🐤 A renter's market

Markets: It’s a holiday-shortened week, but that doesn’t mean investors won’t have plenty of data to digest over the next several days. The latest inflation numbers are set to drop on Wednesday. Additional economic info surfacing this week includes quarterly GDP, housing market trends, a consumer confidence report, and minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting. Several companies are also scheduled to publish their earnings reports before Thanksgiving.

X marks the spot: Comcast made headlines last week by announcing that a majority of its cable networks — including MSNBC — would be offloaded to a new company. Without the media company’s backing, there has been plenty of speculation regarding what would become of these channels. And tech titan Elon Musk weighed in on his own X social media platform with a post related to MSNBC: “How much does it cost?” The left-leaning cable network also faces an uncertain future following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

Like father, like son: Scottie Pippen cemented a legendary career during many of the Chicago Bulls’ peak seasons. Now Scotty Pippen Jr. is in the NBA … and taking joy in leading his Memphis Grizzlies to a victory over his father’s former team. Playing at the United Center, on the same court where his dad played, the younger Pippen scored on 13 of 16 shots and propelled the Grizzlies to a 142 to 131 win over the home team. In addition to putting 30 points on the board, Pippen Jr. racked up 10 assists over the course of the game. He later reflected on his dad’s advice: “He just told me to go out there and kill it, so that’s what I tried to do.”

The Bitcoin bounce: Crypto fans have been rejoicing as a bull market pushes Bitcoin ever closer toward the $100,000 mark. But if the past is prologue, the current trend could backfire, resulting in Wall Street sell-offs and a tanking crypto market. As recently as 2021, a rapid rise in Bitcoin’s value preceded a bear market with its tentacles in all types of investments. Traders are also keeping a close eye on a volatile bond market and increased stock valuations among some companies as they try to suss out underlying market conditions.

Making the trade: It’s time for MLB franchises to get serious about potential changes to their rosters, and a host of intriguing free agents are attracting significant attention across the league. Pitcher Walker Buehler helped the Dodgers win a pennant this season and early speculation is that he could be wearing Yankees pinstripes next season. Another impressive pitcher is Blake Snell, whose low ERA could make him a valuable addition to a team like the Red Sox. Boston is also reportedly considering free agents Corbin Burnes and Max Fried.

Even as many rental properties have become increasingly unaffordable for working-class Americans in recent years, it’s still a less expensive option, on average, than purchasing a home.

This is nothing new, of course. With the exception of a few anomalous periods, home ownership (not only the cost of the home, but insurance, taxes, upkeep, etc.) is more expensive than renting. But the gap has been growing recently.

Consumers are keeping tabs

It’s not hard to come across an article or social media rant about how much landlords have been hiking up the price of rent lately. But as the costs of goods and services have also increased over the same period, it’s worth noting how costly it has become to own and maintain a home.

Here’s a look at where we’re at compared to historical trends:

• Home ownership is typically about 14% more expensive than renting
• Earlier this year, that chasm grew to a staggering 52%
• Despite narrowing in recent months, owning is still 35% more costly

Not only has the cost of home ownership continued to climb, but a spike in the construction of rental properties — and apartment buildings in particular — have allowed lease rates to remain relatively stable over the past year.

Is the American Dream dead?

None of this should serve to dissuade anyone from making an informed decision about whether to purchase a home. It is telling, however, that one recent survey found a record-high 36% of consumers now prefer renting to owning a home.

A snapshot of the current landscape does not indicate future trends, though, and there is some reason for optimism. Mortgage rates are inching downward, which should help bring down the relative cost of owning a home.

But real estate prices remain high (and getting higher) without any immediate relief in sight.

Let’s face it, walking into any Starbucks and encountering a long queue of customers is a bit of a letdown in any circumstance. But when you’re trying to catch a connecting flight and need a quick dose of caffeine, lengthy lines can be downright infuriating.

Unfortunately, it seems that those airport locations are always more congested than the typical Starbucks store. And it’s not entirely due to the fact that airports tend to be busy places.

The root of the problem

Starbucks saw its stock value spike when former Chipotle boss Brian Niccol was named as the coffee chain’s new CEO earlier this year. And part of his vision for the company is reduced wait times at all locations.

With a goal of four minutes or less between placing an order and picking it up, that means shops in particularly busy airports like New York’s LaGuardia might have to cut their times by more than half.

And while it stands to reason that Startbucks is more crowded in the busiest airports, that’s only part of the story. Most of these locations are licensed to third-party companies, which saves Starbucks some corporate cash but limits its profits and can negatively impact the brand’s consistency from store to store.

But sales have been down companywide and wait times remain high, particularly at airports, so Starbucks is embracing technology to help solve both problems.

Rethinking the process

Expect to see a lot more self-service features at airport Starbucks locations, including digital payment kiosks and other platforms aimed at keeping the line moving as quickly and orderly as possible.

Other stores are likely to embrace high-tech strategies to achieve Niccol’s goals, including the use of automated robots to handle at least some of the work currently being done by baristas.

Back in the cable industry’s heyday, it was easy to determine which channels you had and how to watch them. That’s become a lot more difficult in the era of streaming content.

The Paramount problem

For the sake of context, let’s rewind the Paramount Network story back a few years. It used to be called Spike TV — and before that, the National Network and Nashville Network — but it received a new name and direction in 2018.

Since then, the channel has released a few original shows to moderate acclaim … but “Yellowstone” proved to be a runaway success.

And for the first several seasons, it was pretty easy for cord-cutters to catch up on the action with the Peacock app. Season five, on the other hand, isn’t expected to hit that platform for some time.

So that means the only option for those who want to be among the first to see new episodes involves accessing the Paramount Network directly.

You’ve got a few options

No, you won’t have to sign another cable contract to watch “Yellowstone.” In fact, there are several streaming alternatives that include access to the network. The top options include:

• Philo: If you really want to cut costs, consider a subscription to this platform. For less than $1 a day, you’ll get more than 70 live cable channels — including, of course, the Paramount Network.
• Sling TV: This one’s a little pricier, tipping the scales at about $40 per month. And if you want the Paramount Network, you’ll need an added package that adds $11. It’s a popular option among cord-cutters, though.
• Fubo: Even more expensive is Fubo, but with access to up to 200 channels (including the Paramount Network) on the base plan it’s easy to see why people pay $80 per month or more.