Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Wednesday 30 august 2017 BUSINESS
A24
American home prices surge in June, led by Seattle

By JOSH BOAK cording to a Tuesday re- at more than double the man of the index commit- year-over-year. Portland,
AP Economics Writer port. The separate national pace of average hourly tee at S&P Dow Jones Indi- Oregon and Dallas record-
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. average rose as well, put- earnings. ces. ed sizable price growth.
home prices climbed ting it 4.3 points above its Buyers are also relying on “Given current economic But other metro areas are
higher in June with gains housing bubble-era peak historically low mortgage conditions and the tight seeing a more tempered
that are eclipsing income in July 2006. rates to ease the afford- housing market, an im- increase in home values.
growth — creating afford- The price increases are ability pressures. mediate reversal in home Prices rose less than 4 per-
ability pressures for would- different from the bubble Cheaper borrowing costs price trends appears un- cent in the more expensive
be buyers. period, when subprime have kept buyer demand likely,” Blitzer said. New York City and Wash-
The Standard & Poor’s mortgages led to a housing strong despite the price in- The largest price gain over ington, DC markets.
CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20- bust. There is a shortage of creases. the past year occurred in They increased just 2.9 per-
city home price index rose properties for sale, causing Prices are likely to keep ris- the Seattle metro area with cent in Cleveland and 3.2
5.7 percent in June, ac- the prices to steadily rise ing, said David Blitzer, chair- a 13.4 percent increase percent in Chicago.q
Best Buy rolls out consulting service at people’s homes

home” recommenda- ers, and offering more on-
tions. Amazon couldn’t be line services.
reached immediately for Joly said Best Buy would do
comment. more marketing of the in-
So far, Best Buy’s strategies home service.
are resonating with shop- Right now, sales associates
pers. It raised its full-year are promoting it in stores —
profit and revenue outlook when they talk to shoppers
Tuesday after second- about products, they often
quarter results that beat will recommend setting up
Wall Street estimates. Rev- a home visit.
enue at U.S. stores open at Consultation topic range
least a year rose 5.4 per- from getting recommen-
cent, while Wall Street had dations for TVs to stream-
estimated a 2.2 percent ing or smart home servic-
increase. Sales of products es. That complements the
like smart home devices, Geek Squad service, which
mobile phones, and ap- offers tech repairs and at
pliances were especially home installations for a fee.
strong. Online sales soared The salespeople for the
about 31 percent. new home service are be-
Edward Calixto walks out of a Best Buy store with his purchased LED TV, in Hialeah, Fla. Best Buy “I see a wealth of opportu- ing paid a salary or receive
Co., Inc. reports earnings, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. nity to push the company hourly wages, not commis-
(AP Photo/Alan Diaz) forward,” Joly said. sions, spokesman Jeffrey
By A. D’INNOCENZIO Buy CEO Hubert Joly said up its customer service in Skeptics had been pre- Shelman confirmed.
AP Retail Writer Tuesday that the service is the appliance areas of its pared to write Best Buy’s “There are large groups of
NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy a way to unlock “latent” stores. This fall, it’s show- obituary just a few years customers who feel more
is rolling out a free service customer demand — the casing experiences of ago, predicting it would confident buying online
next month where sales- company has found that voice-activated devices follow its now-defunct ri- from Best Buy than other
people will sit with custom- shoppers spend more at from the likes of Amazon’s val Circuit City as shoppers e-commerce only mer-
ers at their own homes to the home than they do at Alexa-controlled Echo and used stores as a brows- chants, mainly because
help make recommenda- the stores. Google Assistant at 700 ing showroom and then Best Buy has stores where
tions on TVs, streaming ser- Best Buy, the nation’s larg- stores. bought online. they can seek advice, re-
vices and more. est consumer electronics Amazon, though, has re- But the company has cut solve problems, and return
The service, which was retailer, is trying to make portedly also been trying costs and improved stores items if needed,” wrote Neil
tested in five markets, will itself indispensable to shop- out a program that sends and training. Best Buy is also Saunders, managing direc-
be expanded to more cit- pers as people shop more its employees to shop- working to forge deeper tor of GlobalData Retail in
ies around the country. Best online. It’s been beefing pers’ houses for free “smart partnerships with its suppli- an analyst note.q

Renault-Nissan, China’s Dongfeng announce e-car venture

BEIJING (AP) — Automak- announced Tuesday. Pro- have supported sales with Renault SA and Nissan new joint venture with
ers Renault and Nissan say duction is due to begin in subsidies to buyers, while a Motor Corp. have a wide- Dongfeng confirms our
they will develop electric 2019. Global automakers proposed quota system will ranging alliance to share common commitment to
cars with a Chinese state- are investing heavily to de- require automakers to meet technology and produc- develop competitive elec-
owned partner, adding to velop electric vehicles for targets for electric vehicle tion that also includes Mit- tric vehicles for the Chinese
a series of tie-ups between China, responding to rising production or buy credits subishi Motors Corp. and market,” said Carlos Ghosn,
global auto brands and lo- demand and government from competitors that do. has more limited ties with chairman and CEO of the
cal partners in the biggest pressure on the industry to Sales of pure-electric and other auto brands. Renault-Nissan alliance, in
electric vehicle market. speed up technology de- gasoline-electric hybrids in Dongfeng assembles ve- a statement.
The venture Dongfeng Mo- velopment. China rose 50 percent last hicles for Nissan, Kia and Ford Motor Co. announced
tor Corp. aims to develop Chinese planners see elec- year over 2015 to 336,000 other foreign brands and last week it was looking at
a vehicle based on an SUV trics as a promising indus- vehicles, accounting for 40 owns a share of France’s setting up a possible elec-
platform shared by Renault try and a way to clean up percent of global demand. PSA Peugeot Citroen. tric car venture with a Chi-
and Nissan, the companies smog-choked cities. They U.S. sales totaled 159,620. “The establishment of the nese partner. q