In 2024, the National Association of Realtors paid $418 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit. Part of the settlement gives homebuyers more leverage over their agents’ compensation, potentially lowering the cost of buying a home. But new research from Texas McCombs shows the settlement may not have gone far enough. John Hatfield, professor of finance, suggests more flexible compensation can benefit sellers as well as buyers. He finds that when properties offer lower commissions to buyer agents, those agents tend to steer their clients away from looking at them. 

Five years ago, in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, Black-founded startups had “a moment” when venture capitalists (VCs) were eager to invest. In the two years after Floyd’s death, the share of VC dollars that went to Black businesses jumped by 43%. Unfortunately for those fledgling companies, and the ones that have followed, that interest and those dollars were short-lived, according to new Cornell research.

Air pollution from oil and gas is causing 91,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of health issues across the United States annually, with Black, Asian, Native American and Hispanic groups consistently the most affected, finds a major new study led by researchers at UCL and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

Commonly attributed to issues such as work dissatisfaction, burnout or lack of purpose, quiet quitting isn’t new. However, in the post-pandemic years, it has seen a definitive resurgence. Researchers think that perceived lack of control plays a role and suggest ways to reduce this workplace phenomenon.