Seven out of 10 Californians think kids growing up in the Golden State will be financially worse off than their parents, according to a statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The 71% of adults who share the grim outlook is a record high for the survey, which is in its 25th year. Just 50% of Californians held the same view five years ago.

At the same time, 72% of Californians said they are satisfied with their household’s financial standing and 54% of likely voters said they approved of Governor Gavin Newsom’s handling of jobs and the economy.

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More than half of adults surveyed think things are generally going in the wrong direction in California, and six in 10 likely voters predict bad economic times in the next 12 months.

The sentiment in California mirrors the rest of the nation. Despite strong economic growth and a resilient job market, more middle-class Americans are worried about the state of the economy than a year ago, according to a recent Harris Poll for Bloomberg News. Higher prices for food, gas and rent continue to stretch budgets — the typical American household spends about $730 a month more than last year, according to Moody’s Analytics.

The pessimism comes alongside a worsening housing affordability crisis in the Golden State, already among the nation’s costliest housing markets. The Federal Reserve has raised its key rate to fight inflation, making borrowing more costly for home buyers. At the same time an inventory shortage has propped up prices.

Eight in 10 Californians said they thought the availability of well-paying jobs in their region is a problem, and 21% said the issue has caused them to consider a move out of state. Almost half of lower-income adults under age 35 said they’ve considered moving because of a lack of well-paying jobs.

About half of households earning less than $20,000 said they have been unable to pay a monthly bill or had difficulty paying their rent or mortgage. Three in 10 renters said they have had difficulty paying for housing, compared to 9% of homeowners who said the same.

The survey of 2,250 adults, which includes 1,395 likely voters, was conducted from Oct. 3-19.

Wozniak told the news outlet that he felt dizzy in the morning while working on his computer, followed by a bout of vertigo, and couldn’t walk. At the hospital, an MRI test showed that he’d had a stroke, the tech titan told ABC News via text message. Wozniak said he’s no longer in the hospital and flying back to the United States.

The celebrity news site TMZ and local media in Mexico reported Wednesday that he’d been hospitalized. People from Wozniak’s team flew to the area to check on him and see if he needed to return to the US for further treatment, TMZ reported at the time.

Representatives for Wozniak, 73, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.

Mexico’s Reforma reported earlier that Wozniak was “stable” and receiving “first-class treatment” at the hospital.

Wozniak, known as Woz, co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976. Since leaving the company, he has remained an active entrepreneur and philanthropist.

The average 30-year mortgage rate plunged last week by the most in more than a year, helping generate the biggest advance in home purchase applications since early June.

The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage slid 25 basis points to 7.61%, the lowest level since the end of September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The group’s index of mortgage applications for home purchases increased 3% in the week ended Nov. 3, the data out Wednesday showed.

The second-straight weekly decline in mortgage rates is the first since mid-June and offers modest relief for a struggling housing market. Still, mortgage rates remain uncomfortably high and are discouraging many homeowners who have locked in rates at much lower levels from moving. That’s put pressure on supply and kept prices elevated.

“Looking ahead, we think that we’ve now seen the peak in mortgage rates and anticipate a steady decline over the next two years,” Thomas Ryan, property economist at Capital Economics, said in a note. “Even so, we don’t expect them to fall below 6.0% before end-2025, far higher than the 4.1% average of the 2010s decade. That will keep affordability stretched and dampen any potential of a major recovery in housing activity.”

The Federal Reserve’s decision last week to hold interest rates steady for a second straight meeting is offering some hope for the housing sector. While policymakers reaffirmed they will keep borrowing costs elevated in the near term, real estate stocks rallied last week on speculation the central bank could be nearing the end of its tightening cycle.

That outlook has helped bring the 10-year Treasury yield down from the peaks reached in October. Mortgage rates tend to move in tandem with government yields.

The MBA’s overall index of applications, which includes purchasing and refinancing, rose 2.5% last week from the lowest level since 1995. Refinancing activity also edged up.

The MBA survey, which has been conducted weekly since 1990, uses responses from mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. The data cover more than 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the US.

A casual approach to desk allocation at work poses a risk to the market for office buildings, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.

“Along with work from home, hot desking is one of the most structurally damaging headwinds facing the office market,” Sebastian Isola and colleagues wrote in a note to clients.

“Were it to be adopted more broadly, the reduction in floorspace requirements would likely have a considerable impact on occupational demand,” they said.

The property sector has suffered this year as interest rates have soared, while commercial and office real estate firms have been grappling with the shift toward hybrid working models.

Hot desking — the use of flexible work areas that aren’t assigned to specific employees — appears to be most prevalent in the UK, according to a survey conducted by the bank. Among UK respondents, 30% say it’s been introduced since the coronavirus pandemic versus about 20% in Germany and France and only 13% in the US, they wrote.

To be sure, the survey data suggests hot desking was also popular in Britain pre-Covid, the analysts added.

Still, despite informal desk policies and work-from-home practices in Britain, Morgan Stanley still favors London-focused office stocks. Occupiers are gravitating toward city-center locations that are rich in amenities, they said, keeping overweight ratings on Derwent London Plc, Great Portland Estates Plc and British Land Co. Plc.

All three stocks have suffered double-digit percentage declines this year, as higher rates fuel concerns about debt servicing costs and asset valuations.

Nikki Haley enters the third 2024 Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night riding a wave of momentum generated from two strong previous performances with a political backdrop that’s favorable to her foreign policy strengths, namely the Israel-Hamas conflict.

But Haley’s ascent in polls means that she’s likely to face swipes from the other four GOP White House aspirants on the stage Wednesday in Miami, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom Haley, a former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador, is gaining ground on as the distant runner-up to former President Donald Trump.

The debate is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, Nov. 8, and run for two hours. It will be televised on NBC stations, including KNBC-TV Channel 4 in the Los Angeles market. It will also stream on NBCNews.com and the NBC News NOW streaming platform.

The Republican National Committee is streaming the debate via the Rumble platform and will offer a stream from the RNC web site.

The debate will be broadcast with Spanish translation on the Noticias Telemundo website, as well as its mobile app, and on its social media accounts. Universo, a Spanish-language NBC affiliate, will also translate and broadcast the debate.

The debate will be broadcast on Salem Radio Network stations with host Hugh Hewitt. Salem affiliates in the LA area include KRLA-AM (870), and KKLA-FM (99.5).

NBC anchor Lester Holt and “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker will be the moderators.

The Republican Jewish Coalition is among the sponsors for the forum.  It comes as the nation grapples with how to provide support for Israel, the US’s staunchest Mideast ally, in its war against Hamas, which controls Gaza and has been categorized as a terrorist organization by the US and European Union.

Internally, Republicans are also debating how to provide aid to Israel with party hardliners opposed to sending fresh aid to Ukraine. In addition, a government shutdown could occur on Nov. 17.

Haley and DeSantis will be joined on stage with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and South Carolina US Sen. Tim Scott. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum didn’t qualify, while former Vice President Mike Pence dropped out of the race in late October.

Trump leads the field by a wide margin nationally and in the early primary voting states. Voting kicks off with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15. The former president is skipping a third straight debate and instead is holding a campaign rally in nearby Hialeah, with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former White House press secretary, expected to attend.

Here’s a rundown of what to watch for in Wednesday’s debate:

Israel-Hamas War

On the campaign trail, candidates have displayed opposing positions on how the US should support Israel as an ally and how to deal with threats being faced by millions of Palestinian civilians.

DeSantis has taken a staunch pro-Israel stance, calling for Israel to use “overwhelming force” so that “Hamas terrorist infrastructure and networks are eradicated from the Earth.” He’s also said that the US should only provide supplementary aid for Israel and opposes deploying troops to the Middle East. He’s maintained that the US should not accept Palestinian refugees, saying “they are all antisemitic.”

Haley has been critical of DeSantis calling Palestinians antisemitic and has called for the US to stand with Israel. On the campaign trail, Haley has often cited her strong support for Israel during her time as UN Ambassador.

Haley v. DeSantis

Haley has risen to second place behind Trump in a tie with DeSantis in Iowa, according to the latest Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll released last week. She is also in second place in New Hampshire as well as in her home state of South Carolina, RealClearPolitics polling averages show.

DeSantis’s allied super political action committee has run ads saying Haley is calling for Palestinian refugees to enter the US. Haley has refuted that, saying DeSantis’s team is intentionally misconstruing her words. The two are likely to spar over China as well.

In a memo to donors Monday night obtained by Bloomberg News, DeSantis advisors said Haley and other candidates are “playing the role of spoiler” by increasing the odds of a Trump nomination. DeSantis aims to use an endorsement Monday from Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds to reinvigorate his campaign.

Meanwhile, Scott, who has so far submitted two underwhelming debate performances, is looking to take a more aggressive approach with DeSantis and Haley in Wednesday’s debate, his campaign manager, Jennifer DeCasper, said in a memo released Monday.

IRS Funding, Ukraine Aid

House Republicans, led by new Speaker Mike Johnson, have passed a $14.3 billion Israel aid package tied to cuts in Internal Revenue Service funding that top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said will be dead on arrival. President Joe Biden and some Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have expressed support for linking aid for Israel and Ukraine.

DeSantis has opposed bundling, while Haley has taken more traditional Republican stances on continued support for Ukraine and Israel.

With a government shutdown looming, the candidates will also discuss economic policy. DeSantis has said he would veto bills he deems too costly. Haley said in an interview on Bloomberg Television prior to the second debate that a funding lapse would be “irresponsible and inexcusable.”

Immigration and border security also stand to feature prominently in the debate.

With assistance from Stephanie Lai. Southern California News Group staffer Steven Rosenberg contributed to this report.

Meta Platforms Inc. will soon require advertisers to disclose when political or social issue ads have been created or altered by artificial intelligence, aiming to prevent users from being fooled by misinformation.

The rules, which go into effect in 2024, will require advertisers to disclose when AI or other digital tools are used in Facebook or Instagram ads on social issues, elections or politics, Nick Clegg, the company’s vice president of global affairs, announced Wednesday in a blog post. Advertisers will need to say when AI is used to depict real people doing or saying something they didn’t actually do or when a digitally created person or event is made to look realistic, among other cases.

If advertisers fail to disclose when they are using AI or other digital tools in these types of ads, Meta will reject the message. After repeated failures to disclose the use of these tools, the company can issue penalties against the advertiser. The policy doesn’t apply to small changes such as cropping an image or correcting the color.

Meta’s advertising policy comes as tech companies are grappling with the ripple effects of AI. Earlier this year, Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced a similar policy requiring election advertisers to disclose when their messages have been altered or created by AI. Social media companies also are struggling to keep up with a surge of misinformation proliferating across platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter. In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war for example, video game footage passed off as war action has been circulated on social media apps.

Experts are particularly concerned about the spread of misinformation because social media companies have relaxed some restrictions ahead of the 2024 US election and global elections in Russia, Taiwan, India and other countries. In June, Google’s YouTube said it would stop taking down content that promotes false claims about the 2020 US presidential election. In August, X began allowing political ads again after banning them for several years.

Spending on digital political advertising is estimated to reach $1.2 billion in the 2024 election cycle, according to September projections from AdImpact, which tracks and analyzes the spending.

Meta also said it will continue to use independent fact-checking partners to review misinformation, and will not allow ads to run if they are rated as false, altered, partly false or missing context. If AI is used to alter an ad in a way that can mislead people, the content will not be allowed, the company said.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

US households tapped their credit cards more in the third quarter when strong spending helped to power blockbuster economic growth. But Millennials and people with student debt and auto loans are falling further behind on payments.

Household debt increased by $228 billion last quarter, bringing the total to $17.3 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a report on Tuesday. That included a $48 billion rise in credit-card balances to $1.08 trillion, marking the eighth straight quarter of year-over-year increases, the report found.

Credit-card balances are now $154 billion higher than they were a year ago, the largest annual increase since the New York Fed began tracking the data in 1999, researchers said in a blog post.

“The increase in balances is consistent with strong nominal spending and real GDP growth over the same time frame,” they said in the post. “But credit card delinquencies continue to rise from their historical lows seen during the pandemic and have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels.”

The percentage of debt balances becoming delinquent dropped to historic lows in 2021 as consumers benefited from pandemic aid and forbearance programs that paused payments on student loans and other debt, the researchers said.

But the share of debt becoming newly delinquent is now rising for most types of debt, the report showed. The main exception is student-loan payments, which only returned last month for federal borrowers.

Whether consumers can keep up with their debt payments and continue spending in the face of higher rates, growing obligations and shrinking savings, is something policymakers and economists are watching closely as they evaluate the strength of the economy.

Delinquency transitions are stabilizing for most auto-loan borrowers, but the rate of credit-card debt becoming newly delinquent rose in the third quarter. The increases were largest for Millennial borrowers, or those born between 1980 and 1994, as well as people who also have auto loans and student debt, the researchers found.

Despite the higher delinquency transition rates, overall delinquency levels are still near or below pre-pandemic levels for most types of debt, the report showed.

–With assistance from Alex Tanzi.

Walt Disney Co. named Hugh Johnston as chief financial officer, bringing in an experienced consumer-products leader at a time when it’s seeking a successor to current Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger.

Johnston, 62, currently vice chairman and CFO of PepsiCo Inc., starts on Dec. 4, the company said in a statement on Monday.

With the hire, Disney gets a seasoned executive with a deep resume who has played key roles in operations and M&A, as well as finance, at one of the world’s best-known brands. Iger, Johnston’s new boss, returned to Disney a year ago after his successor was ousted and has a contract running through 2026.

Also see: Earl of Sandwich moving again to make room for Porto’s Bakery at Downtown Disney

“Hugh has had a strong track record,” Citigroup analyst Filippo Falorni said in an email. “He has strong operational experience, which could serve the Walt Disney Co. well as CFO and potentially CEO down the line.”

Disney’s former CFO, Christine McCarthy, stepped down in June, taking a medical leave of absence. She was replaced on an interim basis by Kevin Lansberry, the CFO of Disney’s theme parks division, who is returning to the role.

The Burbank-based company has been struggling with a migration of viewers away from traditional TV channels and ongoing losses in its streaming services such as Disney+.

Iger has said he’ll consider divesting traditional channels, like ABC, and is looking for a strategic investor for ESPN, the company’s sports TV business. He has also announced plans to acquire Comcast Corp.’s one-third stake in the Hulu streaming service — a deal that will cost at least $8.61 billion.

Johnston will be paid a base salary of $2 million and a bonus. He’s also getting a one-time signing bonus of $3 million and a stock award of $14 million.

“Hugh’s well-earned reputation as one of the best CFOs in America and his wealth of leadership experience in both financial and operational roles overseeing a diverse portfolio of top global brands make him a perfect addition to Disney’s senior leadership team,” Iger, 72, said in the statement.

The executive, who first joined Pepsi as a business planner in 1987, has held numerous jobs at the company, including leading its e-commerce division and its Quaker Oats business in North America.

Succession at Disney has been a fraught process. Numerous potential successors to Iger have left, and the February 2020 appointment of Bob Chapek as CEO ended after two and half years with his ouster amid acrimony among divisional executives.

The company is scheduled to report quarterly results on Nov. 8.

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos said he was moving to Miami from the Seattle region, relocating to be closer to his parents and the Cape Canaveral operations of Blue Origin LLC, his space exploration company.

Bezos — the world’s third-wealthiest man, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — made the announcement Thursday via Instagram, which included video of him in his Seattle garage where he founded Amazon in 1994.

“I’ve lived in Seattle longer than I’ve lived anywhere else and have so many amazing memories here,” Bezos said. “As exciting as the move is, it’s an emotional decision for me. Seattle, you will always have a place in my heart.”

Bezos’ Amazon helped transform Seattle — the company is the city’s biggest private employer — into a technology hub with offices in the downtown core. Bezos stepped down as Amazon chief executive officer in 2021 to become the company’s executive chairman. He was succeeded by Andy Jassy.

Bezos bought a seven-bedroom mansion recently in Indian Creek, — a man-made barrier island in the larger Miami area known as the “Billionaire Bunker.” He also owns homes in Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles and Maui, as well as a 300,000-acre ranch in Texas, the base of the launch site for Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

Miami has emerged as a popular destination for elite entrepreneurs. Hedge fund tycoons Ken Griffin, Dan Loeb and Josh Harris have also scooped up lush waterfront Miami Beach mansions since the pandemic. Soccer star Lionel Messi also recently purchased an oceanside mansion in a South Florida suburb after joining Inter Miami of Major League Soccer, the US professional league.

Griffin also moved the global headquarters of his fund to the city from Chicago earlier this year, part of an increasing flow of companies and wealthy newcomers moving to the Miami area. 

One out of every five cars sold in California is now powered by a battery, registration data released Wednesday by the California New Car Dealers Association shows.

In the first nine months of 2023, electric vehicles accounted for 21.5% of cars sold in California, a figure that’s more than doubled in the past two years. When combined with hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles, the year-to-date figure is 35.4%.

Also see: California’s electric-car sales spike shows uprising headed for US

California has long been a champion of electric cars, and Governor Gavin Newsom said he’ll phase out sales of new, gasoline-powered cars by 2035 as part of the state’s fight against climate change. Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. was founded in the state, and the EV adoption curve has accelerated faster in California than in other parts of the country.

Battery-powered cars make up only 7.4% of the overall US auto market, the California report said.

Also see: California scaling back EV rebates to focus on lower-income car buyers

That’s helped the state defy some of the gloom now facing the broader EV market. Both Tesla and conventional automakers have said they’ll slow their investments in battery-powered cars for now, warning that high interest rates and prices are affecting demand.

Tesla’s lead in the California electric-vehicle market has slipped this year, according to the state registration data. Its overall market share fell to 62.9% in the first nine months of 2023, compared to its 71.8% share the year before. Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW both gained ground among EV sellers.

Gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles known as ICE, for their internal combustion engines, made up 62.3% of new vehicle registrations in California during the period. That’s a drop from 71.6% in 2022.

Toyota Motor Corp. remains the best-selling brand in California overall, with 15% market share year to date. Tesla is second with 13.5% thanks to strong sales of the Model Y.