A new low: The proportion of U.S. households that own homes has matched its lowest level in 51 years—evidence that rising property prices, high rents and stagnant pay have made it hard for many to buy. The Associated Press reports that roughly 63% of households owned a home in the April-June quarter this year, a decrease from 63.4% some 12 months ago, the Census Bureau says. The share of homeowners now equals the rate in 1965, when the census began tracking the data.The trend appears most pronounced among millennial households, many of whom are straining under the weight of rising apartment rents and heavy student debt. Their homeownership rate fell 0.7 percentage points over the past year to 34.1%. That decline may reflect, in part, more young adults leaving their parents’ homes for rental apartments. The Associated Press has the full story.
Flipping burgers: Chipotle is branching out from burritos and plans to open its first burger restaurant, The Associated Press reports. Company spokesman Chris Arnold says Chipotle’s first Tasty Made burger restaurant will open this fall in Lancaster, Ohio. The menu will be limited to burgers, fries and milkshakes. The move comes at time when Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. already has its hands full trying to recover after E. coli and norovirus cases sent sales plunging starting last fall. The company has been giving away coupons for free burritos and stepping up marketing to win back customers, but sales were still down 24% at established locations in the second quarter. Given its struggles, Chipotle said last week that it was assessing its plans for future restaurant openings with “a more conservative lens.” Read the full story.
Maybe, maybe not: A regulatory filing says Boeing could end production of its iconic 747 aircraft, as the world’s biggest plane maker faces falling orders and pricing pressure, Reuters reports. “If we are unable to obtain sufficient orders and/or market, production and other risks cannot be mitigated, we could record additional losses that may be material, and it is reasonably possible that we could decide to end production of the 747,” the company says, adding that it had canceled plans to increase production of the 747 to one plane per month from 2019, and stuck to its plan of halving the production rate in September. “On the 747 program, we decided to reduce future production expectations and revenue assumptions to account for current and anticipated weakness in the air cargo market,” Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said on a post-earnings call with analysts. Reuters had the full story.
