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By Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief

What's Happening Today

The hot housing market is finally starting to cool. Existing home sales dropped 2.4% last month to their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic, according to the National Association of Realtors. Median home prices are up nearly 15% since last year, sitting at $391,200. Rising mortgage rates have been weighing on homebuying interest the last few months.

And in some good news to kick off the weekend, U.S. stock markets are making a recovery today after another week of losses in equities over concerns about inflation and a potential recession. Markets are getting a lift after China's central bank cut interest rates for mortgages. Rising rates of inflation around the world have put pressure on consumers and markets amid concerns about the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy to fight inflation while avoiding an economic slowdown.

The energy, tech, and communication sectors are leading the gains today, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up over 1%, after sell-offs slammed tech stocks earlier this week. However, even with today's gains so far, the S&P 500 still remains within striking distance of a bear market (a drop of 20% from a most recent high).

- Kristin

Editors' Picks

Even as Gas Prices Rattle Economy, Americans Can't Stay Off the Road (The Washington Post)

Seeing Is Believing: Supply Chains Remain Tangled (The Balance)

Biden's Student Loan Plan Is Personal for 30 Top Aides With Millions in Debt (Bloomberg)

Americans Quitting Therapy Due to Rising Costs, Survey Shows (The Balance)

How To Handle Sales Taxes When You Sell Across State Lines (The Balance)

How To Get a Home Equity Loan if You're Unemployed (The Balance)

How To Repay a HELOC (The Balance)

Off the Charts

You've seen the effects of supply chain woes: relentlessly higher gas prices, bare shelves where baby formula should be. Unfortunately, a new economic index confirms that supply chain problems aren't getting better.

The New York Federal Reserve's new Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, launched this week, shows that supply chain delays got worse in April after having dropped considerably from the peak they reached in December 2021.

Number of the Day

That's the unemployment rate to keep watch for in the next three months—if it ticks up to that, an economic recession is likely imminent, according to one analysis.