Royal Bank of Canada has agreed to buy the Canadian unit of the British banking and financial-services giant HSBC Holdings PLC for 13.5 billion Canadian dollars, equivalent to US$10 billion.
Life Insurance Payouts
U.S. life insurers paid a record $100 billion in 2021 in death benefits, an 11% increase. The increase was on the heels of a 15% year-over-year rise in 2020, when death-benefit payments totaled $90.43 billion.
Fortress Kushner
Fortress Investment Group has agreed to help finance Kushner Cos.’ unsolicited $4.3 billion bid to buy rival apartment building owner Veris Residential Inc.
Investor Homes
Investor buying of homes tumbled 30% in the third quarter. Companies bought around 66,000 homes in the 40 markets tracked during the third quarter as compared with 94,000 homes during the same quarter a year ago.
Mutual Funds
Investors have poured more than $86 billion into U.S. equity mutual and exchange-traded funds in 2022. That is on track to mark the second-highest sum since 2013, following last year’s inflows of $156 billion.
Home Sales
Home sales fell for a ninth straight month in October as high mortgage rates continue to push buyers out of the market.
SFO ATL MSP
San Francisco airport took first place in The Wall Street Journal’s first ranking of the country’s busiest airports since 2019. Atlanta and Minneapolis filled out the top three.
HELOC Draws
Americans took out $66 billion in home-equity lines of credit in the second quarter, a 40% increase from a year ago and the largest amount in almost three years.
World Population
The population of the planet is set to hit 8 billion Tuesday, according to projections from the United Nations that forecast the number will grow to 8.5 billion by 2030 as life expectancy rises.
Miami Beach Development
Miami Beach voters in a series of referendums last week derailed three major real-estate projects from top U.S. developers, reflecting a budding backlash against certain new development plans for the city.