Home prices in the U.S. have shot up in the past year, driven by limited supply, record-low interest rates, and buyer demand. Bidding wars have spread in many cities across the US, including long-neglected locales where properties typically sat on the market for months.

U.S. housing starts declined more than expected in April, a possible sign builders are constrained by rising material costs and limited supply of workers. 

Deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic are the nation’s death rate to the highest level seen in nearly two decades.

Food prices have jumped by nearly a third over the past year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, even as pandemic-related job losses are making it harder for families to afford basic staples.

Americans are returning to restaurants, bars and other dining places as Covid-19 restrictions come down, adding new strains in food supply chains.

A flurry of growth in the first three months of the year returned the U.S. economy to a hair below its pre-pandemic size, and economists expect growth to pick up in the current quarter.

Source: “The Madison Weekly Market Wrap”, May, 23 2021.