Housing demand, AI layoffs and Apollo’s office culture

By Olivia Hart

U.S. housing may need just 320,000 new units a year, says David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. His forecast assumes U.S. population growth of 800,000 people a year over the next few years and an average household of about 2.5 people, compared with roughly 1 million units a year in the first two decades of this century.

Is housing short of homes—or buyers?

Kelly disputes the claim that housing mainly faces a supply shortage. He instead blames weak demand, though the estimate is a forecast rather than an observed household count.

He cites more than a decade of too-easy money, tariffs, and immigration policies that raise construction costs while limiting the number of people who need new homes. He also says Fed rate swings have hit housing harder than almost anything else.

Takeaway: Kelly’s case points to fewer buyers, not simply fewer homes, though his estimate depends on population and household assumptions.

What could the midterms change about Iran?

As voting begins this week, most polls cited by Fortune forecast Democratic control of Congress. Analysts also consider what happens if President Donald Trump loses political firepower; the roundup gives no polling margin, and Fortune notes that polls have surprised markets before.

Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid linked the unpopular Iran action to gas prices rising in voters’ minds and supply-chain disruption from the war. He wrote: “The concern is clearly that energy prices become less of a pressing political issue once the vote is out the way, allowing for more aggressive action in and around Iran.”

UBS’s Paul Donovan said the midterms hang over markets and investors assume Washington gridlock, little different from today. He wrote: “The focus is whether U.S. President Trump becomes more aggressive in the Gulf war, once freed from the pursuit of popularity.”

Takeaway: Both strategists frame a stronger post-election position for Trump as a possible opening for more aggressive Iran action, not as a certainty.

What will this week’s data and earnings test?

The U.S. midterms dominate the week. Wednesday brings the Treasury’s quarterly refunding announcement, and Friday brings the October jobs report. Fortune said earnings season remains in full swing, with AI leaders Apple, Palantir, AMD and Arm updating investors later this week on AI capital spending. Their updates may soothe or stoke concern, but no spending figures were provided.

Fortune’s market snapshot showed:

• S&P 500 futures up 0.52% this morning.
• Stoxx 600 up 0.05% in early European trading; the U.K.’s FTSE 100 up 0.07% before lunch.
• South Korea’s KOSPI up 2.24%; Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.33%; India’s Nifty 50 up 1.68%; China’s CSI 300 up 0.79%.
• Brent crude down to $108 per barrel.
• Bitcoin slightly higher on Friday at $77,983.

Takeaway: The calendar offers no single macro verdict; election policy, employment data and corporate AI spending can point investors in different directions.

How long does AI displacement stay on a résumé?

Goldman Sachs’s Pierfrancesco Mei finds that AI-displaced workers take about one month longer to find a new role than other displaced workers. He says the delay is comparable to previous technological changes, not evidence of an unprecedented penalty.

The analysis of earlier technology displacements also found that younger workers took about three weeks longer than other displaced workers to return to full-time employment. Older tech-displaced workers took about five weeks longer.

AI-displaced workers were significantly more likely to leave their prior occupation and industry altogether; after reemployment, older workers increasingly moved into roles with similar or even higher AI exposure. The source summary gives no sample size or model detail.

Takeaway: AI displacement appears to produce slower and more career-altering rehiring, even when workers return to jobs with similar AI exposure.

Are families treating personal credit as a necessity?

LendingTree’s recent Buy Now, Pay Later survey found that 62% of parents with young children and a personal loan could not make ends meet without the borrowing—nearly two in three. Another 54% agreed that these “financial bridges” had become a necessity.

It also found that 47% of borrowers had paid late in the past year, up from 41% in 2025 and 34% in 2024. The figures measure reported pressure; the roundup gives no sample size, methodology or delinquency amounts.

Takeaway: The survey points to consumer credit as a routine support rather than an occasional cushion, while leaving the scale of financial distress unmeasured.

What else appeared on the business front pages?

Fortune’s front-page digest linked reports on crypto, energy, labor, credit and government borrowing, without adding terms or outcomes beyond the headline summaries.

• CNBC: Binance saw $3.64 billion in net outflows after withdrawals resumed following a massive hack.
• CNBC: Sam Altman made a surprise South Korea visit as OpenAI built on chip partnerships.
• The Wall Street Journal: The U.S. pushed to restore Russian gas sales to Europe via Ukraine.
• The Wall Street Journal: Companies cited more women as a solution to the skilled-trade shortage.
• Financial Times: A junk-debt rout sparked a “bloodbath” for credit investors.
• Bloomberg: Wall Street braced for its biggest Treasury-sales overhaul in years.
• Bloomberg: North Korean hackers used AI skills to supercharge crypto heists.

Takeaway: The page mix tracks cash exits, energy policy, labor supply, credit losses and Treasury borrowing.

Why is Apollo rejecting office hierarchy?

Fortune said Apollo’s summer culture guidance had flown under the radar. It says: “No one here does only the job they were hired to do.” On hierarchy, Apollo told staff: “If you’re concerned about where you’re sitting or the size of your office, Apollo is not your firm.”

Management says employees can wear whatever they want day to day, provided they dress smartly and “match the moment.” The source’s tongue-in-cheek comparison says interns get a better office view than CEO Marc Rowan. That is messaging, not evidence about pay, promotion or performance measurement.

Takeaway: For applicants, Apollo is signaling judgment and flexibility ahead of visible status, while leaving pay and promotion standards unstated.