Home prices are expected to rise in 2025, with mortgage rates set to remain above 6%. Yahoo Finance Senior Housing Market Reporter Claire Boston joins Brad Smith on Wealth! to break down what homebuyers should expect in the new year with consideration to rising prices, high mortgage rates, and inventory dynamics. She explains that mortgage rate buydowns, an incentive from new home builders, could help homebuyers secure a sub-5 % rate. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

Meredith Whitney Advisory Group CEO Meredith Whitney comes on Catalysts to talk about the challenges in housing inventory and home affordability as her firm estimates that 60% of US homes are owned by senior citizens aged 60 years and above. "You're going to see a big upgrade cycle with seniors aging in place. What that means for affordability is I think you're going to see new homeowners continue to struggle and stay renters for longer," Whitney — who was dubbed the "Oracle of Wall Street" for forecasting the 2007-2008 Great Financial Crisis — tells Seana Smith and Madison Mills. Whitney weighs in on what kind of housing conditions are expected to persist into the incoming second Trump administration, including the options that older homeowners and homebuyers may have. "Seniors have taken out more debt at a faster rate than any other age cohort. And now they they are they hold 44% of total home equity outstanding — that's up from 19% in 2004. So you see seniors really struggle," Whitney states. "So I think that having them be able to tap into their their equity is going to be something that the Trump administration really pushes for, and there's $35 trillion of equity and over half of that is tappable." Whitney has previously communicated the impact of a "silver tsunami" on the housing market to Yahoo Finance as aging Baby Boomers turning 65 years old look to downsize, potentially freeing up inventory. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

President-elect Donald Trump has made tariffs a key focus of his second term in the White House, proposing a 60% tariff on all goods from China. The impact of Trump's second term on the semiconductor sector, which has become especially important during the artificial intelligence (AI) era, has been debated, given the impact of tariffs and uncertainty around the CHIPS and Science Act. Moor Insights & Strategy founder, CEO, and chief analyst Patrick Moorhead and Tufts University professor of International History Christopher Miller join Seana Smith and Madison Mills on Catalysts to discuss their outlook for the chip sector under Trump 2.0. Moorhead expects Trump to be a "net positive" for the chip sector: "Trump doesn't want to be the president that tanked the tech stock market, and he certainly could do that if he puts any weight on the chip stocks that have been a tremendous part of the growth over the last four years." "With all of the advanced semiconductor manufacturing leaving the United States, or most of it, Trump's trying to get the best deal to bring it back in. I do not believe he will tank the stock market or major industries to make that happen," Moorhead notes. Miller — the author of Chip War: The Fight for World's Most Critical Technology — says Trump's chip policy is "being defined right now by the president-elect and his incoming administration," adding that tariffs will likely be a key component of his approach to the semiconductor sector, though there will likely be negotiations between his proposals and the actual policies. Amid uncertainty about Trump's actual policies and their impacts on chipmakers, Moorhead cautions investors saying they "should be looking into every one of their investment plays and seeing if they have a supply chain resilience plan. It's a what if [plan]." Watch the video above to learn more about the US-China trade war, the impact of major chipmakers, and more. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

Bitcoin price hit an all-time high of $106,496 early Monday, reaping further gains from President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to deregulate cryptos and create a national strategic reserve of Bitcoin. The slight drop could be due to fears the Federal Reserve will adopt a more hawkish tone as the Federal Open Market Committee meets next on Dec. 18. Cryptocurrencies are generally considered a risky investment and tend to rise when the Fed cuts rates.

When people refer to investing in the Nasdaq, it could mean a few different things. For some, it means investing in the Nasdaq Composite, one of the U.S. stock market's main three indexes that includes virtually every stock on the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) stock exchange. For others, it means investing in the Nasdaq-100, a subset of the Nasdaq Composite, tracking the 100 largest non-financial stocks in the index.

Redfin (RDFN) chief economist Daryl Fairweather joins Wealth to discuss the evolving housing market dynamics headed into 2025. "We think the market will be a bit better next year," Fairweather states, highlighting increased market participation with more individuals listing, selling, and buying homes. However, she cautions that mortgage rates still remain "quite high," tempering overall market enthusiasm. Fairweather suggests that if mortgage rates were to cool to around 5%, it could trigger "a large burst in demand," potentially sparking "more bidding wars" and "price growth." Interestingly, the current rate stability has created a sense of urgency among market participants. "There's no reason to wait anymore," she notes, which is driving more homeowners to list properties and buyers to enter the market. Looking ahead to 2025, Fairweather predicts a significant shift, expecting it to be "a renter's market" driven by new construction, numerous vacant units, and an expanding rental supply. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Angel Smith

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today announced the results of the annual reconstitution of the Nasdaq-100 Index® (Nasdaq: NDX®), which will become effective prior to market open on Monday, December 23, 2024. The following three companies will be added to the Index: Palantir Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PLTR), MicroStrategy Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR), and Axon Enterprise, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXON). The Nasdaq-100 Index® is composed of 100 of the largest non-financial c

US mortgage rates slip lower, their third consecutive week of declines as Freddie Mac reports 30-year fixed-rate mortgages ticked down to 6.60% from 6.69% from the week prior. Yahoo Finance senior housing reporter Claire Boston joins Brad Smith on Wealth for a discussion about recent homebuyer demand trends and what the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week could indicate about the rate environment. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

The commercial real estate market is recovering from pandemic-driven lows in office rentals. Marcus & Millichap CEO Hessam Nadji sits down with Catalysts Co-Hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills to discuss the commercial real estate market, saying the sector is so much more than office space. "The whole industry gets a very warped perception because of what's happening with office buildings in so many ways," Nadji says, explaining that while office rentals are weak, retail rentals are booming. "We refer to retail as the new apartments and offices and new retail. Because, as you know, over the last 20 years, retail real estate and brick-and-mortar retail have been under so much pressure because of e-commerce, and the industry has dealt with it. There's been so much reimagination and renovation of retail space that has positioned that specialty to come back really strong." Learn more about Nadji's thoughts on the commercial real estate market during Trump's upcoming second term here. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

This consumer discretionary ETF hits a new 52-week high. Are more gains in store for this ETF?