Market Beats | US Home Price Growth Slows in September; US New Home Sales Drops to 2-yr Low; South Florida Condos Desperately Need More Supply; Siemens Secured $10.5bn Acquisition Loan; Mexico Could Retaliate Against Trump Tariffs; Aston Martin to Raise Cash Yet Again

—— US Home Price Growth Slows in September; US New Home Sales Drops to 2-yr Low; South Florida Condos Desperately Need More Supply; Siemens Secured $10.5bn Acquisition Loan; Mexico Could Retaliate Against Trump Tariffs; Aston Martin to Raise Cash Yet Again

1. US Home Price Growth Slows in September

In September, the pace of home price increases in the US moderated, as buyers gained greater leverage in the housing market.

A national index showed home prices rising by 3.9% from the previous year, a deceleration from the 4.3% gain seen in August, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data.

This data covers a three-month period ending in September, during which interest rates dropped to a two-year low. Additionally, buyers had a broader selection of properties, with about 12% more homes listed than in the same month last year, as per Realtor.com.

“During this time, the market increasingly shifted in favor of buyers,” stated Hannah Jones, a senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.

However, recent weeks have seen a rise in borrowing costs, which could suppress future demand.

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2. US New Home Sales Drops to 2-yr Low

In October, US new home sales dropped to their lowest point in nearly two years, affected by the impact of two hurricanes in the South and ongoing affordability challenges for buyers.

Last month, sales of new single-family homes fell 17% to an annualized rate of 610,000, as reported by government data released on Tuesday. This figure fell short of the 725,000 rate forecasted by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

The median sale price of a new home climbed to $437,300 in October, marking the highest point in 14 months.

The decrease in sales was significantly influenced by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which disrupted the housing market in the Southeast, the nation’s largest housing region.

Sales in the South plummeted 28% to 339,000, the lowest rate since April 2020. While sales also declined in the West, they increased in both the Northeast and Midwest regions.

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3. South Florida Condos Desperately Need More Supply

The appointment of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary by President-elect Donald Trump could potentially open up new avenues for negotiation between the U.S. and China concerning their ongoing trade disputes. Bessent, who leads the macro hedge fund Key Square Group and was officially nominated on Friday, is known for his relatively moderate views on tariffs, which may ease tensions.

Bessent has previously characterized Trump’s threats to impose steep tariffs on Chinese imports as part of a “maximalist negotiating position.” He advocates for a more gradual implementation of tariffs, suggesting they be “layered in gradually,” as he noted in a CNBC interview earlier this month. This approach could offer a more conciliatory path forward in U.S.-China trade negotiations.

John Gong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and a consultant for China’s Commerce Ministry, views Bessent’s nomination as positive news for Beijing.

According to Gong, Bessent’s role ensures that Wall Street, a significant player in international economic policy, maintains a crucial position within the Trump administration. This alignment could facilitate more balanced and pragmatic trade discussions between the two superpowers.

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4. AI Agent Startup Raises $56mn

A group of former Google and Stripe executives, known for their work on the Android platform, has secured $56 million in funding to launch a new company focused on creating an operating system for artificial intelligence (AI) agents.

The San Francisco-based startup, named /dev/agents, is emerging from stealth mode on Tuesday. The company will announce its substantial seed funding, led by Index Ventures and co-led by Alphabet Inc.’s growth fund, CapitalG. The round also drew participation from numerous angel investors, including prominent figures like Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, and OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy. According to a source with knowledge of the deal, the funding round values /dev/agents at $500 million, though this valuation has not been publicly confirmed.

The development aligns with the growing trend among tech companies such as Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI, which are building AI agents designed to handle tasks like flight booking or coding with minimal human intervention.

These tools aim to enhance productivity and foster more natural, human-like interactions with AI, positioning it as a colleague or assistant.

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5. Siemens Secured $10.5bn Acquisition Loan

Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, has significantly reduced its tuition from $44,050 this year to $25,990 next year, joining a trend among U.S. colleges that are slashing prices to attract more students. This strategy, known as tuition “resets,” is being adopted by various smaller and less selective institutions as prospective students and their families increasingly scrutinize the value of expensive degrees, particularly from non-elite schools.

The steep reductions in tuition highlight a growing divide in higher education. While tuition at elite universities like those in the Ivy League approaches $100,000 per year, many smaller private colleges are reducing their costs in an effort to remain competitive and financially viable, as the threat of closure looms for some.

Phillip Levine, an economist at Wellesley College, notes that this approach is risky. Higher tuition rates often signal selectivity and quality to prospective students, and colleges often offset these high costs with merit aid, making education more affordable while maintaining the perception of exclusivity and high value.

By cutting tuition drastically, schools may lose these perceived advantages, complicating their market positioning and potentially impacting their appeal to prospective students.

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6. Mexico Could Retaliate Against Trump Tariffs

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum proposed that Mexico could counter Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs with its own, cautioning that such measures could have severe economic repercussions.

During her daily press conference in Mexico City on Tuesday, Sheinbaum read from a letter she plans to send to the U.S. president-elect, who has vowed to impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada. She emphasized that cooperation would be a more effective strategy to address issues like migration and drug trafficking.

“One tariff will trigger another in response, escalating until shared businesses are endangered,” Sheinbaum stated. “The primary exporters from Mexico to the U.S. are General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company, which have been established here for 80 years. Why introduce a tariff that jeopardizes their operations?”

Sheinbaum’s appeal for collaboration rather than conflict highlights the careful approach she has adopted since Trump’s victory raised concerns about a potential U.S. trade war with China. She has worked to maintain neutrality between Washington and Beijing while signaling a preference for the U.S. — Mexico’s largest trading partner — if forced to choose.

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7. Aston Martin to Raise Cash Yet Again

Air travel is expected to become more expensive globally in 2025, although the rate of fare increases is predicted to moderate compared to the sharp rises experienced post-Covid. According to a forecast by American Express Global Business Travel Group Inc., the anticipated increases will reflect the ongoing higher operational costs and persistent supply chain disruptions affecting the airline industry.

The American Express report notes that while airfare prices will likely increase across various routes, the extent of these hikes will differ significantly by region. In North America and Europe, the increases are expected to be relatively modest, around 2%. Conversely, regions like Asia and Australasia, which were among the last to relax pandemic restrictions, may see more substantial fare increases of up to 14%.

Despite a positive outlook on passenger demand for 2025, airlines are facing challenges in expanding their capacity due to delays in the delivery of new planes from major manufacturers such as Airbus SE and Boeing Co.

Additionally, extended servicing times for jet engines are further restricting the availability of aircraft, thus limiting the ability of airlines to meet the rising demand and contributing to higher ticket prices.

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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。