CNN Business | The new rules of buying and selling a house in a coronavirus world

(CNN) – Thinking it might be time to start shopping for a home?

The real estate market seized up after the stay-at-home orders in March, and it is now slowly coming back to life in various parts of the country. But house hunting might look different than before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

The rules about how showings and closings can take place and what agents can do will vary depending on local public health regulations, real estate association guidelines and individual comfort levels.  —more—

CNN health | The psychological benefits of prayer: What science says about the mind-soul connection

(CNN) – Carol Kochon prayed during her husband’s 42-day hospitalization for Covid-19.

Susceptible to lung infections, Rob Kochon had been feeling sick and developing shortness of breath for about four days when he was was admitted to a Florida hospital on Tuesday, March 17. He was diagnosed with double pneumonia.

The next day, a coronavirus test came back positive. On Friday, Rob was relocated downtown to AdventHealth Orlando so he could be intubated. On March 29, he flatlined three times after mucus blocked his lungs.  —more—

CNN Business | United is mortgaging its frequent flyer program to raise $5 billion

New York (CNN Business) – United Airlines is mortgaging its Mileage Plus frequent flyer program, its latest effort to raise the cash it needs to weather the Covid-19 crisis.

The term loan will come from Goldman Sachs (GS), Barclays (BCS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), and it will take seven years to repay. The interest rate was not disclosed. United says between this and an additional $4.5 billion in federal loans for which it expects to be eligible, it estimates it will have $17 billion in cash on hand by the end of September, roughly three times the normal cash it carries.

US air travel is down about 80% compared to a year ago in the most recent estimates, but that indicates some modest rebound in demand for air travel from earlier this spring, when United and other carriers reported air travel demand was “virtually zero.”  —more—

CNN Business | Airbnb is making a huge comeback

New York (CNN Business) – Here’s another sign that summer travel is rebounding: Airbnb said it’s experiencing a surge in bookings as customers emerge from several months of being cooped up in their homes because of Covid-19.

Airbnb revealed that it had more US bookings between May 17 and June 3, which encompassed Memorial Day on May 25, than the same time period a year earlier. That signals Americans are ready to travel, albeit primarily within the United States.

CEO Brian Chesky said he’s noticed travelers are preferring to stick to drivable domestic destinations within 200 miles of their home. The malaise of international travel restrictions is making it difficult for people to explore outside of their home countries.–more—

CNN politics | US black-white inequality in 6 stark charts

(CNN) – The nationwide protests following the death of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of white police officers has once again shone a spotlight on the long-standing racial divide in the US.

This, along with the coronavirus pandemic that has disproportionately killed black Americans, has drawn renewed attention to the persistent inequities in wealth, health and opportunity between blacks and whites despite economic prosperity of recent years.

Those disparities exist because of a long history of policies that excluded and exploited black Americans, said Valerie Wilson, director of the program on race, ethnicity and the economy at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning group.–more—

CNN Business Risk Takers | They’re famous for their investments. But Warren Buffett and Masa Son keep striking out

New York (CNN Business)  SoftBank is often described as the Berkshire Hathaway of tech. That was once a flattering comparison. But the investing track records for the Japanese firm run by Masayoshi Son and Berkshire’s Warren Buffett have soured lately.

SoftBank (SFTBF) has been hit hard by the huge drop in the share prices of public companies in its portfolio such as Uber (UBER) and Slack (WORK), as well as the massive haircut in valuations of private unicorn startups like WeWork, DoorDash and Indian hotel company Oyo.

Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) has had notable misfires of its own, such as scandal-ridden bank Wells Fargo (WFC) and struggling food giant Kraft Heinz (KHC).

Berkshire also disclosed last Friday that it dumped nearly all its stake in investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS), which has been hit hard this year in the broader market turmoil.  —more—

CNN Business | Airbnb hosts are planning to sell off their properties because of the pandemic

(CNN Business)  Amy Offield always dreamed of running a vacation rental in Galveston, Texas. Five years ago, she and her husband Chris got their wish and bought a house there minutes away from the beach. They immediately began restoring the property, which she named the “Blue Skies Beach Bungalow,” adding vintage items as well as retro and bright-colored decor.

But as coronavirus spread across the United States in March, Offield, who has been a full-time Airbnb host for nearly two years, started seeing a wave of cancellations. When Galveston temporarily shut down short-term rentals as part of its stay-at-home order, Offield switched her Airbnb to a 30-day stay, the minimum required to be considered a long-term listing. She didn’t get a single reservation, and her beach bungalow has stood empty for two months.  —more—

CNN Opinion | It’s time to throw the school calendar out the window

(CNN)  America’s young people need to get back to school in person. There is no substitute for them interacting with each other. It’s how human beings are wired.

Given what we think we know about the coronavirus, that the rate of infection has slowed but that — as Dr. Anthony Fauci has said — another wave of infection is likely later in the year, the goal should be to reopen in late summer — an approach that colleges like Notre Dame and several others have said recently they are adopting: open school a couple of weeks earlier than usual, cancel fall break to reduce student travel and shorten the term to finish before Thanksgiving.  —more—

CNN Business | Federal student loans will be cheaper than ever

Students taking on federal student loans this year will benefit from the lowest interest rates in history.

This offers some consolation to families who are struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic and facing the daunting cost of a higher education.–more—

CNN politics | 5 takeaways from the first Senate hearing on the coronavirus relief bill

Washington (CNN)  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell were front-and-center Tuesday at the first Senate hearing on how the $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package is being implemented.

Lawmakers are already considering making technical changes to some of the stimulus programs as well as whether another stimulus package will be needed to save the economy from collapse.

Here are five takeaways from the Senate Banking Committee hearing:  —more—