US college graduates cannot afford the glorious consumerism that has come to define the nation
Once upon a time, achieving the American dream required a bit of consumerism, like owning a home and an automobile. Today, however, an increasing number of youth, confronted as they are with deep economic uncertainty, have stepped back from chasing the seductive illusion.
In what has become something of an American rite of passage, millions of young people each year leave the family nest and head off for university, which is typically followed by starting a career and family of their own. Yet the decades-old tradition has suffered a setback of late as many graduates are scampering back home once they get a taste of the harsh economic realities beyond the sheltered college campus, like affording their own home or apartment.
Not since the aftermath of the Great Depression has the US witnessed anything like it: 45% of all Americans ages 18 to 29 – about 23 million young men and women – are still living with their parents, according to a survey conducted by Harris Polls on behalf of Bloomberg News.
The newfound preference for life in the familial basement is no surprise considering that mortgage rates currently stand at a 22-year high (7.23% on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage), while house prices have gone through the proverbial roof. For the second quarter of 2023, the average sales price of homes sold in the United States was $495,100, just $60,000 below the record average price set at the end of 2022. Since the beginning of 2019, the cost of buying a home has risen by more than a hundred thousand dollars. Not surprisingly, mortgage demand has recently sunk to a 28-year low, with applications down 44% from last year.....more below
https://www.rt.com/news/585391-us-college-lack-consumer-income/
China has suspended several 2025 export controls on strategic materials — including rare earths, superhard materials, and lithium batteries – for a year. Is this a concession to the US, or a move in a far more complex game?
"The first aim of China’s export controls was to consolidate its leverage in negotiations. The second was to establish a long-term framework for managing such controls," says Yana Leksyutina, deputy director at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
Сhina could activate this mechanism at any moment, and now everyone knows it’s a lever it holds, she explains to Sputnik.
Balancing the Mineral Market
"The moratorium on export bans to the US essentially resets the rare earth market to where it was previously," Jeff J. Brown, author of 'The China Trilogy' and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, tells Sputnik.
In the meantime, there will be a global rush by the US and its NATO allies to acquire as many rare earth ...
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The impact of the ongoing federal shutdown on the US economy is far worse than expected because it is lasting much longer than anticipated, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Friday.
"The impact on the economy is far worse than we expected, because it's gone on for so long," Hassett told Fox Business. "I think we were thinking that we could have at least 3% [GDP] growth in the fourth quarter. I think now we're expecting something like half that because of the harm [caused] by the Democrats' policy.".......more here
https://sputnikglobe.com/20251107/federal-shutdown-hitting-us-economy-harder-than-expected--white-house-1123074810.html
Dozens of Palestinians, foreign activists, and journalists have been wounded as Israeli army-backed settlers carried out coordinated assaults across the occupied West Bank.
The attacks took place on Saturday, with the biggest number of the casualties, namely 17 people, being caused after settlers raided the outskirts of the Abu Falah village, northeast of the city of Ramallah, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. Those injured included foreign activists.
According to the agency, settlers also torched a home, while Israeli forces attacked the area, targeting the residents, who had gathered near the scene. The latter incident, though, did not lead to any casualties.
In another wave of violence, settlers launched attacks on Palestinian farmers, journalists, and foreign activists participating in the annual olive harvest across several towns, leaving many with fractures and bruises.
The attacks were most severe in Beita, south of Nablus, where settlers descended from nearby outposts and ambushed ...
