Gen X is barreling toward retirement with an excruciating student-loan burden. The six million-plus borrowers aged 50 to 61 have the highest average balance of any age group, at $47,857.
ETF Flows
Assets in U.S. ETFs swelled to a record $12.19 trillion at the end of August, up from $10.35 trillion at the end of last year. If the pace holds during the fourth quarter, when inflows tend to pick up, it will be the market’s second straight record year. In 2024, ETFs added $1.1 trillion.
Single Family Rentals
Rents in the top 20 U.S. markets for single-family homes are expected to rise 0.8% this year. That would be the slowest pace since 2011, when job losses caused by the global financial crisis made it hard to increase rent.
Risk Spreads
The spread, that investors are getting by holding investment-grade corporate bonds compared with ultrasafe U.S. Treasurys fell to 0.74 percentage point in September, its lowest level since 1998. The spread for junk-rated bonds is about 2.75 percentage points, near the record low set in 2007.
New Vehicle Sales
EV sales are expected to surge 28% in September from a year earlier, while the much larger market of pure gasoline and hybrid vehicles is expected to contract 2.5%.
Rate Outlook
Options markets currently show a 93% chance of another 25-basis-point cut in October and an 80% chance of a cut in December.
Return to Office
Overall, companies are requiring 12% more time in-office than in early 2024, according to data on policies for 9,000 employers. Yet Americans still work from home about a quarter of the time—much like in 2023.
Compass Anywhere
Compass is acquiring Anywhere Real Estate for $1.6 billion in an all-stock transaction. Compass and Anywhere were already the first- and second-biggest brokerages by volume in 2024. The all-stock transaction would create a new industry giant with an enterprise value of about $10 billion, including debt, in one of the largest deals ever in the residential brokerage industry.
Waldorf Astoria
The total cost of the Waldorf acquisition and makeover came to about $6 billion, including the purchase price and eight years of lost revenue while the hotel was closed but the owners were still paying property taxes and insurance. Much of it was covered by the Chinese government.
NVDA INTC
Nvidia is investing $5 billion in Intel, buying common stock at $23.28 a share to jointly develop data center and PC products.