"What's News: Home prices hit a record."
Views expressed in this U.S., World, and Geopolitical News update are those of the reporters and correspondents. Accessed on 22 June 2024, 0102 UTC.
Content and Source: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQVxHgKMprkSTKwnZgsHLZqpXNv/The Wall Street Journal: What's News.
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Russ Roberts (https://trendsingeopolitics.blogspot.com).
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Good afternoon. Here’s what you should know today, June 21:
| - The Supreme Court says domestic abusers can be denied guns
- American tourists help fuel Europe’s economy
- How China met Elon Musk’s mother
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By Zlati Meyer
| Thanks for reading What’s News! Look for the 🔐 to enjoy a free article on us—and share the link with a friend (or forward the whole newsletter!). |
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What to Watch
|  | Home prices are still rising because high mortgage rates are deterring potential sellers from listing their homes. PHOTO: CLARISSA BONET FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
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1. Home prices rose last month to a new record, with low inventory continuing to spur bidding wars among buyers in some markets.
| The national median existing-home price was $419,300 (🔐 read for free), the highest since 1999 when the data was first collected this way, the National Association of Realtors said. Prices aren’t adjusted for inflation. May’s median was up 5.8% from a year earlier. Through-the-roof (“Look at those dormers! And have you seen the hardwood floors yet?”) home prices, plus high mortgage rates, have many people staying put this spring—typically the busiest home-buying season. Sales of previously owned homes declined for the third month in a row. |
| Heard on the Street: If You Can’t Beat High Mortgage Rates, Consider Joining Them (Read) He Loves His Bugatti So Much, He Parks it in the Living Room of His $10.999 Million Las Vegas Home (Read) |
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2. The Supreme Court upheld a federal law that forbids domestic abusers from possessing guns.
| The 8-1 decision said that the Second Amendment permits temporarily disarming people who pose a threat to others. The case was the first major test of the conservative majority’s new approach to gun rights: Weapons regulations must be analogous to ones from 250 years ago when the U.S. was founded. Today’s decision showed the justices are willing to give more leeway for legislators to address gun violence today. |
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3. France’s Jews are considering the unthinkable: voting for a party with an antisemitic past.
| Outreach by the far right and anger with left-wing parties have created a dilemma for Jewish voters. After Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on Israel, Marine Le Pen’s party upped its efforts to woo Jewish voters who were angry that the far-left didn’t immediately condemn the attack and then stridently criticized Israel. Jewish groups and the government say the rhetoric has fueled a surge in antisemitism in France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community. Meanwhile, more than 1,170 Muslim pilgrims died as scorching heat ravaged the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia. Americans were among the dead, the State Department said. Many unpermitted pilgrims didn’t have access to cooling facilities or the full range of healthcare. |
| Charges Dropped Against Dozens of Pro-Palestinian Protesters at Columbia University (Read) Saudi Arabia’s $54 Billion Haul Still Leaves It Craving Cash (Read) |
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4. American tourists are southern Europe’s new economic engine.
| Visitors who are spending freely—thanks to a strong U.S. dollar and a powerful post-Covid recovery—are upending the EU’s power narrative. But the boom has some economists, residents and politicians worried about long-term effects, including higher rents and living expenses for locals, a dependency on a currency that could weaken, and tourism’s ability to draw workers and capital from more profitable sectors, like tech and high-end manufacturing. Today, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal contribute between a quarter and half of the EU’s annual growth. In the 2010s, Germany and other manufacturing-heavy economies helped drag the continent out of its debt crisis. |
| 📰 Enjoying this newsletter? Get more from WSJ and support our journalism by subscribing today with this special offer. |
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🗨 Follow coverage of detained WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich
| The WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained in Russia after he was arrested while on a reporting trip and accused of espionage—a charge the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Follow the latest coverage, sign up for an email alert, and learn how you can use social media to support Evan. |
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The Numbers
| $50 million | The largest known donation of the 2024 election, from billionaire Tim Mellon to a super PAC supporting Donald Trump, according to the FEC. The heir to the Mellon fortune, who contributed the day after the presumptive GOP nominee’s felony conviction, has given $110 million to federal candidates and committees ahead of the 2024 election. Seperately, President Biden’s re-election campaign is pouring millions into North Carolina. |
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1,000 Words
|  | PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ANNIE ZHAO, JADEN URBI |
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Dating apps have hidden money-making strategies.
| The number of dating app downloads is declining globally, and the companies behind them are swiping right—on ways to keep people online. Yes, even after users meet someone. A feature to find new friends, a social-networking space and artificial-intelligence wingmen are among the ideas. |
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Quoted
“The fish that got away was big.”
| —SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son at the company's annual shareholder meeting, rueing what turned out to be a $150 billion blunder: selling shares in Nvidia years before the chip maker became one of the world’s most valuable companies. Softbank’s Vision Fund booked a $3.3 billion return on its investment; at the time, it seemed like a big win for a 4.9% stake that cost about $700 million to acquire. |
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Catch Up
| - Regulators Cite Big Banks, Including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, Over Living Wills (Read)
- Why Your Starbucks Frappuccino Is Now Half-Price (Read)
- WSJ’s James Mackintosh: Nvidia’s Success Is the Stock Market’s Problem (Read)
- S&P 500 Clinches Third Straight Weekly Gain (Read)
- Essay: In Praise of Bragging (Read)
- He’s Baseball’s Hottest Pitcher—Because He Prepares Like a Quarterback (Read)
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Live Better
|  | ILLUSTRATION: ELENA SCOTTI/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; ISTOCK (2) |
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Check the math before making big credit-card charges.
| You can now use plastic to pay your rent, tuition and taxes, but fees can run as high as 3.5%. Even when you’re gunning for points, air miles or cash back, using most cards for these big-ticket items is often a losing proposition—unless the card issuer waives the transaction fees or offers special perks. And don’t charge large expenditures if you can’t pay off your balance on time—credit-card interest rates are waaaaaay more than 3.5%. |
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Reporter's Journal
| The first hearing in a Russian regional court for Evan Gershkovich is scheduled for Wednesday and will be held behind closed doors. The WSJ reporter was detained in March 2023 while on a reporting trip in Russia and accused of espionage—an allegation that he, WSJ and the U.S. government vehemently deny. The State Department has declared him wrongfully detained and is working to secure his release from a Moscow prison. Russian investigators haven’t publicly presented evidence to back up their allegations against Evan. Ann M. Simmons, WSJ’s Moscow bureau chief, writes about Russia’s political, social and economic intricacies. We talked to Ann about covering the detention of our colleague. Write to her at ann.simmons@wsj.com. |
| Evan’s trial will be held in secret. What does that mean? |
| There’s very little transparency. Experts in Russia's judicial system say the only people allowed inside the courtroom aside from the judge are the prosecuting attorney, either alone or with assistants; the legal defense team; and the defendant. A secretive trial means Evan will receive little, if any, of the due process he would be afforded in the U.S. or other countries. |
| What’s your favorite Evan story? |
| Just before Christmas 2022, Evan was in the Moscow bureau with me and the Russian support staff. I remember I really wasn’t feeling the holiday mood, but Evan wasn’t having it. He insisted we throw a party after work. He headed out with one of the drivers, bought a couple bottles of drink and loads of “zakuski”—an assortment of cold hors d'oeuvres, entrées and snacks. Before the evening was out, we were all toasting, laughing, singing and telling stupid jokes in Russian. That for me is quintessential Evan: fun. I’m awed by his resilience throughout these challenging circumstances. |
| Have sources treated you differently since Evan’s case began? |
| Reporting on Russia has generally become more challenging since Moscow launched its war on Ukraine. The Kremlin has essentially criminalized independent journalism. Ordinary Russians have been discouraged from speaking to any independent media, and daring to speak to foreign media from countries that the Kremlin considers to be “unfriendly nations” is really risky for them. Add to this the false allegations against Evan. |
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Take a Break
| | China is mixed on Elon Musk, but they sure love his mom. |
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Beyond the Newsroom
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Welcome to my geopolitics blog site. This is a Hawaii Island news site focusing on geopolitical news, analysis, information, and commentary. I will cite a variety of sources, ranging from all sides of the political spectrum.