Author: News Room

The monthly cycle of central bank meetings and high-frequency data slow in the week ahead, though the UK and Canada report on prices and demand (retail sales). The highlight of the week may be the preliminary May PMI estimates. We play down its significance in the US because its strength seems to be an outlier and it is in expansion territory while the ISM not. The dollar has generally been trending lower, with the yen being the only exception among the G10 currencies since mid-April. The bottoming of the two-year yield near the recent 4.70% low may reflect the end…

 BlastUP, the premier launchpad on Blast, has raised over $6 million during its presale with two weeks to go, reflecting robust demand amid the market recovery.Blast, the sole Layer 2 blockchain offering high native yield on ETH and stablecoin staking, is witnessing a surge of interest in its ecosystem’s launchpad platform, BlastUP ($BLP).With just over two weeks until the presale concludes, BlastUP has already attracted over $6 million from eager investors.The presale has gained strong momentum recently, coinciding with the revival of the crypto market. Bitcoin’s recent signs of recovery have fueled investor enthusiasm.This heightened interest is evident in the…

More Americans are turning 65 this year than ever before, and that number is set to creep even higher over the next few years. It’s fueling a huge rollout of new retirement products — but they’re not all golden tickets. An average of 11,200 Americans will reach that traditional retirement age each day in 2024, according to a recent report by the Alliance for Lifetime Income. This surge, along with new legislation that took effect recently, has led to a growing number of financial products that promise paychecks for life, no matter how long you live. But some options are…

Americans are kicking the can down the road on some more-costly, traditionally financed purchases as elevated inflation and interest rates bite.Corporate executives this earnings season have lamented that customers are disinterested in shelling out on big-ticket items for their bedrooms, backyards and everywhere in between. It comes at a pivotal moment for the national economy: the average Joe has been contending with a double-whammy of high prices and borrowing costs, while economists and policymakers are trying to gauge the impact this has made.This matters because it adds to a growing picture of consumer spending finally slowing down, as experts long…

The bulls got what they wanted this week: cooler inflation data and record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday closed above 40,000 for the first time, capping off a 1.24% advance for the week. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite , meanwhile, closed at all-time highs Wednesday, fueled by cooler-than-expected inflation data released before the bell that day. The indexes had tame, but mixed moves over the final two trading days of the week; both finished Friday slightly below their Wednesday peaks. For the week, the S & P 500 added 1.54% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq…

Americans are racking up more credit card debt as they continue to battle high inflation and interest rates. New data published Thursday by TransUnion shows the average debt per borrower hit $6,218 at the end of the first quarter, an 8.5% increase from one year ago.Consumers owe a collective $1.02 trillion in credit card debt. “As consumers manage expenses amidst stubbornly high inflation, demand for credit continues to be strong despite the currently relatively high interest rates,” said Paul Siegfried, senior vice president and credit card business leader at TransUnion. AMERICANS ARE CARRYING A RECORD AMOUNT OF HOUSEHOLD DEBTMost households have…

The new rollout of FAFSA went anything but smoothly. Parents and students struggled to access the form. Others had their income reported incorrectly, leading to less aid for students who needed it most. About 47% of first-generation students weren’t able to complete FAFSA, a Study.com report found. The study surveyed 600 first-generation students to understand how the botched FAFSA rollout affected their education decisions. Of the students who were able to access FAFSA, 28% of them spent more than seven hours trying to fill it out.Unable to get the financial aid they needed, many students faced a significant amount of…

Owning a home has long been considered the main pillar of the American dream, but the vast majority of aspiring homeowners in the U.S. say they simply cannot afford it. A new survey released by Bankrate Wednesday found 78% of would-be homebuyers cited financial factors when asked what was holding them back from making a purchase. The most common challenges cited by respondents were insufficient income (56%), followed by home prices being too high (47%) and the inability to afford down payments and closing costs (42%).The findings come as a housing affordability crisis in the U.S. continues to escalate with…

The leading edge of Gen X and the youngest Baby Boomers are staring down a short road toward retirement. Some are starting to hear tales from those who have crossed over to the other side — from full-time professional to full-time retiree — and wondering how they will hack life after work. Shaking his head and looking off to some distant point, Dan, a recently retired 62-year old, remarks, “It just freaks me out.” Somewhat amused, I ask, “What does?” Dan’s head whips back around toward me and exclaims, “Time! I never knew how much time I would have in…

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett criticized Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling her “racist,” following a tense House Oversight markup Thursday evening that quickly devolved into personal attacks. As the panel met to advance contempt proceedings against Attorney General Merrick Garland over his refusal to turn over audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, Greene, a Georgia Republican, sparked outrage when she commented on Crockett’s appearance. “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading,” Greene said. Speaking to reporters on Friday about the incident, Crockett said, “That’s all it is, it is racism. And she decided…