Economics
- www.cbsnews.com Chipotle customers were right — some restaurants were skimping, CEO says
Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said the company is addressing portion sizes after finding 10% of its locations were skimping.
It turns out that Chipotle customers were right in their complaints about skimpy portion sizes at some locations. On Wednesday, CEO Brian Niccol disclosed that a company investigation found that 1 in 10 of its restaurants were too meager with their servings.
Chipotle looked into the issue after rumors of shrunken portions circulated on social media, including from influential food reviewers on TikTok who shared images of small helpings. Some customers claimed they got bigger meals when they filmed workers putting their orders together.
The issue came to a head after two years of bruising inflation has made consumers increasingly cost-conscious, with many grousing about surging prices at restaurants. The smaller portions at Chipotle were especially hard to swallow after the restaurant raised prices in recent years, some customers said on social media.
- www.theguardian.com Wall Street suffers worst day since 2022 as Tesla and Google earnings disappoint
Tech-focused Nasdaq retreats 3.6% and S&P 500 also down in wake of lacklustre results from big-tech companies
Tech-focused Nasdaq retreats 3.6% and S\&P 500 also down in wake of lacklustre results from big-tech companies
Wall Street suffered its worst day of trading in 19 months as disappointment around earnings from Tesla and Google challenged the recent big-tech rally.
The benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 2.3% as a sell-off triggered its biggest single-day fall since December 2022.
The technology-focused Nasdaq retreated 3.6%, its largest single-day decline since October 2022.
Shares in Tesla sank 12% after it reported a 45% slump in quarterly profits amid discounting by electric carmakers. Alphabet, the owner of Google and YouTube, also fell 5% as investors scrutinized a slowdown in advertising growth.
-
Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2024 (Advance Estimate) | +2.8%
www.bea.gov Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2024 (Advance Estimate) | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024 (table 1), according to the "advance" estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 1.4 percent. The GDP estimate released today is based o...
-
Gross Domestic Product, First Quarter 2024 (Advance Estimate) | +1.6%
www.bea.gov Gross Domestic Product, First Quarter 2024 (Advance Estimate) | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2024 (table 1), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2023, real GDP increased 3.4 percent. The GDP estimate released today is base...
-
US disinflation and the COVID-19 supply shock
www.brookings.edu US disinflation and the COVID-19 supply shock | BrookingsSupply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt today, Robin Brooks, Peter R. Orszag, and William E. Murdock III explain.
- www.epi.org Southern policymakers leave workers with lower wages and a fraying safety net: Rooted in Racism and Economic Exploitation: Part Three
For at least the last 40 years, pay and job quality for workers across the South has been inferior compared to other regions—thanks to the racist and anti-worker Southern economic development model.
- www.theguardian.com ‘The new normal’: work from home is here to stay, US data shows
The same percentage of employed people who worked remotely in 2023 is the same as the previous year, a survey found
The same percentage of employed people who worked remotely in 2023 is the same as the previous year, a survey found
Don’t call it work from home any more, just call it work. According to new data, what once seemed like a pandemic necessity has become the new norm for many Americans.
Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the results of its American time use survey, which asks Americans how much time they spend doing various activities, from work to leisure.
The most recent survey results, released at the end of June, show that the same percentage of employed people who did at least some remote work in 2023 is the same percentage as those who did remote work in 2022.
In other words, it’s the first stabilization in the data since before the pandemic, when only a small percentage of workers did remote work, and a sign that remote work is here to stay.
- apnews.com IRS collects milestone $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth taxpayers
The IRS has collected $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats — a milestone meant to showcase how the agency is making use of the money it received as part of the Biden administration’s signature climate, health care and tax package signed into law in 2022.
The IRS announced Thursday that it has collected $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth tax cheats — a milestone meant to showcase how the agency is making use of the money it received as part of the Biden administration’s signature climate, health care, and tax package signed into law in 2022.
Part of the push for public awareness of high-wealth tax collections is a growing recognition by agency officials that a potential Republican takeover of the White House and Congress could mean massive future budget cuts for the IRS. Showing the public how much work the IRS is getting done is meant to give the much-maligned agency a more sympathetic image.
As part of that effort, last year the IRS launched a series of initiatives aimed at pursuing high-wealth individuals who have failed to pay their tax debts. The IRS says the campaign is focused on taxpayers with more than $1 million in income and more than $250,000 in recognized tax debt.
- www.nbcnews.com Inflation is slowing, but the Fed now faces a tough choice on when to cut rates
The Federal Reserve now finds itself in a bind as to whether to cut rates soon or leave them elevated to further slow inflation.
The Federal Reserve now finds itself in a bind as to whether to cut rates soon or leave them elevated to further slow inflation.
Amid signs of a weakening labor market, the Federal Reserve now finds itself in a bind: If it cuts interest rates too soon, it could risk reigniting the price increases that have bedeviled the post-pandemic economy. But if it keeps rates elevated, the job security of millions of Americans could be further jeopardized.
The Consumer Price Index for the month of June, due to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning at 8:30 a.m., is expected to offer further insight into the Fed's potential next moves.
The unemployment rate now stands at 4.1%, its highest point of the post-pandemic period and a level not seen since February 2018, excluding the coronavirus unemployment surge in 2020.
-
A key part of America’s economy has shifted into reverse
www.cnn.com A key part of America’s economy has shifted into reverse | CNN BusinessAmerica’s services sector is losing steam at a time when it’s highly unclear whether the broader job market will hold steady or result in unexpectedly higher unemployment.
A vast swath of the US economy is showing signs of weakness as unemployment rises to its highest point in more than two years.
Consumer demand seems to have tapered off so far this summer, according to surveys of American businesses that sell any kind of service to make a profit, ranging from restaurants to dental clinics. That weakness is also evident in the latest spending figures — a far cry from last year’s lucrative summertime spending spree when Americans shelled out for films and high-profile concerts.
The Institute for Supply Management’s latest monthly survey that gauges economic activity in the services sector showed that so-called new orders and overall economic activity unexpectedly slipped into contraction territory last month. The headline index fell to a reading of 48.8 in June from 53.8 in May as the new orders sub-index saw an even steeper decline, down to 47.3 from 54.1. (A reading above 50 indicates expansion while anything below that threshold points to a contraction.)
This apparent slowdown in demand, if it persists for long enough, could translate into service-providing businesses hiring at a slower pace and possibly slashing jobs. The overwhelming majority of employment in the United States is considered service-providing, specifically 86% of the 158.6 million total US jobs as of June.
- www.bbc.com Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud charge over 737 Max crashes
Families of the people who died on the flights five years ago have criticised it as a "sweetheart deal".
Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the US found the company violated a deal meant to reform it after two fatal crashes by its 737 Max planes that killed 346 passengers and crew.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the plane-maker had also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $243.6m (£190m).
However, the families of the people who died on the flights five years ago have criticised it as a "sweetheart deal" that would allow Boeing to avoid full responsibility for the deaths. One called it an "atrocious abomination".
The settlement must now be approved by a US judge.
-
Taxing Very High-Value Home Sales Is an Equitable and Effective Strategy to Raise Revenue and Fund Affordable Housing
www.cbpp.org Taxing Very High-Value Home Sales Is an Equitable and Effective Strategy to Raise Revenue and Fund Affordable Housing | Center on Budget and Policy PrioritiesOur states and communities are stronger when prosperity is broadly shared — which includes ensuring that everyone has access to housing they can afford. Yet throughout the country, more people than...
- www.atlanticcouncil.org Dollar Dominance Monitor
The Dollar Dominance Monitor analyzes the strength of the dollar relative to other major currencies across the world. The project presents interactive indicators to track China's progress in developing an alternative financial infrastructure.
-
Walgreens will close a ‘significant’ number of its 8,600 US locations
www.cnn.com Walgreens will close a ‘significant’ number of its 8,600 US locations | CNN BusinessWalgreens is set to close a substantial number of its roughly 8,600 locations across the United States as the company looks to reset the struggling pharmaceutical chain’s business.
Walgreens is set to close a substantial number of its roughly 8,600 locations across the United States as the company looks to reset the struggling pharmaceutical chain’s business.
The company didn’t announce a specific number of store closures, but it said Thursday that it is planning “significant” closures of underperforming stores across America as part of a multiyear optimization program.
- apnews.com Prospect of low-priced Chinese EVs reaching US from Mexico poses threat to automakers
America’s auto industry has grown concerned that Chinese carmakers may be preparing to set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules.
It’s a scenario that terrifies America’s auto industry.
Chinese carmakers set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. Once in place, they send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States.
As the Chinese EVs go on sale across the country, America’s homegrown EVs — costing an average of $55,000, roughly double the price of their Chinese counterparts — struggle to compete. Factories close. Workers lose jobs across America’s industrial heartland.
-
The Washington Post Wants You To Think the Economy Is Awful #45,706
cepr.net The Washington Post Wants You Think the Economy Is Awful #45,706Even though we have had the longest streak of below 4.0 percent unemployment in 70 years, and real wages are rising, especially at the bottom end of the wage distribution, the major media outlets insist the economy is terrible. The Washington Post is setting the pace with the lead story on its homep...
- www.theguardian.com Economist suggests storing grain to prepare for next global emergency
Isabella Weber, who linked corporate profits to inflation, shares how to prevent food shortages – and price gouging
Isabella Weber, the economist who ignited controversy with a bold proposal to implement strategic price controls at the peak of inflation and identified corporate profits as a driver of high prices, has proposed a new measure that could prevent food shortages and price gouging in the wake of another disruption of the global supply chains.
Weber’s new paper, published on Thursday, looks at how grain prices spiked in 2022 as Covid snagged supply chains and Russia invaded Ukraine. The price hikes helped to drive record profits for corporations while pushing inflation higher and increasing global hunger. In the paper, Weber and colleagues call for the creation of buffer stocks of grain that could be released during shortages or emergencies to ease price pressures.
Such a system would quell the volatility that is a hallmark of the grain market and keep food prices down, said Weber, the paper’s lead author and an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts.
“Literally the worst of times for global hunger seem to be the best of times for the companies managing the global trade in food staples,” Weber said. “It might seem utopian in the current environment, but there is such clear benefit in terms of economic stability that it’s not as utopian as it seems.”
- www.bbc.com Nvidia beats Microsoft to become world's most valuable company
The Californian firm's meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of the "new gold" - AI chips.
Chip-maker Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday.
It is now worth $3.34tn (£2.63tn), with the price having nearly doubled since the start of this year.
The stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft. It overtook Apple earlier this month.
The Californian company's meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of what analysts call the "new gold or oil in the tech sector" - the chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI).
- www.theguardian.com ‘Will I ever retire?’: millennials wonder what’s on the other side of middle age
For millennials, financial security feels like a fairytale. What will the next 40 years look like?
Claire*, 42, was always told: “Follow your dreams and the money will follow.” So that’s what she did. At 24, she opened a retail store with a friend in downtown Ottawa, Canada. She’d managed to save enough from a part-time government job during university to start the business without taking out a loan.
For many years, the store did well – they even opened a second location. Claire started to feel financially secure. “A few years ago I was like, wow, I actually might be able to do this until I retire,” she told me. “I’ll never be rich, but I have a really wonderful work-life balance and I’ll have enough.”
But in midlife, she can’t afford to buy a house, and she’s increasingly worried about what retirement would look like, or if it would even be possible. “Was I foolish to think this could work?” she now wonders.
She’s one of many millennials who, in their 40s, are panicking about the realities of midlife: financial precarity, housing insecurity, job instability and difficulty saving for the future. It’s a different kind of midlife crisis – less impulsive sports car purchase and more “will I ever retire?” In fact, a new survey of 1,000 millennials showed that 81% feel they can’t afford to have a midlife crisis. Our generation is the first to be downwardly mobile, at least in the US, and do less well than our parents financially. What will the next 40 years will look like?
- www.epi.org Tipping is a racist relic and a modern tool of economic oppression in the South: Rooted in Racism and Economic Exploitation: Spotlight
Summary: This spotlight details the racist history of tipping, federal and state policy governing tipped work, and the experience of tipped workers in the economy—both nationwide and in the South. Across the country, tipped workers are more likely to be people of color, women, women of color, or sin...
- www.bbc.com London Stock Exchange becomes Europe's largest stock market again
A French election is driving down the value of French listed companies, analysts say
The UK’s main stock market retook its crown as Europe’s most valuable for the first time in nearly two years, data shows.
The total value of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) hit $3.18 trillion on Monday, overtaking the $3.13tn total value of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data.
Both valuations have shifted since and remain close, but analysts describe it as a milestone.
They say the French market has slumped because of the uncertainty around its election, while the UK market is recovering after several years of underperformance.
-
More Revenue Is Required to Meet the Nation’s Commitments, Needs, and Challenges
www.cbpp.org More Revenue Is Required to Meet the Nation’s Commitments, Needs, and Challenges | Center on Budget and Policy PrioritiesHigher revenue is needed to meet long-standing retirement and health care commitments to seniors, make high-value investments that improve well-being and broaden opportunity, and manage future risks associated with higher debt.
- www.cbsnews.com New poll finds younger employees are struggling at work
A new study finds that more younger employees are stressed at work compared to their older coworkers.
Recent studies have shown that younger workers are more likely to feel lonely and underappreciated compared to their older colleagues.
A survey of more than 2,000 working adults conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that nearly half of workers aged 18 to 25 said that people who are not close in age do not see value in their ideas, and that they feel self-conscious about their age at work.
They were also more likely to feel lonely, tense, or stressed out during their workday compared to older workers. Researchers say because more people are retiring later in life, the age demographics are changing in the workplace and younger workers seem to be having the hardest time adjusting.
The APA calls on employers to invest in strategies to support worker well-being and mental health in these evolving professional landscapes.
- www.cnbc.com Inflation slows in May, with consumer prices up 3.3% from a year ago
The consumer price index was expected to increase 0.1% on a month basis and 3.4% from a year ago.
- www.theguardian.com EU to put tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles as trade war looms
Move, to be applied provisionally from July, would trigger duties of more than €2bn a year
The EU has notified Beijing that it intends to impose tariffs of up to 38% on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, triggering duties of more than €2bn (£1.7bn) a year and a potential trade war with China.
The tariffs will be applied provisionally from next month in line with World Trade Organization rules, which give China four weeks to challenge any evidence the EU provides to justify the levies on imported EVs.
The move follows a nine-month investigation into alleged unfair state subsidies into Chinese battery electric vehicles (BEVs) including top brands such as BYD and Geely, which part owns the Swedish brand Polestar, and Shanghai’s SAIC, which owns the British brand MG.
“The provisional findings of the EU anti-subsidy investigation indicate that the entire BEV value chain benefits heavily from unfair subsidies in China, and that the influx of subsidised Chinese imports at artificially low prices therefore presents a threat of clearly foreseeable and imminent injury to EU industry,” the EU said in a statement.
- apnews.com US gas prices are falling. Experts point to mild demand at the pump ahead of summer travel
Gas prices are once again on the decline across the U.S. That's bringing some relief to drivers now paying a little less to fill up their tanks.
Gas prices are once again on the decline across the U.S., bringing some relief to drivers now paying a little less to fill up their tanks.
The national average for gas prices on Monday stood around $3.44, according to AAA. That’s down about 9 cents from a week ago — marking the largest one-week drop recorded by the motor club so far in 2024. Monday’s average was also more than 19 cents less than it was a month ago and over 14 cents below the level seen this time last year.
Why the recent fall in prices at the pump? Industry analysts point to a blend of lackluster demand and strong supply — as well as relatively mild oil prices worldwide.
- apnews.com Waffle House raises worker pay after strikes and pressure from labor organizers
Waffle House is increasing pay for its U.S. workers after a push from labor advocates. In a video message to employees late last month, Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers III said base pay without tips would rise to at least $3 per hour in June and then gradually rise to at least $5.25 per hour by June 202
Waffle House is increasing pay for its U.S. workers after a year-long push from labor advocates.
In a video message to employees late last month, Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers III said base pay would rise to at least $3 per hour in June and then gradually rise to at least $5.25 per hour by June 2026. Base pay doesn’t include workers’ tips, and will be higher in some states depending on minimum wage laws, Rogers said.
Rogers said wage increases will be paid for by higher menu prices, and that wages will rise more slowly in some rural markets than in urban ones. The company is also adding tenure bonuses and premiums for working later shifts.
- www.theguardian.com ‘Greed’: John Deere rolls out hundreds of US layoffs and sends work to Mexico
Agricultural equipment company plans to move production out of the country in move workers condemn as ‘greed’
Agricultural equipment company plans to move production out of the country in move condemned by workers
US workers at John Deere plants have accused the company of acting on “greed” as America’s most famous agricultural equipment company plans to shift more production to Mexico.
The company – famous for its green tractors and leaping deer logo – has announced layoffs of several hundred workers over the last several months with more layoffs planned for later this year.
“We get wind of more layoffs daily, it seems, and it’s causing uncertainty all over,” said a longtime John Deere worker at the Harvester Works plant in East Moline, Illinois, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “The only reason for Deere to do this is greed.”
- www.bbc.com Nvidia value hits $3tn, overtaking Apple
Nvidia has been marked out as a winner from a wave of investments in artificial intelligence.
Nvidia's market value has surged past $3tn (£2.3tn), lifting the chip giant ahead of Apple to become the second most valuable publicly listed company in the world.
The firm's share price rose more than 5% on Wednesday, to more than $1,224.
It extended a breathtakingly rapid climb that started last year, powered by bets that the US firm is positioned to be a major winner from a wave of investment in artificial intelligence (AI).
Its market value now sits just behind Microsoft, another key player in the industry thanks to its investments in Chat GPT-maker OpenAI.
-
Record number of dollar millionaires worldwide, study says
www.dw.com Record number of dollar millionaires worldwide, study says – DW – 06/05/2024The world has never had so many rich people, according to the World Wealth Report. And they are richer than ever, thanks to their investments in the stock market boom.
The world has never had so many rich people, according to the World Wealth Report. And they are richer than ever, thanks to their investments in the stock market boom.
Last year's bullish stock markets boosted the fortunes of the world's richest, adding more members to the club of dollar millionaires, the World Wealth Report says.
The number of people worldwide with investable assets of at least $1 million ("high net worth individuals," or HNWI) rose by 5.1% last year to an estimated 22.8 million, according to a study by consulting firm Capgemini.
This is the highest level since the first annual study was conducted in 1997. The total wealth of the richest rose 4.7% to a record $86.8 trillion (€79.64 trillion).
Their fortunes have risen as stock markets have soared: New York's tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 43% in 2023, while the broad-based S\&P 500 gained 24%. Meanwhile, the Paris CAC 40 rose 16% and the Frankfurt DAX 20%.
- www.foreignaffairs.com The Dangerous Myth of Deglobalization
Misperceptions of the global economy are driving bad policies.
- abcnews.go.com CEOs got hefty pay raises in 2023, widening the gap with the workers they oversee
The typical compensation package for chief executives who run companies in the S&P 500 jumped nearly 13% last year, easily surpassing the gains for workers at a time when inflation was putting considerable pressure on Americans’ budgets
The typical compensation package for chief executives who run companies in the S&P 500 jumped nearly 13% last year, easily surpassing the gains for workers at a time when inflation was putting considerable pressure on Americans' budgets.
The median pay package for CEOs rose to $16.3 million, up 12.6%, according to data analyzed for The Associated Press by Equilar. Meanwhile, wages and benefits netted by private-sector workers rose 4.1% through 2023. At half the companies in AP's annual pay survey, it would take the worker at the middle of the company’s pay scale almost 200 years to make what their CEO did.
-
Emigration from Canada to the U.S. hits a 10-year high as tens of thousands head south
Census says 126,340 people left Canada for the U.S. in 2022, a 70 per cent increase over a decade ago
Tens of thousands of Canadians are emigrating from Canada to the United States and the number of people packing up and moving south has hit a level not seen in 10 years or more, according to data compiled by CBC News.
There's nothing new about Canadians moving south of the 49th parallel for love, work or warmer weather, but the latest figures from the American Community Survey (ACS) suggest it's now happening at a much higher rate than the historical average.
The ACS, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, says the number of people moving from Canada to the U.S. hit 126,340 in 2022. That's an increase of nearly 70 per cent over the 75,752 people who made the move in 2012.
-
Airline revenues, passengers to reach record highs in 2024
www.dw.com Airline revenues, passengers to reach record highs in 2024 – DW – 06/03/2024The number of people traveling by plane is set to hit a new high this year, as the airline industry bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic with record revenues for airlines, an industry group has said.
The number of people traveling by plane is set to hit a new high this year, as the airline industry bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic with record revenues for airlines, an industry group has said.
Airlines are set to fly almost 5 billion passengers in 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The announcement by the trade industry body on Monday marks a new record for the aviation sector, beating a pre-pandemic high.
In its outlook for 2024, IATA said airlines were expected to post $30.5 billion (€28 billion) in net earnings this year, up from its previous estimate in December of $25.7 billion.
The industry's total revenues were forecast to rise nearly 10%, to a record $996 billion (€918 billion).
The expected profit "is a great achievement considering the recent deep pandemic losses," IATA Director General Willie Walsh told the trade association's annual general meeting in Dubai.
More than 300 airlines, accounting for 83% of global air traffic, are members of IATA.
The body said around half of global profits in 2024 were expected to come from airlines in North America. IATA predictions suggest they will log a surplus of $14.8 billion, while airlines in Europe are expected to increase their profits by between $8.6 billion and $9 billion.
-
Eurozone inflation up more than expected in May
www.dw.com Eurozone inflation up more than expected in May – DW – 05/31/2024Inflation in the 20-nation eurozone has risen faster than expected in May. But the European Central Bank is still expected to cut interest rates at a June 6 meeting.
Inflation in the 20-nation eurozone has risen faster than expected in May. But the European Central Bank is still expected to cut interest rates at a June 6 meeting.
Consumer prices in the eurozone rose 2.6% in May year on year compared to 2.4% in April, according to European Union statistics, a figure that surpasses the 2% target aspired to by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Despite the higher-than-expected rise announced by the EU's statistics agency, Eurostat, the ECB is still expected to cut interest rates next week.
The central bank aggressively hiked rates starting in July 2022 as inflation soared after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe amid tensions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and lingering consequences of the coronavirus pandemic continued to clog supply chains of parts and raw materials.
As inflation gradually slows from those peaks, the bank is looking to encourage economic growth once more with rate cuts, though observers say these are likely to be very gradual, particularly in light of the latest figures.
- www.cnbc.com Student loan debt may prevent retirement security for millions of older workers, research finds
Millions of older Americans' ability to save for retirement may be threatened by unpaid student loan debt, according to new research.
Key Points
- Older workers who are still carrying student loan debt may have a harder time saving toward retirement.
- The bottom 50% of older earners owe the highest average student loan debts, research finds.
***
For most Americans, living well in retirement depends on how much they can save in their working years.
But for millions of older individuals, unpaid student loan debts may put that goal out of reach, according to new research from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research.
The research evaluated more than 2.2 million people over age 55 with outstanding student loans, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finance.
- apnews.com Inflation pressures lingering from pandemic are keeping Fed rate cuts on pause
Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation.
Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation.
A key reason for the delay in rate cuts is that the inflation pressures that are bedeviling the economy are being driven largely by lingering forces from the pandemic — for items ranging from apartment rents to auto insurance to hospital prices. Though Fed officials say they expect inflation in those areas to eventually cool, they’ve signaled that they’re prepared to wait as long as it takes.
Yet the policymakers’ willingness to keep their key rate at a two-decade peak — thereby keeping costs painfully high for mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer borrowing — carries its own risks.
- apnews.com T-Mobile to buy almost all of U.S Cellular in deal worth $4.4 billion with debt
T-Mobile is buying U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and certain spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, and further consolidating the industry.
T-Mobile is buying U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and certain spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, and further consolidating the industry.
T-Mobile would get more than 4 million new customers and control of U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and about 30% of spectrum assets across several spectrum bands. T-Mobile will also enter into a new master license agreement on more than 2,000 towers and extend the lease term for the approximately 600 towers where T-Mobile is already a tenant.
- apnews.com More people make 'no-buy year' pledges as overspending or climate worries catch up with them
The self-imposed rules of a no-buy challenge are simple: participants pledge to stop buying non-essential items, be they unneeded shoes, additional beauty products or other impulse buys for a set amount of time, usually 12 months.
A 35-year-old Brooklyn resident gave up buying new clothes. A 22-year old in San Diego swore off retail therapy at Target. A 26-year old in England banned carbonated drinks from her shopping list.
These three women, who don’t know each other, all started the year resolving to spend money only on necessary purchases, or what is popularly known as engaging in a no-buy challenge. The self-imposed rules of the challenge are simple: participants pledge to stop buying non-essential items, be they unneeded shoes, additional beauty products or other impulse buys for a set amount of time, usually 12 months.
What started several years ago as a blogged-about experiment in budgeting and mindful spending has become a popular trend on social media. A Reddit group where people share their experiences has 51,000 members. The challenge primarily gained popularity on TikTok, where some videos of users seeking to hold themselves accountable get hundreds of thousands of views.
- www.businessinsider.com 2 Yale researchers are pulling back the curtain on Russia's sanctions-stricken economy — and it's landed them on a list of Putin's enemies
Russia's economy is in trouble, no matter how much the government tries to distort the facts, two Yale researchers say.