The Daily Money: The name is bond(s)

Well... We made it! Happy Friday! I'm still Elisabeth Buchwald and here are the headlines you need to know as you get ready to power down for the weekend. 

Home prices are plunging at rates seen almost a decade ago as high mortgage rates continue to hurt homebuyers. 

In August, existing homes sales fell 0.4%, marking the seventh straight month of declines and sliding 20% from the same month a year ago. Year-over-year sales dropped from $5.99 million in August 2021 to $4.8 million in 2022.

Meanwhile, the median home price, while still rising 7.7% in August on a year-over-year basis, fell 6% in the past two months. After reaching a record all-time high of $413,800 in June, it dropped to $389,000 in August.

But at the same time, housing inventory is below where it was a year ago. 

The name is bond(s), fixed income bond(s)

There's James Bond and then there are Treasury bonds. Just like James Bond fights evil forces, bonds are helping investors stave off stock market losses. 

The S&P 500 stock dividend yield is around 1.5%, but the guaranteed one-year Treasury pays just more than 4.1%. (The S&P dividend yield is the weighted average of each listed company's most recent annual dividend divided by the current share price). 

That's not always the case. Bonds prices usually rise when stocks fall since they’re often used as a counterbalance to stocks in a portfolio. When bond prices rise yields fall. But as the stock market fell this year, bond prices did as well which pulled yields higher. This happened as a result of uncertainty over interest rates and the economy.

📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰 

College sports sponsorships and taxes:As college athletes cash in on NIL, tax experts and schools remind them to pay Uncle Sam

4-day work week?:UK companies are testing out a 4-day workweek. Most have seen no loss in productivity

Housing market correction?:Here's what experts think is ahead for the real estate market

About The Daily Money 

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

Elisabeth Buchwald is a personal finance and markets correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on Twitter @BuchElisabeth.