Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - The pros get played

Big money has spent a fortune snapping up homes in recent years. Now regular folks are outsmarting the pros. First-time buyers and small investors have the upper hand on supposedly sophisticated players that badly misjudged the US housing market. More than a decade ago, Arizona was at the center of a foreclosure wave that hit local borrowers the hardest. Private equity firms swept into Arizona and other once-hot US markets, buying at pennies on the dollar. This time, it’s the so-called smart money that’s getting played, with a new pattern unfolding across the Sun Belt—and especially in Phoenix. —Natasha Solo-Lyons

The share of Americans who say they live paycheck-to-paycheck climbed last year, and most of the new arrivals in that category were among the country’s higher earners.  

Fed chair Jerome Powell and Wall Street may be headed for another face-off this week as the central bank seeks to slow its inflation-fighting campaign without signaling a readiness to stop. Investors are hoping fading inflation will allow the central bank to soon cease raising rates—and even cut them later this year.

Jerome Powell  Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

Investors flocking to the recent equity rally will be disappointed as they’re in direct defiance of the Fed, according to Morgan Stanley strategists. January’s rising tide “has started to convince many investors they are missing something—compelling them to participate more actively,” a team led by Michael Wilson wrote in a note. It’s a mistake.

As if on cue, US stocks declined Monday as investors turned cautious going into an eventful week that includes the Fed’s rate decision and some big-tech reports. The Nasdaq 100 suffered its worst day since Dec. 22 while the S&P 500 fell the most since Jan. 18. Declines in Apple and Microsoft weighed on both indexes. Here’s your markets wrap.

More than half of workers in major US cities went to the office last week, the first time return-to-office rates crossed 50% of their pre-pandemic levels. An index of building occupancies in 10 major metro areas increased 0.9 percentage points to 50.4% in the week ended Jan. 25, according to security firm Kastle Systems. Is WFH on the way out?

A worker heads into an office building in San Francisco’s financial district. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Twitter made its first interest payment on the $12.5 billion in debt Elon Musk used to take the social media giant private last year. The company paid a group of seven banks, led by Morgan Stanley, which were stuck with the debt after being unable to dump it. 

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding will invest about $400 million in Adani Enterprises’ follow-on share sale, voicing confidence in Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s embattled business empire after almost $70 billion was wiped off its market value.

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After a tumultuous few years, Southeast Asia’s popular city and seaside destinations are set for a big tourism comeback in 2023. In addition to Asian residents getting back to their favorite hot spots, more international tourists are planning a return to long-haul vacations, hoping to lounge on white-sand beaches and splash in turquoise waves. Here’s a look at some of the most promising beachside resorts set to open there.

A rendering of a planned villa at Pavilions Anambas, a new resort in Indonesia’s northernmost archipelago. Source: Bloomberg

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