Inflation relief checks news summary | 11 November 2022
Inflation relief: Latest news
Headlines: Friday, 11 November 2022
- FTX cryptocurrency exchange files for bankruptcy with billions of dollars at risk
- Bitcoin plummeted nearly $1,000, after shaky trading slowly climbs back to $17,000 mark
- Inflation fell to 7.7% in October, new CPI report shows
- US stocks rally on inflation report, recording sharpest rise since 2020
- Collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX sends Bitcoin price tumbling
- Elon Musk warns Twitter could face bankruptcy after announcing mass layoffs
- Biden hails CPI report: "My economic plan is showing results"
- Inflation rate falls from 8.2% in September, a 0.5-point drop
- Two states voted to increase their minimum wage
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Get informed on how to weatherize your house before Jack Frost is nipping at your wallet
Weatherization of your house can make a big difference in how much you pay out of pocket to keep your home warm this winter. Tune in next week for a webinar on what steps you can take to keep down your energy bills this winter.
Advice from financial help to step to keep the cold out this winter
With a winter approaching that is expected to be a little colder than the last and energy costs higher than last year, households will be facing yet another stress on their finances. Depending on how you heat your home it could be as much as 28% more expesive this winter.
The average cost is estimated to be 18% higher this year, or roughly $1,200 more than last year. While states and localities have programs to help those struggling to keep the furnace running, there are several ways that you can kept the cold out and heat in through weatherization.
It’s no secret that the United States is one of the leading economies around the globe. However, the economic situation tends to vary in each of the country’s 50 states, even more so in the cities.
According to a report by the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise - a group of trade policy experts - there are ten cities in the United States that are distinguished by their rapid growth in 2022.
New lifetime military pass available to Veterans and Gold Star Families
The Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act in December 2021. The law made permanent a move by the National Park Service to give free access to veterans and Gold Star Families. It also ensures that the free annual passes for active-duty military will remain available in the future.
The new interagency Military Lifetime Passes will be available starting 11 November 2022 and will provide free access to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests.
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The US government approved the sending of three stimulus checks to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it had finished sending the third payment, also known as Economic Impact Payment (EIP), some people can still claim the $1,400.
Read our full coverage for details on how the stimulus checks can still be claimed.
In eary October payments of California’s inflation relief checks started to be sent out to residents. Payments are going out as either direct deposit or debit cards and will be sent through mid-January with payment schedules based on which format the payment is made.
We're seeing good news today with an easing of CPI inflation, which is welcome relief for family budgets. The Biden Administration will continue to address costs as we work to maintain steady job growth, low unemployment, and economic resilience in the face of global challenges.
What are today's average mortgage rates?
The Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes have had a significant effect on the US housing market in recent months, making mortgages far more expensive for borrowers and cooling interest in property.
Here's a snapshot of typical mortgage rates as of Thursday, 10 November:
Standard 30-year fixed mortgage: 7.08%
Standard 15-year fixed mortgage: 6.38%
A major shock in the world of cryptocurrency has shaken investors around the world and slashed the value of the biggest players, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Struggling cryptocurrency exchange FTX was forced to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy and its CEO has resigned after a collapse in the value of its linked crypto coin left a $7 billion shortfall in the companies finances.
Here's what you need to know about the collapse of FTX...
FTX cryptocurrency goes bankrupt
As we reported yesterday a buyout of FTX by Binance, a major competitor, fell through. Just a day later FTX is no more.
The company was billions of dolalrs short and was not releasing customer funds from Tuesday.
FTX Trading said in a press release Friday that CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried has resigned. FTX also said Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research hedge fund is among the entities filing for Chapter 11 in Delaware.
What have analysts said about the midterm economic effect?
A narrow Republican victory in the House would spell the end for President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, and the potential for further big shifts in fiscal policy. It would also raise the risks of another crisis over the Federal debt ceiling next summer.
The House majority will likely be 10 seats or less for either party, which makes governing challenging at best. The midterms have essentially resulted in gridlock.
Preventing the Democrats from control all arms of government would give Republicans greater power to dictate economic policy. Even with a slight majority in the Senate as well as the House majority the Democrats found it very difficult to get President Biden’s spending plans through. With risks of a recession looming the government would be hoping that they could pass bills to address any future problem swiftly. With the loss of one this will be nigh impossible, at least with how the Democrats would want to conquer such crisis.
This is reflected in a budget analysis published by the Republican Study Committee (RSC) this year. It suggests the Republicans want to “reduce spending by $14.4 trillion over 10 years” as well as “build off of the pro-growth tax and regulatory policies” of the former president, Donald Trump, simply code for cut taxes on businesses. This is immediately at odds with the Democrat agenda in Congress which is aiming to increase taxes on America’s richest. This will be impossible to achieve with a stronger Republican Congress.
In his first company-wide emailsince purchasing Twitter, Elon Musk warned staff: “Without significant subscription revenue, there is a good chance Twitter will not survive the upcoming economic downturn."
He added that the company had a “net negative cash flow of several billion dollars” and stressed that radical change was neccessary.
The collapse of a public resource as ubiquitous as Twitter seems almost unimaginable, but what could happen if Musk’s new toy went bankrupt?
What's the average price of gas in the US?
Yesterday's inflation report showed a positive trend in the United States with price rises slowing across the board. This will provide comfort for consumers as we enter the winter months when energy bills are likely to rise.
AAA calculates the average price of fuel every day and found that the price of both gasoline and diesel fell on Friday 11 November.
Gasoline: $3.794
Diesel: $5.368
The price of gas continues to make solid progress and is now more than $1.20 below the record national average recorded in June when motorists were typically paying more than $5 per gallon
Student Loan Forgiveness porgram blocked
A legal challenge from two borrowers unable to receive the full amount of Student Loan Forgiveness looks set to postpone the support for up to 40 million borrowers. A Texas judge ruled on Thursday that Biden had overstepped his constitutional abilities in signing the widespread relief program and has issued a block on any payments or debt relief being made.
The issue is expected to end up in the Supreme Court.
A Texas lawsuit brought on behalf of an organisation called the Job Creators Network Foundation has blocked the implementation of President Biden's long-awaited Student Loan Forgiveness plan.
A St Louis-based appeals court had already issued a temporary block on the plan and this further complicated Biden’s hopes of the program going live before the end of the year. Here's what you need to know...
What caused the FTX collapse?
Leading cryptocurrency exchange FTX looks set to go under after Binance pulled out of a proposed deal to save the ailing site. In recent days investors have scrambled to withdraw money from FTX as the exchange faced questions about its financial structures and links to hedge fund Alameda Research.
Here's how the situation unravalled for the Bahamas-based firm and what the collpase could mean for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies...
The latest inflation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that inflation in the United States was running at 7.7% in October. This figure relates to price increases over the previous 12 months.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report made pleasant reading for President Biden and represents a 0.5-point fall when compared to September. This suggests that inflationary pressures are beginning to ease and prices are no longer rising as quickly.
President Biden was quick to celebrate the news, pointing to his recent anti-inflation legislative achievements. He also, potentially in reference to the recent midterm elections, said that he would work with both Democrats and Republicans to continue to address high prices.
FTX CEO issues apology
Sam Bankman-Fried CEO and founder of FTX, one of the world’s largest crpytocurrency exchanges, has apologised to users. The Bahamas-based exchange has got into hot water in recent weeks after it emerged that the structure has close ties with hedge fund Alameda Research, contravening market regulations.
The cryptocurrency industry has long had issues around trust and this fiasco has jolted the market and caused huge dips in the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other well-established coins.
Wall St bump from inflation report
The stock market surged on Thursday recording its biggest rally since 2020 on the back of news that the Consumer Price Index was 0.5% lower in October than the month before. The slower pace of rising prices gave investors hope that inflation has peaked and which could lead the Federal Reserve to tame its aggressive rate hiking strategy in coming months.
The Dow Jones Industrial average jumped 1,201 points for a 3.7% gain. The S&P 500 spiked 5.54% to close at just over 3,956. The Nasdaq composite had the best day since April 2020 shooting up 7.35% finishing the day a smidge above11,114.
Why did the FTX cryptocurrency exchange collpase?
Big news from the world of cryptocurrency this week as the digital exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy, leaving millions of global users and billions of dollars worth of assets in limbo. Trading firm, Alameda Research, is said to owe $10 billion to the FTX exchange and competing exchange Binance has pulled out of an inititial interest to buy out FTX.
Here's what Michael Saylor, founder and executive chairman of Microstrategy, had to say about the situation...
White House promotes Biden's anti-inflation initiatives
Yesterday there was some good news for the American people as the CPI report for October showed that inflation had fallen by 0.5 of a percentage point. This will bring financial relief for struggling households across the family and the White House was quick to celebrate the achievements of Biden's inflation-busting initiatives.
Although inflation has been declining in recent months, the truth is that the figures continue to be high, which is why citizens continue to deal with financial problems to make ends meet.
For this reason, and due to the lack of a fourth stimulus check, some states and cities have chosen to offer their own financial aid. A clear example of this will be the beneficiaries with a payment of up to $9,600.
Here’s the lowdown on who will be the lucky ones to receive the payment, when it will arrive and how to request it.
Relief for consumers as Core CPI drops in October
After sustained levels of high inflation for much of the past year, there is now real evidence that the rate of price increase is slowing. The latest CPI report for October was released yesterday, showing that the rate has dropped to 6.3%.
One of the key principles of inflation is that concern about imminent price rises often brings about further increases, so today's figures should help to ease concern and slow the overheated economy.
"Today’s report shows that we are making progress on bringing inflation down, without giving up all of the progress we have made on economic growth and job creation. My economic plan is showing results, and the American people can see that we are facing global economic challenges from a position of strength."
Inflation report sparks Wall St rally
The infation report for October suggests that the United States may be over the worst after months of sky-high price rises, and the news appears to have sparked confidence in Wall St. Above all else, investors want stability in economic policy and, with inflation beginning to fall, the Federal Reserve is less likely to impose any new actions to address inflation.
Hello and welcome to AS USA!
We're bringin you all the latest news from the United States after the October CPI report found that inflation had slowed last month, giving the first clear sign that economy is beginning to cool.
We'll take a look at what this means for consumer and the markets more generally.