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Homebuilding continued at a relatively slow pace in September as builders waited for a boost from lower mortgage rates, which has yet to arrive.

Builders broke ground on new homes in September at an annual rate of 1.35 million, the Census Bureau said Friday. That was down slightly from the rate of 1.36 million in August, and 1.36 million in September 2023. As recently as April 2022, builders were breaking ground at a rate of 1.82 million new homes per year. The September figure matched forecasts, according to a survey of economists by and .

Builders are not constructing enough houses to keep up with population growth. In 2022, 2.06 million households were formed, far more than the 1.6 million houses and apartment units that builders began to construct that year, according to an analysis by Realtor.com. Years of under-building since the Great Recession have left the U.S. with a persistent housing shortage that's helped drive up prices. At the same time, high mortgage rates are making homes even less affordable.Housing economists expect those high rates to come down in the coming year as the Federal Reserve reduces its benchmark fed funds rate, which they had held at a two-decade high to combat inflation. However, the downward path has been bumpy: the average rate offered for a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.44% this week, the highest since August, and well above the sub-3% rates available during the pandemic, according to Freddie Mac."U.S. home builders are in a holding period, awaiting further rate cuts to kick-start demand," Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary.

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Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 16 is outselling its predecessor in China by 20% in the three weeks since its release, according to new research data. 

What's more, sales of the more expensive Pro and Pro Max models are up 44% this cycle, per Counterpoint Research data cited by .

The improved performance in China is due in part to production issues that plagued the iPhone 15 rollout a year ago and likely impacted early sales, Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam noted, according to the report. Additionally, the iPhone 15 faced competition from Chinese rival Huawei's Mate 60 device. 

"Given the smooth production ramp-up, consistent pricing strategy, and the initial wave of upgrades by existing iPhone users, the iPhone 16 series has experienced substantial growth in the Chinese domestic market," Lam was quoted as saying. "The product mix has also improved markedly."

This matters significantly, as the iPhone made up more than half of Apple's $383.29 billion in total net sales last year.

There had been some concern among analysts that the iPhone 16, which Apple has heralded as the first built around Apple Intelligence, would struggle in China due to the lack of a partner in the country to power its artificial intelligence features, reported. Now, Wedbush analysts believe Apple could sell more than 240 million iPhones in fiscal 2025, with 100 million Chinese iPhones in the window of an upgrade next year.

The China figures come after Apple stock reached an all-time high on Tuesday as the tech giant unveiled its newest iPad Mini, launching next Wednesday.

Apple shares recently were up 1% to $234.36. They have gained more than 20% this year.

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The Kano State Hisbah Board has arrested the Jigawa State Commissioner of Special Duties, Auwal Danladi Sankara, after he was allegedly found in an uncompleted building with a married woman.

The board’s Director General, Dr. Abba Sufi, in a statement on Friday, October 18, said the arrest was made possible through intelligent tracking following multiple complaints from the woman’s brother-in-law about the commissioner’s alleged immoral activities with her.

According to the statement, “Yes, it is true, we have arrested Auwal Danladi Sankara, the Jigawa Commissioner, with a married woman in an uncompleted building that belongs to him.

Unknown to him that we were tracking him based on reports against him that we received.

Nasiru Bulama filed the complaint with the Kano State Police Command, the Department of State Services and the Hisbah Board, alleging Sankara’s involvement in illicit s+xual activities with his wife.

We have been having problems with Sankara because he is operating illicit dr+g centres in the names of hotels with pros§it¥tion and dr+g addiction activities.”

#Instablog9jaNews #TrendingStory #Awareness #StayUpdated

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Shares of Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) hit an all-time high Friday, a day after the medical device maker posted better-than-expected results on more use of its da Vinci minimally invasive surgical devices.

The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.84, with revenue advancing 17% year-over-year to $2.04 billion. Both exceeded consensus estimates of analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

The number of da Vinci procedures worldwide increased 18%, helping to drive instruments and accessories sales to $1.26 billion. Intuitive Surgical installed 379 da Vinci units in the quarter, 67 more than the same period a year ago, with 110 of those its new da Vinci 5.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gary Guthart said the "core measures" of the company's business were healthy, and "we are pleased by customer adoption of da Vinci 5." 

Intuitive Surgical shares surged more than 8% to $512.74 after touching a record $517.61 soon after markets opened Friday. They are up more than 50% year-to-date.

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CVS Health (CVS) stock tumbled about 7% in morning trading Friday after the pharmacy and healthcare giant announced the replacement of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Karen Lynch with David Joyner, a longtime company veteran who most recently ran Caremark, its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM).

Joyner is taking the top job effective immediately, CVS said, as the company has weathered a difficult year of sales at its namesake pharmacies and problems with its bets on Medicare coverage that have led it to lower its full-year outlook several times already.

Newly appointed executive chairman Roger Farah said the board believes it was "the right time to make a change," and said Joyner's decades of experience with CVS "can help us more directly address the challenges our industry faces" and make necessary changes.

In addition to the CEO swap, CVS also provided preliminary guidance for third-quarter profit, projecting earnings per share (EPS) between 3 cents and 8 cents, and adjusted EPS of $1.05 to $1.10. Analysts are expecting EPS of $1.27, and adjusted EPS of $1.69, according to consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

The company is set to report third-quarter earnings Nov. 6, and said the lackluster projections are connected to costs related to its Medicare operations and other one-time expenses like store closures.

first reported the news that the CEO change was imminent, sending CVS stock lower Friday morning. After the announcement, shares were down more than 11% to $56.30, nearly 30% below where they started the year.

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American Express (AXP) reported better net income than expected and lifted its full-year profit outlook in its third-quarter results Friday morning, following a string of strong reports from several of the country's biggest banks.

The credit card and financial services provider reported $16.64 billion in revenue, up from last year's $15.38 billion and just under the $16.67 billion consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. Net interest income (NII) came in at $4.01 billion, up from $3.44 billion a year ago and above the $3.92 billion expectation.

Profit rose to $2.51 billion, or $3.49 per share, up from $2.45 billion and $3.30, respectively. Analysts had expected $2.38 billion and an identical $3.30-per-share result as last year. The company also lifted its full-year profit outlook, now projecting earnings per share (EPS) of $13.75 to $14.05, up from $13.30 to $13.80 previously.

Shares of American Express fell 4.4% soon after markets opened Friday to $273.31. They are up about 45% since the start of the year.

The report from American Express comes after a number of big banks posted better-than-expected earnings over the last week, but also increased their provisions for credit losses (PCLs), as data has shown Americans falling behind on debt like credit cards and car loans.

The card provider also lifted its PCL to $1.36 billion, just above the $1.34 billion analysts had expected.

UPDATE—This story has been updated with the latest stock price information.

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