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The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained in Russia after he was arrested while on a reporting trip and accused of spying—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 Latest on the Economy
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For Property Investors, the Price of Homes Is Still Not Right
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Investor purchases of single-family homes in the U.S. tumbled 29% last year, as higher interest rates and record home prices compelled even deep-pocketed investment firms to pull back. Businesses large and small acquired some 570,000 homes in 2023, down from 802,000 in 2022, according to Parcl Labs, a real-estate data and analytics firm. Institutions have signaled that, for now, they see few opportunities to buy large numbers of homes in a market defined by tight inventory, high prices and slowing rent growth, Will Parker reports.
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🎥 Can Modular Building Solve the Construction Industry’s Labor Shortage? (Watch)
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The Labor Union That Defeated Amazon Is Fighting for Survival
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Nearly two years ago, the Amazon Labor Union was thriving. The startup labor group had persuaded workers at a Staten Island warehouse to form the first U.S. union at Amazon. Now the labor organization is fighting to survive. Its leadership is in turmoil, and it is facing growing financial pressure, according to its top officers. WSJ's Sebastian Herrera looks at the union’s troubles since its victory in early 2022—and how they illustrate the difficult path that grassroots organizers face.
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“Organizing workers is a different skill than administering a union.”
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—Wilma Liebman, former chair of the National Labor Relations Board
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Why It Makes Sense for New EV Drivers to Look Beyond Tesla
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A full 59% of the EVs sold through U.S. dealerships in December were leased rather than bought outright, according to the data provider Edmunds—the highest share in three years. Importantly, that calculation excludes market leader Tesla, which sells directly to consumers. Its leasing share fell to 2% of deliveries in the fourth quarter, the lowest in at least four years. WSJ's Stephen Wilmot says that for consumers, it makes a lot of sense to lease an electric vehicle instead of buying one.
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Still looking for signs that a recession is around the corner? Look no further than the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, an amalgam of economic indicators—such as jobless claims, manufacturing hours, stock prices and consumer confidence—meant to show turning points in the economy. The LEI has been flashing warning signals since the start of 2022 and on Monday the business group said it fell for the 22nd consecutive month in December. The pace of contraction has lessened but the broad message has been consistent: "Overall, we expect GDP growth to turn negative in Q2 and Q3 of 2024 but begin to recover late in the year,” said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager for business cycle indicators at the Conference Board.
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Dow Climbs Above 38000 to a Record; S&P 500 Reaches High (Read)
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Tiny Gaza Is Home to Most of the World’s Hungriest People
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As the war grinds on, the already desperate humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating into chaos, those living there and aid groups trying to help them said. Driving the desperation: logjams in food deliveries into and around the enclave and a battlefield that overlaps the places offering help. The combination has pushed more of the population—already almost wholly dependent on aid because of the war—into a state of hunger described as catastrophic or amounting to starvation, Isabel Coles and Abeer Ayyoub report.
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Arab Peace Proposal for Gaza Takes Shape as Top Biden Adviser Lands in Region (Read)
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What Else We're Reading: Everyone Gets a Raise!
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How fast can wages grow without fueling inflation? Faster than inflation, at least for now. "Our model estimates show that although wage growth has exceeded inflation in the last few quarters, it has not fueled additional inflation so far," Philippe Andrade, Falk Bräuning, José Fillat and Gustavo Joaquim write in a paper for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. "Because inflation has, on average, grown faster than productivity-adjusted wages in the last three years, there is room for wage growth to surpass inflation for some time so that it aligns with the historic relationships among the growth rates of prices, wages and productivity." Their best estimate for how rapidly wages can grow in the fourth quarter without driving inflation: about
4.25%.
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Real Time Economics comes to you from WSJ reporters and editors around the world. Today's issue was curated and edited by Jeff Sparshott (@jeffsparshott) and Greg Ip (@greg_ip) in Washington, D.C., and editors in London.
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