Need to buy a house

Illustration: Michael Houtz When we think about the economy, there’s a tendency to rush headfirst into the swirl of numbers moving up or down each month, plot them on angular charts, and spin out a story of what it all means. Inflation, unemployment, pay raises, gas prices — together, these indicators are supposed to jell into a coherent narrative and tell us where we’re going. The problem with the current economy is that the numbers don’t make any sense. Less than a month ago, some commentators were claiming we were already in a recession , thanks to two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Then the July jobs report hit, showing that the economy had added a staggering 528,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate hit a 53-year low. Prices are high, everything is expensive, and it’s sometimes impossible to find baby formula on the shelves — but for many workers, the pandemic economy has seen the balance of power shift in their favor with more people switching jobs … [Read more...] about Are We in a Recession or a Vibecession?

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Barbara Potts Everyone knows that person who spends weeks sniffing around travel blogs, going deep into Tripadvisor rabbit holes, collecting Google docs from friends of friends, and creating A Beautiful Mind– style spreadsheets to come up with the best vacations /itineraries possible. In this recurring series, we find those people who’ve done all the work for you and have them walk us through a particularly wonderful, especially well-thought-out vacation they took that you can actually steal. As her maternity leave was coming to an end this spring, Barbara Potts, co-founder of Saks Potts , was eager to book a relaxing trip with her boyfriend and their 7-month-old before heading back to work. “Sort of like a baby honeymoon ,” she jokes. Potts, who’s based in Copenhagen, was committed to traveling somewhere restorative — a destination that would satisfy her hankering for peace and quiet, locally produced food, hiking … [Read more...] about I Hiked, Swam, and Picked Capers on Pantelleria for 4 Days

A magnificent home that's currently on the market was originally a bank , and it features original neoclassical details and an interactive vault space. Listed for $765,000, the 6,650-square-foot former Vermont Federal Bank on Main Street in downtown Bennington, VT , has served as Joel Lentzner 's home for many years. “It’s got a tremendous amount of history, and it’s at the center of our downtown,” Lentzner says. “I’m proud of how we’ve taken great effort to preserve the architectural details that are there—instead of just gutting it and making it a new space.” The original details include brass tear gas canisters (which were for protection and are now empty), beaded glass, marble counters, chandeliers, and clocks. “Preserving it was a big part of what we wanted to do," Lentzner says. "We'd love to see that continue with whoever buys it next.” Lentzner bought the property in 1999 and spent the next three years converting the lower level into a 3,700-square-foot … [Read more...] about Inside the Vault: A Former Bank in Vermont Transformed Into a Whimsical Gallery and Home

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democrat who single-handedly thwarted her party’s longtime goal of raising taxes on wealthy investors, received nearly $1 million over the past year from private equity professionals, hedge fund managers and venture capitalists whose taxes would have increased under the plan. For years, Democrats have promised to raise taxes on such investors, who pay a significantly lower rate on their earnings than ordinary workers. But just as they closed in on that goal last week, Sinema forced a series of changes to her party’s $740 billion election-year spending package, eliminating a proposed “carried interest” tax increase on private equity earnings while securing a $35 billion exemption that will spare much of the industry from a separate tax increase other huge corporations now have to pay. The bill, with … [Read more...] about Sinema took Wall Street money while killing tax on investors

Each week, our inbox runneth over with news of gear, apparel and tech releases from around the world. In this feature, we’ll parse through the best of it. Today: Samsung drops its newest lineup of new-age flip phones, Uijo showcases a condiment for your coffee and Bowlus debuts the world’s first all-electric Volterra RV. MEC Classics Collection Dipping into their archives, Candian outdoor label MEC has remade a capsule of their classics in new, sustainably-minded fabrics — most of the pieces are made with materials that are either recycled, organically grown, Fair Trade certified, or bluesign-approved. Basically, it’s gear you can feel good about…and look good in, too. Shop Here Bowlus Volterra Trailer Branded as “the world’s first all-electric RV,” the Bowlus Volterra is a luxury travel companion indeed; with an emergency EV charger, AeroSolar charging technology, Starlink Satellite Internet and a bevy of other features that make camping and travel a breeze, … [Read more...] about Foldable Phones, Java Hot Sauce and an All-Electric RV