| There’s some indication that the blood sport that is finding an affordable place to live in America may soon get a little less vicious. For the first time in two years, US consumers say they expect home prices to fall over the next 12 months. An August survey by Fannie Mae found that respondents see a 0.4% decline in housing prices compared with the prior month’s expectations for a 1.9% increase. Consumers also anticipate that rental price growth will slow. As for the broader fears of a housing crisis in America, Jared Dillian writes in Bloomberg Opinion that it’s not a crisis—it’s just a slump. The reason? Leverage, he says. —David E. Rovella Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts. Maybe it was a bear market rally after all. A panoply of risks spanning Federal Reserve monetary tightening, Europe’s energy crisis and China’s economic slowdown are all at play as mid-August sunshine gives way to September storm clouds. But at the close Wednesday, things were looking up. Here’s your markets wrap. One week into Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian invaders, the operation’s limited scale and goals in the south are becoming clearer, together with Russia’s response as the two sides head toward a brutal winter. Back at the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin is planning a meeting with China’s Xi Jinping as he taps Russian ally North Korea for more weapons.  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Russky Island near Vladivostok, Russia in 2019. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said a Chinese invasion of Taiwan remains a “distinct threat,” while insisting that the Biden administration hasn’t changed its position over the island democracy’s status. Depression, anxiety, worries about the pandemic and other sources of distress prior to getting Covid-19 may increase the chance of developing long Covid. In the US, hospitalizations and deaths have declined slightly over the past several weeks, with confirmed daily fatalities averaging 342 per day. Worldwide, daily confirmed deaths have fallen slightly as well, to about 1,000. Almost 6.5 million people have been confirmed to have died from the coronavirus, though the actual number is likely much higher. Just days after Donald Trump-appointed judge Aileen Cannon’s unorthodox ruling in his favor hobbled a criminal probe of the handling of state secrets, the Washington Post reported that among the files found in Trump’s home were descriptions of nuclear weapons systems of another country, among the most closely guarded types of intelligence held by the US government.
Another federal judge in Texas Wednesday ruled the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for free coverage of groundbreaking HIV prevention drugs “substantially burdens” the religious freedom of a Christian-owned company. Reed O’Connor, appointed to the bench by George W. Bush, largely sided with plaintiff’s attorney Jonathan Mitchell, a former solicitor general of Texas known for his efforts to restrict abortion access. Mitchell argued that mandatory PrEP coverage forces Christians to subsidize “homosexual behavior.” The ruling may also have other negative consequences for the landmark healthcare law as a whole. A fan of Margaret Thatcher, Liz Truss now has something in common with the late UK prime minister: the sterling-dollar exchange rate. The pound slid 1% on Wednesday to $1.1406, the lowest level since 1985. Then as now, the slump is predominantly a story of dollar strength, but it also underscores the challenges faced by Truss as she grapples with double-digit inflation and warnings of a deep economic contraction.  Liz Truss Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg Thanks to a swell of imports, comebacks and new openings from industry veterans, the Big Apple eating and drinking scene is looking as exciting as it’s been in years—this despite a continuing pandemic. Top reservations are once again hard to come by and operators have renewed confidence to expand. But this fall, some venues will be buzzier than others.  The Dining Room at RH Guesthouse opens Sept. 7. Source: RH Guesthouse Get the Bloomberg Evening Briefing: If you were forwarded this newsletter, sign up here to receive it in your mailbox daily along with our Weekend Reading edition on Saturdays. Want to retire early? Use Bloomberg's WealthScore to help plot your financial future. | 
