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2022 was slowest year for US home sales in nearly a decade

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. home sales tumbled to the slowest pace in nearly a decade as soaring mortgage rates and sky high prices in 2022 pushed homeownership out of reach for many Americans. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 5.03 million last year, a 17.8% decline from 2021. That is the weakest year for home sales since 2014 and the biggest annual decline since 2008, during the housing crisis of the late 2000s. The median national home price for all of last year jumped 10.2% to $386,300, the NAR said, and it’s up 42% from 2019, ...

Drug company official gets 7 years for illegal drug imports

BOSTON (AP) — A partner in a drug company based in India that made about $3.5 million by selling and shipping millions of illegal and unapproved pills to the U.S. to people who did not have prescriptions has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Manish Kumar, 34, was a partner in Mihu Business Solutions Pvt., Ltd., a Mumbai-based drug company which he operated through multiple entities, including All Herb Distributors, 365 Life Group, and Health Life 365 Co., federal prosecutors in Boston said in a statement Thursday. The pills shipped from 2015 until 2019 included ...

Discover, Allstate fall; Comerica, InterDigital rise

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Thursday: Discover Financial Services Inc., down 44 cents to $101.90. The credit card issuer and lender expects an increase in net charge-offs in 2023. Procter & Gamble Co., down $3.08 to $142.42. The maker of Crest toothpaste and Charmin toilet paper warned that commodity prices continue to squeeze profits. KeyCorp, down 79 cents to $16.45. The bank’s fourth-quarter financial results fell short of Wall Street forecasts. H.B. Fuller Co., down $2.75 to $69.08. The adhesives company reported ...

Arkansas panel advances bill to restrict drag performances

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Drag performances would be classified as adult-oriented businesses under an bill in Arkansas that a legislative panel endorsed Thursday. It’s the latest in a growing number of Republican-backed proposals nationwide to restrict or ban the shows. The state Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee advanced the proposal, which would also prohibit drag shows from public property. It next goes to the Republican-controlled Senate for a vote as early as Monday. Drag shows have been targeted by right-wing activists and politicians in recent months. ...

Twitter auctions off blue bird memorabilia, pricey furniture

The Associated Press A neon Twitter bird for $35,000, anyone? How about a used industrial kitchen mixer for a good price? Going once .... When Elon Musk wants to make a point, it can be pretty blunt. On the day he took over Twitter last fall, he walked in to the San Francisco company’s headquarters carrying a sink. He tweeted “let that sink in.” Get it? After slashing the company’s workforce, falling behind on rent and contract obligations, Twitter under the mercurial billionaire is now auctioning off memorabilia, fancy office furniture and professional kitchen equipment ...

Job cuts in tech sector spread

The Associated Press Microsoft is cutting 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies that have scaled back their pandemic-era expansions. The company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday that the layoffs were a response to “macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities.” The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said it will also be making changes to its hardware portfolio and consolidating its leased office locations. Microsoft is cutting far fewer jobs than it had added during the COVID-19 pandemic as it responded to a boom in ...