Salary: Louisiana’s new state education superintendent will receive a $285,000 salary under a pay plan approved today by state lawmakers. Cade Brumley, who has worked as superintendent of Jefferson Parish schools, was chosen last week by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to oversee public schools statewide. Brumley still needs Senate confirmation for the job, which will be considered over the next week. Read the full story.
Real estate: U.S. new home sales ticked up 0.6% in April, a surprising gain amid the coronavirus outbreak that hints at the relative health of potential buyers. The Commerce Department reported today that sales of new single-family homes rose slightly to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 623,000 last month. This followed a decline of 13.7% in March as businesses and schools were closed in an effort to contain the virus. Over the past 12 months, sales are down 6.2%. However, these numbers reflect nationwide sales, not those in the Baton Rouge area. See the full report.
Positive change: U.S. consumer confidence inched up this month, showing signs of stabilizing, but remained near a six-year low in the face of the widespread business shutdowns that have sent the economy into recession. The Conference Board said today that its confidence index ticked up to a reading of 86.6 in May from 85.7 in April. Read the full story.
