Return-to-office rates have stalled for most of 2023. The average office attendance is about half of its prepandemic level in the 60% to 65% range, but the return rate has seemed to have topped out.

In the U.S., tax receipts at all levels of government climbed to nearly 28% of GDP last year, up from 25% in 2019 and the highest level since at least 1965.

The VIX gauge of implied volatility this week reached its lowest since before the pandemic lockdowns in 2020. The ratio of put options written to protect a portfolio to bullish call options has plunged back to what counted then as unusually low levels. Each of the past three years had a similarly strong consensus that proved entirely wrong.

Consumer spending showed unexpected strength at the start of the holiday shopping season, as Americans shopped in-person and online, shrugging off signs of economic cooling. Retail sales, which include spending at stores, restaurants and gas stations, rose 0.3% in November from the month before, while economists had expected sales to fall. Sales rose 4.1% in November from a year earlier, outpacing inflation.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 7.07% from 7.17%, with points falling to 0.59 from 0.60 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. That was the lowest level since July.

Choice Hotels is launching a hostile takeover offer for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts after repeatedly being rebuffed in its effort to strike a friendly deal.

Many investors are still keeping too much of their assets in cash, advisers said. Households held 17% of their financial assets in cash or cash-like investments such as money-market funds or certificates of deposits in 2022—the highest share since 2012.

Construction industry extended-stay lodging bookings are up 120% in the two years through the end of November. More broadly, the industry has outspent all other sectors on work travel overall by 9.2% in the twelve months through August as more workers temporarily relocate to live around project sites.

The amount of money that institutional investors have in Chinese stocks and bonds has declined by more than $31 billion this year, through October, the biggest net outflow since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Chains want to keep travelers and hotel developers loyal through proliferating offerings. Marriott has 32 brands include the apartment-like StudioRes coming next year. Hilton has 22 brands, such as premium-economy Spark and an extended-stay chain, temporarily dubbed Project H3. Accor has more than 40 brands.