This week in business: from AI turbulence to airline refunds

"If you glanced at the headlines this week, you might think everything is fine. Markets are not in full panic mode, unemployment is not spiking, and earnings season is still producing plenty of upbeat charts for investor decks. Underneath that, though, there is a very different story taking shape about what it takes to keep growth going when people are tired of paying more for less."

"Across the economy, companies are being forced to get creative. Some are reworking how they price core products, others are quietly shrinking their physical footprint, and a few are openly trying to trade short term stock market love for longer term loyalty. Even the hottest corners of tech are starting to see what happens when the narrative shifts from limitless upside to awkward questions like "how much is too much.""

"D.R. Horton is leaning hard on mortgage rate buydowns to keep homes moving in a market where affordability is stretched past its limits. In its latest quarter, nearly three quarters of buyers took a discounted mortgage rate, often starting around 3.99 percent, in order to make monthly payments work. That generosity is not free. Incentives helped push the company's gross margin on home sales down to 20 percent, well below its 2021 peaks, even as net new orders rose 5 percent year over year."

Markets appear calm while underlying economic dynamics are shifting, with consumers increasingly unwilling to pay more for diminishing value. Companies are adapting by reworking pricing, shrinking physical footprints, offering incentives, and prioritizing long-term customer loyalty over short-term stock-market gains. Politics and policy are affecting everyday costs and logistics, influencing housing affordability and travel plans. Homebuilders are buying down mortgage rates to keep sales moving, a tactic that compresses gross margins and slows new starts in softer markets. Banks are trimming branches as customers migrate to mobile banking, reflecting structural changes in demand and cost management.

Read at Fast Company