The average interest rate on the most popular US home loan climbed to its highest level since August 2008, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed Wednesday. Rising mortgage rates are increasingly weighing on the interest-rate-sensitive housing sector as the Federal Reserve pushes on with aggressively lifting borrowing costs to curb high inflation. The… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Investments & Investing
Social Security Checks Could Rise By 10% In 2023
Last month, the Social Security Administration said it planned to increase its cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023 by 10.5%, the largest boost in decades. That would have brought the average Social Security recipient’s benefit up by $175 to $1,668 a month. The change in the expected COLA each year is largely based on the Consumer… Continue Reading
Household Debt Tops Record $16 Trillion In 2022
US household debt increased to a record $16.15 trillion in the second quarter, driven mostly by a $207 billion jump in mortgage balances, with credit card and auto loan debt also rising as consumers lifted their borrowing to deal with soaring inflation, a Federal Reserve report showed on Tuesday. Overall delinquency rates also rose modestly… Continue Reading
Americans’ Inflation Expectations Hit Record High In June
There are three inflation gauges most investors keep an eye on. There’s the widely-followed Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Labor Department), which was up 9.1% for the 12 months ended June – the highest in over 40 years. Then there’s the Producer Price Index (PPI), also from the Bureau… Continue Reading
Biden Policies Created Worst Inflation In 40 Years
Last month, President Biden rejected accusations that his administration’s policies have caused the runaway inflation now plaguing the economy. In general, holding a president accountable for economic setbacks, in this case runaway inflation, is unfair. But in some cases, including this one under President Biden, the president and his policies can and should be held… Continue Reading