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Lower mortgage rates not enough to overcome November slowdown in metro Denver home sales

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

Lower mortgage rates motivated some buyers to get busy last month, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the seasonal slowdown seen this time of year in metro Denver’s housing market, according to a monthly update from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.Buyers closed on 2,664 homes and condos last month, a 15.9% drop from the 3,169 homes sold in October. November closings were down 14% year-over-year and through the first 11 months of 2023, with the overall sales volume is down by nearly a fifth.Properties took longer to sell last month, with the median number of days a listing spent on the market shooting up from 16 in October to 22 in November. A year ago, the median was 21 days.There were 6,684 active listings available to buyers at the end of November, which is down 10.7% from October’s 7,482 and up 6.9% from the inventory available a year earlier. At the current pace of sales, the market has about 2.5 months of supply of listings.In one of the bigger declines ...

European Commission: Bulgaria will decide where the revenues from the tax for the transfer of Russian gas on its territory will be directed

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

"The European Commission has been notified of Bulgaria's recent gas supply measures. We are in contact with Bulgaria and other affected countries to assess and discuss the possible repercussions of this measure," a spokesperson for the Community Executive said in response to questions related to the tax for the transfer of Russian gas through Bulgaria, writes Cristian Gerhasim. According to a new law, published this month in the Official Gazette of Bulgaria and which entered into force immediately, a fee of 20 leva (€10) is introduced for each megawatt hour of gas coming from Russia. It is equivalent to approximately 20% of the reference price for natural gas at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Regarding the question of where the revenues from this tax will be directed, the answer was: "This is a national measure, the decision is the competence of the Sofia authorities." The spokesperson specified that the EU sanctions approved so far foresee measures against coal and oil imports from ...

Opinion: Newsom deserves credit for doing what few Democrats will

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

The Interruption Fest — otherwise known as the much-ballyhooed red vs. blue debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — is mercifully over. It was admittedly my longest stretch watching Fox News for any reason, and the only time in my life that I tuned into Sean Hannity, one of the media’s top conspiracy theorists.The deck was stacked against Newsom from the outset, with Hannity acting more like a prosecuting attorney than a neutral moderator. Predictably, nearly every question he posed was intended to make Florida look good in relation to California, essentially tossing soft balls to DeSantis. Both DeSantis and Hannity were talking over Newsom on countless occasions, sometimes both at the same time.Many people asked why Newsom would place himself in the lion’s den, agreeing to a session that was for all practical purposes him debating both DeSantis and Hannity. Pundits are bleating that it is because he wants to position himself for a presidential r...

Disneyland shuts 35 rides after nearby earthquake ‘shook things up’

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

A minor earthquake near Disneyland forced the closure of dozens of rides and left visitors with little to do while employees conducted mandatory safety protocols before reopening the attractions at the Anaheim theme park.An earthquake in Fullerton on Monday, Dec. 4 centered about 2 miles north of Disneyland forced the temporary closure of at least 35 rides.“Felt like it was right under our table at Jolly Holiday,” wrote Shanna Fogelman on Instagram. “Shook things up more than you would think.”The 3.5-magnitude quake at 8:10 p.m. on Monday was centered near Chapman and Raymond Avenues in Fullerton, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A smaller aftershock struck around 8:30 p.m.No initial damage was reported at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure.“Damage is very unlikely but guests will be inconvenienced while rides are inspected,” MiceChat posted to Instagram. View this post on InstagramA post shared by MiceChat (@micechat)By 9 p.m. Monday night, the vast majority of the ...

French: It’s time to fix America’s most dangerous law

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

There is a land mine embedded in the United States Code, one that Donald Trump, if reelected president, could use to destroy our republic. But it’s not too late for Congress to defuse the mine now and protect America.I’m talking about the Insurrection Act, a federal law that permits the president to deploy military troops in American communities to effectively act as a domestic police force under his direct command. In theory, there is a need for a well-drafted law that permits the use of federal troops in extreme circumstances to maintain order and protect the rule of law. The Insurrection Act, which dates back to 1792 but has since been amended, is not, however, well-drafted. And its flaws would give Trump enormous latitude to wield the staggering power of the state against his domestic political enemies.These flaws are especially relevant because Trump and his allies are keenly aware of the act’s provisions and have long expressed interest in its use. Trump has publicly regretted...

Daktronics: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) — BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) — Daktronics Inc. (DAKT) on Tuesday reported profit of $2.2 million in its fiscal second quarter.On a per-share basis, the Brookings, South Dakota-based company said it had profit of 5 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 28 cents per share.The video display maker posted revenue of $199.4 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DAKT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DAKTSource

Core & Main: Fiscal Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — ST. LOUIS (AP) — Core & Main Inc. (CNM) on Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $112 million.On a per-share basis, the St. Louis-based company said it had profit of 65 cents.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 68 cents per share.The distributor of water and fire protection products posted revenue of $1.83 billion in the period, which met Street forecasts.Core & Main expects full-year revenue in the range of $6.65 billion to $6.75 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CNM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CNMSource

Prince William County Public Schools reaches partial tentative agreement with teachers union

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

The Prince William County school division and Prince William Education Association have agreed to a benefits and terms and conditions of employment collective bargaining contract, but the two sides failed to reach agreement on a wage proposal before the Dec. 1 deadline.After eight months of negotiations, the two sides tentatively agreed to a three-year package of benefits and terms and conditions of employment that will need to be ratified by the School Board and employees.“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with PWEA on significant benefits that will continue to ensure we are the best place to work,” Prince William County School Board Chairman Dr. Babur Lateef said in a school division news release.The agreed upon terms are as follows:Paying teachers who teach summer school and extended school year their hourly rates.A new short-term disability plan that covers employees after the first 30 days of employment at no cost to the employee.Continuing to pay the same pr...

Sheffield United owner says he is changing the club’s manager with team last in Premier League

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — The Saudi prince who owns Sheffield United said Tuesday he has changed the club’s manager after the team dropped into last place in the Premier League.Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud told British radio station talkSport that a decision has been made to part ways with Paul Heckingbottom after his two years in charge and bring back Chris Wilder, who managed Sheffield United when it was last in England’s top division.Wilder, a former player at the club, has coached at second-division teams Middlesbrough and Watford since leaving Sheffield United in March 2021.Heckingbottom becomes the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season.His final game in charge was the 5-0 loss at Burnley on Saturday, which dropped Sheffield United to last place — where Burnley was at the start of the match — and four points from safety. The team has just one win from 14 games.The club hasn’t officially confirmed the decision to change ma...

The owners of a funeral home where 190 decaying bodies were found are due to appear in court

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:40:00 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The owners of a Colorado funeral home where 190 decomposing bodies were found are set to appear in court Tuesday, facing allegations that they abused corpses, stole, laundered money and forged documents.Jon and Carie Hallford own Return to Nature Funeral Home, which has a facility in Penrose where investigators in early October discovered dozens of stacked bodies, some that had death dates as far back as 2019, according to a federal affidavit.Family members had been falsely told their loved ones were cremated and had received materials that were not their ashes, court records said.Several families who hired Return to Nature to cremate their loved ones have told The Associated Press that the FBI confirmed to them privately that their loved ones were among the decaying bodies.The Hallfords were arrested in Oklahoma last month, after allegedly fleeing Colorado to avoid prosecution. They have been jailed on a $2 million bond. Both have been charged with ap...