B.C. cannabis sales losing its buzz as novelty fades - Business in Vancouver

After Kelly Clarkson took to X on Saturday to share her experience “being treated like Julia Roberts” in “Pretty Woman” during a visit to Art of Play, a novelty shop in Brooklyn, the local business is responding to her claims, saying it has received “widespread outrage” since and explaining that the item she wanted to buy — a bird permanently fixed to the store’s wall– was not actually for sale. In her initial tweet, which has garnered nearly 260,000 likes and 32.2 million views, the singer wrote that she had driven to the store, which she thought “looked really rad and had a few things in mind to buy.” She continued, writing that she “literally was looked at as if I couldn’t afford it and was told he could find something comparable for me. Wow, dude. You’re an idiot and just lost a huge sale.” She then named the store and told her fans to visit if they “enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman,” accompanied by a thumbs-down emoji.

Home sellers cut asking prices on more than 3,000 properties a day on average in Britain during September, according to figures from Rightmove shared exclusively with the BBC. The property website said the total was the highest of any month for 15 years and was driven, in part, by a glut of homes on the market and some sellers setting unrealistic expectations. The proportion of listed homes that eventually had a price cut peaked in 2023 and has remained relatively high since. Property portals say buyers are now having to be choosy, with many working to a tight budget as mortgage rates have risen to three-year highs. "Once a home has been on the market for a while and then has a price reduction, some buyers start asking questions, even when there is nothing wrong with the property," said Colleen Babcock of Rightmove. "In a market with so much choice, first impressions matter. "Rightmove data said the average price reduction was nearly 7% - the equivalent of nearly £21,000 cut from a typically valued home. Its data showed that homes that had a price reduction typically took 119 days to find a buyer, compared with 39 days for those listed at one price.

Soaring freight is forcing oil producers into discounts, pushing delivered prices towards $140/bbl in China and prompting producers to absorb more transport costs to secure buyers. India is attracting more Brazilian and West African barrels as shorter voyages improve sellers’ returns, while Chinese refiners hold out for cheaper deliveries.