Business Highlights
Roundup of top economy stories
SAN FRANCISCO — Airbnb shares more than doubled in price as the home sharing company made its debut Thursday on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Airbnb’s shares closed Thursday at $144.71, giving the company a valuation of $100 billion. San Francisco-based Airbnb raised $3.7 billion in the offering, making it the largest U.S. IPO of the year. Airbnb has never made an annual profit, and its revenue has fallen 32% this year due to the pandemic. But its home rentals are recovering more quickly than hotels as guests flee crowded cities.
••• WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices edged up 0.2% in November as a rise in the cost of energy and a number of other goods offset a drop in food costs.
The gain in the consumer price index followed a flat reading in October and matched the 0.2% September advance, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Still, the increase is far below the 0.6% gains in June and July as the country began to reopen after the pandemic throttled economic activity in the spring.
Overall prices are up a modest 1.2% over the past year while core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, has increased 1.6% over the past 12 months. For November, core inflation was up 0.2%, matching the overall price gain.
In November, food prices dipped 0.1% while energy prices were up 0.4%. The energy gain reflected increases in electricity and natural gas which offset a 0.4% drop in gasoline prices.
Prices in a number of areas did show increases with airline fares, clothing costs, auto insurance and prices for hotel and motel rooms all rising.
The price for used cars and trucks, medical care and new cars declined in November.
••• WASHINGTON — U.S. long-term mortgage rates were unchanged this week, remaining at record low levels against the backdrop of an economy punished by the pandemic. Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate home loan remained at 2.71% from last week. By contrast, the benchmark rate stood at 3.73% a year ago. The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans stayed at 2.26%. Home loan rates have trended downward through most of this year, bolstering demand from would-be homebuyers or people looking to refinance existing mortgages. But home sales have stalled as the lack of available homes for purchase continues to stifle house hunters.
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NEW YORK — The credit card companies Visa and Mastercard says they will no longer allow its customers use the cards to charge for services on the pornographic website Pornhub. The website, which claimed 42 billion visits last year, has been accused of showing videos that depict rape, underage and nonconsensual sex — most prominently in an investigation published last weekend in The New York Times. Mastercard says it has terminated its relationship with Pornhub after its own investigation confirmed violations of standards. Visa says it is still investigating, but suspended use of the card on the site. Pornhub called the decisions “exceptionally disappointing.”