Morning Business Report: New home sales surge, Honda ends EV production, and Texas jobs hit record high
Sales of new homes jumped sharply in August, reaching their highest level in nearly four years.
(LILAMAX)- Sales of new homes jumped sharply in August, reaching their highest level in nearly four years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, sales surged more than 20 percent with 800,000 homes sold—before the Federal Reserve’s most recent interest rate cut.
In the auto industry, Honda announced it is ending production of its all-electric ZDX crossover. The EV, scheduled to roll off a Tennessee assembly line this month, has been canceled along with all future production plans due to market conditions.
Texas continues to lead the nation in job growth, adding 195,000 positions over the past year and setting a new employment record with 14.3 million non-farm jobs. However, not all news out of the Lone Star State is positive. A survey by the American Association of University Professors shows one in four Texas professors are actively seeking jobs elsewhere, citing concerns about political interference in higher education.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence has proven it can master complex financial exams. CNBC reports Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Opus successfully passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam—including the essay section—an achievement that typically takes human candidates up to five years and 4,000 hours of work experience to complete.
On the consumer front, Americans are paying closer attention to food labels. A survey conducted by Talkers for Revance found 91 percent of shoppers are more aware of what goes into their meals. Among them, 61 percent are motivated by the desire for healthier skin and hair, while 41 percent are focused on managing allergies.
