Prepandemic

A couple holds hands as they are married by a county clerk during a Valentine's Day group wedding ceremony on the steps of the Dade County Courthouse in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. U.S. marriages have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels with nearly 2.1 million in 2022, a 4% increase from the year before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report published Friday, March 15, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File…

Metro Denver home sales volume for 2023 lagged behind the totals for the past three years but nearly matched 2019’s sales. According to the December update from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, total sales volumes for the past five years show that 2023’s sales dropped less than 1% from 2019 but 18% from 2022 and 28% from 2021. 2023: $28.4 billion 2022: $34.7 billion 2021: $39.3 billion 2020: $33.3 billion 2019: $28.7 billion During the pandemic, home sales skyrocketed as interest rates hit record lows and…

The Indian PC market (including laptops, notebooks, tablets, and desktops) recorded 3.9 million shipped units and crashed 35% year-on-year. Laptops and tablets declined 41% and 37%, respectively, per Canalys. The market was affected by a short-term slowdown in demand, market saturation, and elevated inventory levels. Still, Q1 of 2023 is well above pre-pandemic levels. HP retained its market-leading position, despite a 30.2% decline in shipments, compared to Q1 of 2022. Lenovo is once again second posting the largest…

HCLTech, India’s third largest IT services company, has updated its performance bonus policy from 100% engagement performance bonus (EPB) to variable pay format, the company said in response to ET queries.ET has reviewed a copy of the email to employees stating the policy change. Employees have been informed that this change is effective from April.This applies to employees in the categories E0-E3 (freshers to project manager levels). The EPB is typically 3-4% of total compensation and is paid out monthly based on the…

A recent study from the University of Waterloo reveals that prior involvement in campus recreational sports can reduce stress and boost academic competence, even during high-stress situations like pandemic lockdowns. The research found that pre-pandemic participation in fitness classes, intramural, and drop-in sports led to decreased stress levels and increased perceived competence in managing challenges and schoolwork during lockdown.A history of participating in campus recreational sports can offset stress and…

After a period of steep inflation, Americans have seen monthly price growth ease, but when will things get back to normal? The inflation benchmark, measuring price growth over a year, hit a 40-year high in June after months of sustained price increases. Since then, monthly gains have slowed. While December 2022 prices were up 6.5% from a year earlier, a Wall Street Journal analysis of Labor Department data indicates that annual growth has eased to levels that existed before the pandemic. Inflation…

Canalys' PC market analysis for Q4 2022 and the full 2022 is out and there are two ways to look at the numbers. While 2021 was a great year for the PC market, fuelled by the pandemic, 2022 saw the enthusiasm cool down. Overall, PC shipments are down 16% year-on-year, but when compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic), they are actually 7% up. Notebooks took the biggest hit with 30% fewer sales in Q4 2022 while for the full 2022, the decline is 19%. Desktops fared slightly better with a 24% decline in Q4 2022 and a 7% decline…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Over the past year, the U.S. has intensely focused on returning to pre-pandemic "normal." As many embrace their prior lives, many voices are missing and being ignored in the national conversation. What about those who were permanently impacted by COVID-19? When COVID-19 first emerged, it was believed…

Tourists visit ice sculptures in Harbin, Heilongjiang province on New Year's Day 2023.China News Service | VCG | Getty ImagesBEIJING — It's going to take time for Chinese consumers to really start spending again, despite China's abrupt shift toward reopening.About a month after Guangzhou city resumed in-store dining, local coffee shop owner Timothy Chong said revenue was recovering — to 50% of normal levels."In late December, customer flow gradually normalized, with a slight upward trend, but business volume still needs…

U.S. unemployment filings rose last week, but remain at historically low levels. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 in the week ended Dec. 17, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims have risen from the spring but remain low, suggesting that employers are holding on to workers despite concerns about an economic slowdown. Last week’s claims number was below the 2019 weekly average of 218,000, when the labor…