Net worth drops in U.S.

U.S. household wealth declined in the third quarter by the most in a year on a drop in the value of stock holdings.

Household net worth decreased $1.3 trillion, or 0.9%, in the period to almost $151 trillion, a Federal Reserve report showed Thursday.

The value of equity holdings fell about $1.7 trillion in the third quarter, while the value of real estate held by households rose slightly to a record high.

The S&P 500 retreated in the third quarter for the first time in a year on concerns about the economic outlook in the wake of the Fed’s interest-rate hikes.

Meanwhile, home prices remained elevated as higher borrowing costs led to constrained inventories.

With mortgage rates hovering around the highest levels in two decades, many homeowners remained reluctant to list their properties.

UAW signs up 1K in Tennessee

The United Auto Workers said it has signed up more than 1,000 employees at Volkswagen AG’s nonunion Tennessee auto plant, setting up a high-stakes showdown at a site where the union suffered painful past defeats.

The union has gained the support of more than 30% of workers at the Chattanooga facility, it said.

That’s a key threshold for the group because it means Volkwagen employees who have been working with the UAW will go public with their efforts as they seek to win more support, according to the union.

Once 70% of employees at a plant the UAW is targeting support organizing efforts, and if company management declines to voluntarily recognize the union, the labor group will try to win a government-supervised unionization election.

The UAW is trying to quickly capitalize on its recent contract victories in Detroit and reverse labor’s decades-long decline in the auto sector.

From wire reports