Jennifer Kushinka reporting...
Not enough houses on the market are causing home values to jump. Zillow says nationwide, prices in August were up 0.7% from July, to an average close to $256,700, the biggest month-over-month increase in nearly seven years. In New Orleans, prices rose 5.7% to a median of $215,200.
Carnival Cruise Line is taking steps to terminate and/or not renew the contracts of employment of several thousands of officers and crew members throughout its fleet. Several crew members provided internal documentation indicating that Carnival is sending as many as 7,000 termination letters to Carnival officers and crew members.
Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40% off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets. Reuters says Shell’s new cost-cutting review will affect its three main divisions.
Futures are sharply lower after stocks closed broadly lower on Friday. The Dow Industrials dropped 244, the Nasdaq fell a sharp 117 and the S&P 500 was off 37.
