Standoff: Oil prices rose this morning as tensions between Russia and the West ratcheted up, adding to supply concerns that have kept oil prices near $100 a barrel, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures jumped $1.23, or 1.3%, to $94.77 a barrel by 1300 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.13, or 1.2%, to $92.20 a barrel. Read more.
Decline: In early February, PayPal executives issued a warning during the company’s earnings call that consumer spending is about to decline, and possibly in an extreme manner, CNBC reports. Chief Financial Officer John Rainey blamed that on a combination of the omicron surge and inflation. Read more.
Going up: In the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, median rent rose an astounding 19.3% from December 2020 to December 2021, according to a Realtor.com analysis of properties with two or fewer bedrooms. And nowhere was the jump bigger than in the Miami metro area, where the median rent exploded to $2,850, 49.8% higher than the previous year. Read more.
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