashpoint this summer, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is no doubt looking to put 2025 behind it. In the meantime, the restaurant company has also trimmed its physical footprint as it looks to 2026. Reporting its fourth-quarter financial results earlier this month, Cracker Barrel revealed the planned closure of 14 Maple Street Biscuit Company locations. That amounts to roughly 21% of its company-owned stores for the fast-casual brand, which Cracker Barrel acquired in 2019 for $36 million. The company is projecting revenue for fiscal 2026 of $3.35 billion to $3.45 bi…

Despite years of congressional hearings, lawsuits, academic research, whistleblowers and testimony from parents and teenagers about the dangers of Instagram, Meta’s wildly popular app has failed to protect children from harm, with “woefully ineffective” safety measures, according to a new report from former employee and whistleblower Arturo Bejar and four nonprofit groups. Meta’s efforts at addressing teen safety and mental health on its platforms have long been met with criticism that the changes don’t go far enough. Now, the report published Thursday, from Bejar, the Cybersecurity For Democracy at New York University and Northeastern University, the Molly Rose Found…

Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen and other former top economic officials appointed by presidents of both parties urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to preserve the Federal Reserve’s political independence and allow Lisa Cook to remain as a central bank governor for now. The justices are weighing an emergency appeal from the administration to remove Cook while her lawsuit challenging her firing by Republican President Donald The President proceeds through the courts. The White House campaign to unseat Cook marks an unprecedented bid to reshape the Fed board, which was designed to be largely independent from day-to-day politics. No president has fired a s…

A newly released report from Senate Democrats alleges the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has “copied Americans’ sensitive Social Security and employment data into a cloud database without any verified security controls,” and is “operating outside federal law, with unchecked access to Americans’ personal data” at the Social Security Administration (SSA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). DOGE was initially led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The report, released on Thursday by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)—a ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee—found DOGE is “worki…

If you think Jimmy Kimmel’s return to late night television this week spells the end of that whole saga, well, think again: A group of investors is demanding that Walt Disney share information about why he was suspended in the first place. Lawyers representing the American Federation of Teachers, Reporters Without Borders and other groups of Disney shareholders sent a letter to the entertainment giant on Wednesday requesting internal documents and communications related to the decision to remove Kimmel from the air. Kimmel was suspended by ABC “indefinitely” last week related to comments he made about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The group of …

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. I’m Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company, covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. This week, I’m focusing on the terms of Nvidia’s investment in OpenAI, in which the GPU maker gets guaranteed chip sales, an equity stake, and likely a product road map for years to come. I also look at the industry’s fixation on huge models and the quiet appeal of small ones. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastcompany.com, and f…

Accenture beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates and unveiled a six‑month, $865 million restructuring to realign its workforce and operations for rising demand in digital and AI services. The restructuring program highlights the broader trend of companies adapting their workforce and operations to meet growing demand for digital and AI services, while using restructuring to cut costs and funnel savings into training and operational efficiency. The plan includes severance and selected divestitures, with savings redirected to staff training and operational efficiency. The Dublin-based company expects about $250 million in charges in the November quarter, on top o…