Bloomberg The recent calm in global markets owes a lot to the U.S. consumer, with payroll gains and rising retail sales helping to buoy the world’s largest economy in June. Yet there’s one big weak spot: slowing car sales, and it’s not clear which market segment will pick up this slack. Crucially, demand for cars has propped up the …

  AP Americans bought new homes in June at the fastest pace in more than eight years, a sign that a solid job market and low mortgage rates are bolstering the U.S. housing market. The Commerce Department said that new-home sales rose 3.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 592,000, the best level since February 2008. Purchases …

  Bloomberg Apartment construction in New York and San Francisco is taking its toll on landlords, with Equity Residential, the largest publicly traded U.S. multifamily owner, cutting its revenue forecast for the third time this year. Equity Residential expects revenue growth from properties open at least a year to be 3.5 percent to 4 percent in 2016, according to the …