Report card: State education officials are preparing to release the latest data on how well child care centers and schools in Louisiana are educating children. Superintendent of Education John White is set to discuss the figures at a news conference this afternoon. The department says in a news release that the figures will detail how well state education institutions prepared students for “the next level of learning” during the past school year.
Home sales: D.R. Horton Inc. the largest U.S. homebuilder, said Thursday that rising home prices and higher mortgage rates were weighing on demand, particularly for expensive homes, Reuters reports. Mortgage rates are hovering over 5% for the first time in several years, raising concerns about a slowdown in the housing industry, even as the broader U.S. economy expands at a robust pace. Read the full story.
OPEC effect: Oil prices steadied after an eight-day losing streak in New York as OPEC was said to consider cutting output again, offsetting concerns that crude is continuing to pile up in the U.S., Bloomberg reports. Oil prices had slumped last month as fears of a supply squeeze receded, a prospect that was further allayed when the U.S. permitted eight nations to keep buying some crude from Iran despite a new set of sanctions against the country. Read the full story.
