The estimated value of the typical U.S. home rose 19.6% to $321,634 in 2021, an increase of $52,667 from 2020.
Flexible Space
41% of office tenants say they plan to use more flexible space as a result of the pandemic, up from 29% in 2020.
Rate Increase
The Federal Reserve raises interest rates by a quarter point, the first increase since 2018, and signals plans to lift them steadily this year to lower inflation.
Stock Pickers
The benchmark S&P 500 notched a total return, including price gains and dividends, of 28.7% last year. That was a stronger showing than that of 85% of U.S. large-cap stock-picking mutual funds. 2021 was the 12th consecutive year in which the majority of actively managed funds of large-cap stocks underperformed the S&P 500.
Labor Market
Last year, workers quit their jobs at the highest rate on records back to 2000, suggesting that Americans were willing to leave employment in search of better wages or more desirable perks, including remote work.
Credit Card Fees
U.S. merchants paid card issuers an estimated $55.4 billion in Visa and Mastercard credit-card interchange fees in 2021, more than double the amount in 2012.
Employment
Employers added 678,000 workers to their payrolls in February, the biggest gain in seven months. The jobless rate fell to 3.8% from 4.0% a month earlier, edging closer to the 50-year low of 3.5% hit just before the pandemic.
Commodity Inflation
Wheat has surge to its highest level since 2008. Corn prices have jumped around 25% so far this year touching their highest levels since March 2013. Aluminum and nickel have jumped to their highest levels in over a decade.
Ultra Luxury
More than 2,300 homes at the $10 million-plus price point sold last year among 30 major luxury housing markets in the U.S., a 111.6% increase from 2020.
Rate Increase
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said a rate increase would be appropriate in March, and it's too soon to tell how the war in Ukraine will affect the U.S.