Missing the mark: A pair of real-estate economists say many home builders aren’t doing a good job of determining what home buyers want. The Wall Street Journal reports that Nela Richardson, chief economist for brokerage Redfin Corp., and Selma Hepp, chief economist for Zillow Group’s Trulia real-estate website, say builders aren’t constructing enough entry-level housing to meet demand. Instead, builders are focusing more of their resources on building pricey homes for buyers with ample credit, they say. “If there is any speculation in building, it’s going to be toward the higher end,” Richardson said during a panel discussion at the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ annual conference in Miami. Read the full story.
Keeping tabs: News Corp. is winding down sales of custom-made tablet computers after few schools bought the devices—once central to the company’s goal of overhauling U.S. education—two people familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg. The media company, whose executive chairman is billionaire Rupert Murdoch, is no longer ordering new tablets from its manufacturer in Asia, though it has stock on hand for existing school customers, according to the people, who declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. By the end of this month, New York-based News Corp. will have invested more than $1 billion in Amplify, its education division, which sells a digital curriculum and testing services in addition to the tablets. Bloomberg has the full story.
Bidding process: FedEx has asked the European Union’s competition regulator to approve its 4.4-billion-euro ($4.9 billion) bid for Dutch rival TNT Express. Reuters reports the deal, which will combine FedEx’s air fleet with TNT’s sizeable European road network, will extend FedEx’s reach in competition with United Parcel Service and Deutsche Post. FedEx submitted its request to the European Commission today, spokeswoman Nira Gale says. The EU competition authority’s preliminary review takes 25 working days, which can be extended by another 10 working days if concessions are offered to head off regulatory worries. FedEx will seek clearance from the Dutch financial market authority AFM before June 30, with the offer expected to close in the first half of 2016, Gale says. Reuters has the full story.
