Author: News Room
Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own. When you have debt with mounting interest charges, it can be easy to get tunnel vision. In many cases, paying off your debt should be your top priority. But being so focused on debt payoff can sometimes make it harder to meet other important financial goals, like building an emergency savings…
Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.9% annualized in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the first advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). That’s continuing growth from the third quarter when GDP rose 3.2% annually, the BEA reported in December. The increase in real GDP was driven by private inventory investment, consumer spending, government spending and nonresidential fixed investment, the BEA reported. Moreover, Americans’ personal income increased by $311 billion in the fourth quarter. That’s up from an increase of $283.1 billion in the third quarter.”The big picture view of economic growth in the fourth…
With President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan hanging in the balance, borrowers can still count on resuming payments later this year with a clean slate. That’s because over $34 billion of defaulted loans have been made current under the administration’s Fresh Start program. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases against Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. The plan would cancel up to $10,000 in federal loans per borrower and up to $20,000 per borrower for those who used Pell Grants in college, eliminating about $441 billion in outstanding student debt.The first case involved six states that argued the plan…
Although the Federal Reserve voted to raise rates another .25% at its second meeting of the year, there was a silver lining in the announcement. In his opening statement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated significant rate hikes may not be needed going forward, which will bring much needed relief and stability to the commercial real estate market. Investors were bracing for a .50% bump following Powell’s congressional testimony several weeks earlier during which he implied a larger rate increase might be warranted in response to stronger than expected economic indicators, especially in the labor market. Additionally, the annual inflation rate…
Economic Backdrop We began the year with a mismatch in expectations between the market and the Federal Reserve (“the Fed”) regarding the projected path for interest rates. The Fed had penciled in a target terminal rate between 5-5.25%, which it planned on holding for the remainder of the year. The market’s expectations, reflected in Fed Funds Futures, were that the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes would push the economy into a recession prior to year’s end, forcing the Fed to cut rates by September. Much has changed in the first 80 days of 2023. Fed funds rate hike expectations briefly rose…
Today marks the final day of March and the conclusion of Women’s History Month. This month is a time to recognize the women who served as trailblazers, and inspire those that are blazing new trails for the next generation. While the progress of women in history is clear, that progress has stalled in the absence of changes in the gender wage gap over the past two decades. The gender wage gap is the difference between the earnings of men and women for the performance of the same work. Our nation has tracked the statistics on pay disparity between men and…
With President Biden’s veto of the Congress’s bipartisan joint resolution, ESG has been one of the hottest news stories in the financial world. Beyond the politics of it, proponents and opponents of the ESG push have their own reasons for staking out their positions. Would it surprise you to learn that self-interest plays a role? What is ESG and how does it work? At its most basic core, ESG is merely an extension of placing portfolio restrictions based on subjective, rather than accounting, factors. “Explained in simplest terms, ‘ESG’ stands for environmental, social and governance which is an investing strategy…
If you’re like me, it drives me nuts when I get a letter from the IRS stating there was something wrong on my tax return. I use a professional preparer, so I don’t have trouble most years, but there are things to know to avoid trouble, according to the IRS; Wait to file until you receive all of your proper tax documents, or you risk making a mistake that could cause delays. Review your income documents carefully. If any of the information is inaccurate or missing, taxpayers should contact the payer right away for a correction or to ensure the…
In early 2019, back when the idea of a global pandemic was limited to sci fi movies and video games, I wrote a column exploring how cannabis companies were being valued and the land grab that was happening at the time. Back then, cannabis capital markets were at all-time highs, despite most companies having relatively low revenue or profits, largely based on speculation over which companies were best positioned to dominate the then-nascent cannabis industry. As US multistate operators (MSOs – as large US cannabis companies have now come to be known) spread out to seemingly take as much territory…
Electronic products distributor RS Group was the FTSE 100’s biggest faller on Wednesday as it announced a widespread slowing in sales. As 852.6p per share the RS Group share price was last 4.7% lower in midweek trading. Profit To Beat Forecasts The business announced that it expects adjusted operating profit for the financial year to March 2023 “to be slightly ahead of consensus expectations.” Forecasts suggest full-year profits just shy of £3 billion. It commented that “our gross margin improved, benefiting from a one-off price inflation gain and margin optimisation work.” It added that “tight cost control and more targeted…
