Inflation Relief Checks: summary news 13 December
US Inflation Relief: Latest Updates
Headlines: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
- Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index report for November showed inflation slowed more than expected to 7.1%
- Stock markets surge on better than expected inflation numbers
- Founder of failed cryptocurrency exchange Sam Bankman-Fried indicted on eight criminal charges
- Price of gasoline continue to go down now averaging less than $3.25 nationally
- Policymakers to begin two-day meeting to decide future moves to control inflation
- Biden administration has canceled $24 billion in student loan debt
- Supplemental Security Income recipients will be thefirst to see the COLA applied to their checks
- California continues distributing Middle-Class Tax Refund, with payments already benefiting 19 million residents
- Some groups will receive two Social Security checks this month
Related news
What next for student debt cancellation?
The Supreme Court announced that it will hear arguments on the legality of President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Program on an expedited basis. However, the high court left in place the hold on the Department of Education discharging any student loan debt put in place by a lower court.
The White House had asked for the program to move forward while the various lawsuits against the program work their way through the courts. Maintaining the block comes as a setback for the Biden administration and borrowers looking for certainty.
The programme promises to cancel up to $20,000 of student loan debt for eligible borrowers. However, six Republican-led states that have challenged the legality of the program are arguing that the Biden doesn’t have the authority.
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Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been arrested in the Bahamas for his role in what prosecutors are describing as one of the largest fraud cases in American history.
Back in November, FTX, once the second-largest cryptocurrency trading hub on the internet, was plunged into bankruptcy during a liquidity crisis. The collapse revealed a large number of irregularities in the financial governance of FTX with customers investments being sent to other companies to invest as well as billions of dollars missing from accounts.
What have experts said about inflation?
I believe by the end of next year you will see much lower inflation if there’s not ... an unanticipated shock.
Inflation may actually be tamed within the next 12 months.
While inflation is moving to a better place, it is not yet in a good place. The month-over-month changes show inflation pressures are cooling. But compared to a year earlier, prices broadly remain historically high
Promising inflation data from November 2022 has experts sensing a return to low inflation by the end of 2023.
These predictions have been made as inflation fell from October by six percentage points to 7.1% in November, the slowest all year. Prices have been affected by price-gouging, pandemic-related supply chain problems, as well as the war in Ukraine.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced an 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment increase for 2023 in October. The boost to Social Security benefits is the largest since 1981 and the fourth biggest in the history of COLA increases.
The increase will affect payments for old-age, survivor and disability benefits as well as Supplement Security Income, which will be the first payments to reflect the augmented amount hitting bank accounts 30 December 2022. The 2023 COLA increase will also be applied to government and military pensions along with VA benefits.
Inflation slowed more than expected in November, stocks make gains
The much anticipated consumer price index report for November was released this morning. Prices rose by 7.1% year-on-year which was less than the 7.3% expected. Markets rejoiced with the Dow Jones shooting up over 500 points in early trading.
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Worker shortages and increasing wages will be on Federal Reserve's mind
The Federal Reserve will begin two days of meeting to discuss where the economy is going and what measures will need to be taken to tackle inflation without hopefully plunging the US economy into recession. They will take into account several factors like the wholesale price inflation announced last week that was higher than expected and the consumer price index report for November due out Tuesday, expected to be lower than the previous month at 7.3%.
But fast rising wages have been a particular concern for the policymakers. They have gone up as employers need to sweeten the deal to attract workers from a limited supply. There are currently about 1.7 jobs for every person unemployed. There has been a lot of talk about the "Great Resignation" of people leaving their jobs, some to seek better offers but many Americans decided to retire durinng the pandemic helping to exacerbate the labor shortage.
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The California Franchise Tax Board has released the complete schedule for the remaining inflation relief payments. Here’s when to expect them…
We explain what a retirement plan is, how many types exist and how they work, according to the United States Department of Labor and the ERISA law.
Markets rally on Monday ahead on November consumer inflation report
Investors will be keenly watching for the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price inflation (CPI) report on Tuesday. The data for November is expected to show price increases slowing to 7.3%.
The report, which will be released at 8:30 am ET, comes as the Federal Reserve kicks off a two-day meeting to decide on its next rate hike. Jerome Powell, chair of the central bank has signaled that policymakers will pivot to lower increases. It is expected that interest rates will be raised by half a percentage point.
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Founder of collapsed FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, arrested in the Bahamas
The spectacular collapse of FTX cryptocurrency exchange added to the woes of the digital coin market, Bitcoin is currently down nearly 63% from a year ago with one expert predicting that it could go below $5,000 in 2023.
The founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested Monday on charges including money laundering, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. He had been scheduled to give testimony virtually to Congress but the new CEO John J Ray III that has been brought in to clean up the bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency exchange will appear in his stead.
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This price of Bitcoin soared during the pandemic, hitting an all-time high of $69,044.77 on 10 November 2021. Since that point the cryptocurrency’s price has been on a steady decline, falling to just over $17,000.
However financial experts at Standard Chartered Bank has claimed that the price could fall even further. We take a look at their bleak prediction for crypto in 2023...
The national average per gallon is under $3.25 according to AAA while Gas Buddy data shows an average of $3.21. The price at the pump has been steadily decreasing since peaking in June but downward trend could reverse after the Keystone Pipeline experienced the worst leak in its history.
The 14,000 barrel spill forced a temporary shutdown of the pipeline that ferries over 600,000 barrels per day of crude from Canada to the Gulf Coast and refineries in the Midwest. It has been offline since late Wednesday and if it isn't reopened in the next couple of days drivers could see the price at the pump start to go up.
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Renting or buying a house? Which will be cheaper next year? Here are the predictions for 2023, based on a forecast by real estate market company Zillow.
Which states have seen the highest increases in housing prices since 2019?
Since the Federal Reserve began to increase interest rates earlier this year, the price of a mortgage has shot up dramatically. This comes as housing prices decrease across the country as some potential buyers are priced out, unable to afford a six or seven-percent interest rate on what would be their monthly mortgage payment. However, compared to prices a few years ago, before the pandemic set the housing market on fire, the value of homes are still way up.
Which states have seen the highest increases since 2019?
1. Idaho: 68.47%
2. Arizona: 67.79%
3. Utah: 60.59%
4. Florida: 59.80%
5. Montana: 57.28%
6. Washington: 54.57%
7. Tennessee: 54.07%
8. North Carolina: 53.90%
9. Georgia: 53.45%
10. Nevada: 50.70%
Source: Zillow
Hello, and welcome to AS USA
Hello, and welcome to AS USA's blog on inflation relief and financial news. We’ll keep you up to date on measures that have been approved in states around the US to help residents cope with the high prices.
We'll also track what the government is doing to bring inflation to heel and how markets are reacting.