The Petersburg Post

Friday, Dec 19th, 2025 - The Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to a 30-year high on Friday to help curb inflation, as widely expected, and financial markets took the move in stride. The 0.25 percentage point hike took the BOJ's benchmark short-term rate to 0.75%, its highest level since September 1995. It will raise costs for mortgages and other loans, but also boost yields on savings deposits. "It is highly likely that wages and ...

Friday, Dec 19th, 2025 - Housing inventory fell 5.9% in November from October. The median price of a home sold in November, meanwhile, was $409,200, an increase of 1.2% from November 2024. Homes are staying on the market longer, at 36 days compared with 32 days last November. High home prices, stubbornly high mortgage rates and now less supply are all weighing on potential homebuyers. Sales of previously owned homes rose just 0.5% in ...

Thursday, Dec 18th, 2025 - Economists are viewing the delayed November consumer price index report with a dose of skepticism. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the annual headline inflation rate and core CPI rate for last month were 2.7% and 2.6%, respectively, well below expectations. A chief point of concern is the way housing inflation was calculated, specifically the owners' equivalent rent figure for November. Thursday saw ...