In a hopeful sign for buyers, the median price dipped slightly

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• New home sales slowed in July 2025, falling to an annual rate of 652,000 units, down 0.6% from June and 8.2% lower than a year earlier.

• Inventory levels rose to 499,000 homes for sale, a 7.3% increase from July 2024, pushing supply to 9.2 monthsthe highest in more than a year.

• Prices declined as market pressures mounted, with the median sales price slipping to $403,800, nearly 6% below July 2024 levels.

The U.S. housing market continued to lose momentum in July, as new home sales slipped while inventories climbed to their highest levels in more than a year, according to data released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

New single-family home sales in July 2025 fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 652,000 units, down 0.6% from Junes revised pace of 656,000. Compared with the same month a year earlier, sales were off 8.2%, reflecting a broader slowdown in buyer demand amid elevated mortgage rates and affordability concerns.

While sales have softened, the number of new homes available on the market is climbing. At the end of July, there were 499,000 houses for sale, a 7.3% increase from July 2024.

Big rise in inventories

That level translates into a 9.2-month supply of homes at the current sales rate, up sharply from 7.9 months a year earlier. The supply measure, closely watched by economists as a gauge of market balance, has been trending higher throughout 2025, suggesting that builders are facing more difficulty moving inventory.

The combination of slower sales and rising inventory is putting pressure on prices. The median sales price of new houses sold in July fell to $403,800, down 0.8% from June and nearly 6% below the year-earlier level of $429,000. The average sales price also declined, dropping 3.6% month over month and 5% year over year to $487,300.

Market outlook

Analysts say the latest figures highlight the shifting dynamics in the housing market. While new home construction has boosted supply, affordability challenges and cautious buyers are limiting sales, leading to an accumulation of inventory. If the trend persists, price adjustments could deepen in the coming months, providing some relief for prospective buyers but straining homebuilders margins.

Food products will get more focus after the split

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Kraft Heinz plans to split into two separate companies by 2026.

• One company will focus on Heinz ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Philadelphia cream cheese, while the other will manage staples like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles, and Lunchables.

• Shoppers shouldnt see immediate changes, but the move is aimed at making each brand stronger in stores.

The maker of Heinz ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Oscar Mayer hot dogs is breaking up. Kraft Heinz announced it will split into two companies in 2026, a move it says will give its brands more focus and allow them to grow faster.

The split will divide the companys products into two groups:

• Global Taste Elevation Co.: This company will handle sauces, spreads, and ready meals including household staples like Heinz, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Philadelphia cream cheese. These brands are already found in pantries worldwide and will get more investment in international markets and food-service outlets.

• North American Grocery Co.: This side of the business will keep many of the U.S. and Canadian everyday favorites, such as Oscar Mayer lunch meats, Kraft Singles, and Lunchables. The company says it will continue to focus on family-friendly convenience foods that dominate grocery store shelves.

What shoppers can expect

For now, shoppers likely wont notice any immediate difference in the products they buy. Prices, packaging, and store availability will stay the same while Kraft Heinz works through the transition. The company insists the split is about making sure each group of brands gets the attention it needs to stay competitive and relevant.

Still, the change could pave the way for more product launches, quicker updates to packaging, and expanded options in grocery stores. For example, sauces and spreads could see new global flavors under Heinz, while Lunchables and Kraft Singles may branch into new convenience formats.

Kraft Heinz executives say the current structure makes it hard to give every brand the right resources. By splitting up, they hope each company can focus on what it does best: global growth for Heinz and Philadelphia, and everyday convenience for Kraft Singles and Oscar Mayer.

This move will unleash the power of our brands, said CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera, who will lead North American Grocery Co. after the separation.

The transition is expected to wrap up in the second half of 2026. Shoppers may start hearing new company names and seeing brand updates before then, but the foods themselves will remain the same.

Many seniors are already cutting cut back on essentials like groceries and medications.

• Social Security benefits are expected to rise by about 2.7% in 2026, equating to roughly a $54 monthly boostbut rising Medicare costs threaten to eat most of it.

• Medicare PartB premiums are projected to climb 11.6%, from $185 to about $206.50/month, which alone could consume nearly 40% of the COLA increase.

• Broader healthcare expense hikesincluding rising PartD costs, deductibles, and outofpocket expensesare already pushing many seniors to cut back on essentials like groceries and medications.

Current projections indicate that Social Security recipients could receive a 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2026, slightly up from last years 2.5 %a modest gain that may nonetheless prove insufficient in the face of surging healthcare costs.

That projected increase would translate to approximately $54 more per month for an average beneficiary. However, as Medicare PartB premiums are set to rise 11.6%, increasing by $21.50/month to $206.50, Social Security checks may only gain $3233 neterasing nearly 40% of that new income.

And PartB premiums arent the only concern. Medicare PartD costs are also expected to increasearound 6% in premiumsand deductibles and other outofpocket costs, such as those for medications or services, are also on the rise. Moreover, the PartB deductible is projected to jump from $257 to $288, an 11.2% increase in itself, according toInvestopedia.

Effects are being felt

The rising burden is already having real effects: A recent nationwide survey found over half of retirees are cutting discretionary spending, and notably, more than one-third are forced to trim essentials like groceries and medical careall while COLA increases lag behind rising inflation and healthcare costs.

Experts warn that the disconnect between broad inflation measures (like the CPIW, which drives COLA) and the actual spending patterns of retireesespecially on healthcaremeans that many seniors will see little to no real improvement in their budgets in 2026, Barron'srecently reported.

Whats at stake?

Even with a COLA bump, rising medical costsespecially those automatically deducted from benefitsmean that many retirees will struggle to feel any real financial benefit next year. As the mismatch between inflation measures and seniors actual spending grows, advocates are pushing for a revision of how COLA is calculated or better indexing to retirees cost burdensparticularly healthcare.

Senior advocacy groups say none of this should surprise anyone.
Social Security checks arent keeping up with inflation. If four in five seniors think inflation was higher than the government reported in 2024, maybe we should stop questioning their experiences and start questioning why the COLA is failing to measure them, saidShannon Benton, executive director of the Senior Citizens League.

Age verification, other restrictive tools can block worthwhile content

• Public Knowledge says child safety bills across the U.S. are well-intentioned but overly broad, threatening privacy and free expression.

• A new white paper calls for tech companies to design safer products by default and apply age checks only where risks warrant them.

• The group warns that sweeping verification lawslike those in Texas, Mississippi, and the U.K.set troubling precedents that may harm both kids and adults.

As lawmakers race to pass child safety laws aimed at protecting kids online, a study warns that the cure may be worse than the disease. The non-profit research organization Public Knowledge argues in a white paper released earlier this yearthat blunt-force age verification mandates risk undermining privacy, free expression, and access to beneficial online content.

Instead of treating all internet use as equally dangerous, the group advocatesa risk-based framework that places responsibility squarely on tech companies to design safer platforms by default. Well-intentioned efforts to protect young users too often miss the point, the report concludes, noting that compulsive design features, predatory interactions, and poor privacy protections drive the most serious harmsnot mere access to controversial content.

Verification vs. assurance

Central to the debate is the difference between age verificationchecking a government ID to confirm exact ageand age assurance, a spectrum of less invasive methods such as behavioral analysis, account history, or machine learning age estimates. Public Knowledge argues for scaling these approaches: lighter touch for low-risk activities like browsing educational material, but stronger safeguards for high-risk features such as livestreaming or stranger-to-stranger messaging.

Courts, states, and the coming federal push

Momentum for strict laws is already building. The U.S. Supreme Court this summer upheld Texass requirement for age checks to access pornography, a ruling that lowers constitutional scrutiny for online restrictions. Soon after, it declined to block Mississippis social media verification law. At least two dozen states now mandate or are advancing similar rules, raising fears that adults could soon have to prove they are old enough to use the internet at all.

Public Knowledge warns of the privacy fallout, citing recent hackslike the leak of government IDs from a dating app that required women to submit proof of identityas evidence that mandatory ID submission is a data breach waiting to happen.

The report points to the U.K.s Online Safety Act, in effect since July, as a cautionary tale. While intended to protect children from harmful material, its rollout has triggered chaos: platforms blocking everything from protest videos to support groups for quitting smoking or drinking, and millions of users turning to VPNs to skirt restrictions.

A smarter alternative

Public Knowledge calls on U.S. lawmakers to resist copy-paste solutions and instead regulate features that drive harm. Infinite scroll, manipulative notifications, and algorithmic recommendations are among the design choices the group says should be age-gated or re-engineered with safety in mind. Meanwhile, less risky functions should remain open, preserving kids ability to learn and explore while protecting adults rights to free expression.

The white paper will be formally presented September 8 at a Washington, D.C. event titled The Kids Arent Alright Online: Building a Safer, Better Internet.

Salesforce data breach has exposed Gmail users' passwords

By Truman Lewis of ConsumerAffairs

Google is warning the 2.5 billion Gmail users to change their passwords or switch to using passkeys after a surge in phony emails that followed a massive data breach at Salesforce.

All Gmail users should be careful browsing through their emails and should be alert to potentially bogus messages, Google warned. The company said there had been a surgery in effective and convincing phishing attacks targeting Gmail and Google Workspace users.

No passwords were leaked in the Salesforce breach but there was enough customer information to enable tricksters to compose convincing-sounding emails. The emails generally impersonate a company's IT support desk and try to convince users to download malicious software.

Some of the phony emails appear to come from Google itself and use phrases like "suspicious sign-in prevented." In another example, one email said that Google had been served with a subpoena that required it to release information contained in the user's email account.

The message: Don't share any information, including account numbers of passwords with anyone who telephones, emails or texts you. Ignore or delete texts or emails and do not click on any links contained in them. Google will never call you unprompted and neither will most government agencies or corporations. Deal only with people you know and trust.