Relief checks | Summary news 19 April 2023
US Finance Feed: Latest Updates
Headlines: Wednesday 19 April, 2023
- The rate of families with an unemployed member fell three percent from 2021 to 2022 to 4.7 percent
- Workers in Alaska, New Jersey, and Wyominghave been hit hardest by layoffs this year
- Federal Tax Day has passed for most, but counties in eight states got a extension
- Miss tax deadline? Find out why you should still file as soon as possible and how.
- Housing prices continue to fall, is it a good time to buy?
- Housing starts jumped in February helping to push rental prices down.
-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sees paths to "soft landing" for US economy.
- Mortgage rates drop for fifth consecutive week. 30-yr fixed-rate average at 6.27%
- Inflation rose 0.1 percent in March; housing was the primary driver of the increase.
- Federal Reservecould increase rates again as soon as early May
- Social Security and Medicare Trustees warn of respective funds depleted by 2031 and 2033
- Various states will continue to issue inflation relief checks and generous tax refunds in April
- Social Security April payment schedule: when can you expect your payment?
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Wall Street mostly unchanged as investors receive corporate performance news
The S&P 500 ended virtually unchanged on Wednesday while the Dow dipped as investors digested a mixed bag of corporate earnings, including upbeat reports from medical technology companies, countered by weakness in Netflix shares.
The Dow was weighed down by declines in Walt Disney and UnitedHealth Group shares following results from rivals in their respective industries.
Major equity indexes have been largely stable during the early stages of a first-quarter earnings season that investors expect to show tepid results.
"Corporate results are being seen as being in large part company-specific news versus market news," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth. "If that keeps us relatively calm and unchanged for now, while the sample set of reporters is still quite small, I think that's a positive."
Investors are looking for signs in corporate results that inflation may be driving up costs or hurting consumer spending, amid fears the economy may be on the cusp of a downturn.
(REUTERS)
Banks lose deposits as customers look for higher yields
Several banks have reported deposit outflows in the first quarter, compared with the fourth quarter, after customers sought the refuge of "too-big-to-fail" institutions and money market funds for higher returns.
The closure of two regional banks in March shook investor confidence and set off fears over deposit safety after small banks shed $177.5 billion in deposits in March from the previous month, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
These lenders will be compelled to lift deposit rates to attract customers, analysts worry, raising costs of one of the cheapest sources of funding.
(REUTERS)
The 2023 tax season has ended for most filers in the United States, and the IRS is already preparing for 2024.
On 18 April, the tax authority announced that filers can “use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to help update the amount of tax to have taken out of their 2023 pay.” While some may think that making such a calculation is a job for next year, the IRS disagrees and encourages workers to be proactive.
Read our full coverage for details on how to use the tool and what benefits it provides.
Across the Golden State, many residents are struggling to keep up with the rapidly increasing cost of rent and housing. From 1986 to 2023, the lowest rental vacancy rate recorded was 3.6 percent in 2016. This indicator looks at the percent of total rental properties on the market that are available and without tenants. Last month, this rate reached the second lowest level recorded, clocking in at 3.9 percent.
Read our full coverage for details on how the low supply of vacant rentals impacts prices in the market.
Last year, economists, business leaders, and some politicians pointed to “The Great Resignation” as a reason to worry about the tightness of the labor market. With unemployment hitting a historic low and the demand for labor remaining high, some workers opted to quit their job to find a new one that offered better pay or conditions. The rate of voluntary separations, or quits, has started to fall, and now layoffs (or involuntary separations) are on the rise.
Compared to two the first two months of 2022, quits have fallen by 9.2 percent, while layoffs have increased by thirteen percent.
Read our full coverage for the latest on which states have seen the greatest number of layoffs so far this year.
The deadline to file an income tax return and pay any taxes due for 2022 was 18 April 2023. Yes, that date has come and gone and if you made the deadline, odds are that you are waiting for your refund if you haven’t received it already.
However, if you missed the deadline and forgot to file for an extension, don’t panic just yet. You may fall into one of four categories, those who aren’t required to file a tax return, are owed a refund, got an automatic extension due to a disaster declaration or you owe taxes that still need to be paid.
Find out what you should do if you din't file your taxes on time.
Claim your tax refund or forfeit it to the Treasury
p>The IRS gives taxpayers three years from the relevant Tax Day to claim a tax refund from the agency. This is the last year to claim a refund from 2019 if you had money that was owed to you but you failed to file a tax return. The IRS is holding onto an estimated $1.5 billion that went unclaimed.
Normally, that would be 18 April but due to the extension given during the covid-19 pandemic in 2019 taxpayers will have until 17 July 2023. After that date any money that was owed to you will be gone forever and put in the US Treasury coffers.
Digging through the sofa to find some spare change? Well you might be able to get a lot more than a few coins. The IRS announced that nearly 1.5 million people across the country have unclaimed refunds for tax year 2019.
Amazon cuts jobs in advertising unit
Amazon has laid off workers in its advertising unit as part of previously announced cuts that would affect 9,000 employees. The company had already fired 18,000 people in earlier layoffs that had been declared a few months ago.
Amazon is carrying out the largest number layoffs in its history, after going on a hiring spree during the covid-19 pandemic
Sent in your 2022 tax return and wondering where you refund is at?
The vast majority of tax filers in the United States receive a refund each year. At the IRS, tax returns are processed on a first-come-first-served basis and this year the agency has been able to nearly keep pace with returns as they arrive having processed over 99% of the over 101 million declarations submitted as of 7 April.
The IRS has sent out over 69 million refunds this year for a total of nearly $199 billion. If you're wondering where your refund is, the IRS has a tool called ‘Where’s My Refund?’ that allows taxpayers to check the status of their refund
Filing out tax forms can be complicated and while the Internal Revenue Service has expanded its chest of online tools filers can use, sometimes you need to speak to a real person. Fortunately, the IRS has beefed up its staffing ahead of the 2023 tax season to help with those inquiries over the phone.
Home prices to set the tone for 2023 inflation
The housing market will be a big factor in determining how the rate of inflation will go for the year.
According to Forbes, this is because the cost of homes makes up almost 60% of the Consumer Price Index. House prices are also rising at a rate of 8.2% a year.
Housing starts second highest in nearly 40 years; supply glut helps drive down rents
A building boom has begun with 608,000 new projects with five or more units in February, an increase of 14.3% and the second highest since 1986. According to Redfin data only April 2022 exceeded the recent new housing starts recorded.
As well there was a record number of completed residential projects in buildings of the same characteristic, jumping 72% from this time last year. At 509,000 units, with the exception of February 2019 was the highest since 1987.
The additional supply has created a glut which helped bring down rent prices to a median US asking rent of $1.937, which was also aided by biting inflation and economic uncertainty. This is the first year over year decline since March 2020, with the median US asking rent dropping 0.4% last month. However, rents in March 2022 were 17.5% above the year prior.
While the 18 April tax deadline applies to most taxpayers around the United States, certain filers in counties affected by severe weather events in eight states will be exempt for varying amounts of time. They have been given automatic extensions that range from 15 May to 16 October 2023.
The counties in question are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, New York and Tennessee.
US taxpayers have the entire year to organize their paperwork for their tax declaration with the IRS, but only a three-month window to file without penalties. The 2023 tax season runs from 23 January to Tax Day 18 April, normally 15 April but due to that date falling on a Saturday and Monday being a holiday taxpayers got a few extra days.
Certain taxpayers were given some extra time automatically after they suffered extreme weather events where they live or operate a business. But with the exception of those people, 2022 tax returns and unpaid taxes must be submitted by Tax Day, or if you need more time a request for an extension must be filed.
The 19th of April 2023 is “a day late and a dollar short” as the saying goes. No extension will be accepted, barring for those provided disaster relief by the IRS but special conditions apply for each specific extension declaration. Missing the deadline may incur penalties and interest accruing daily, the latter nearly double from the same time last year.
Increased demand in Iowa food banks in the face of impending SNAP restrictions
The Iowa legislature, with the support of the Republican supermajority, is poised to approve some of the country’s harshest restrictions on SNAP. They include asset tests and new eligibility guidelines. By the state’s own estimate, Iowa will need to spend nearly $18 million in administrative costs during the first three years to take in less federal money, according to The Washington Post.
The bill’s backers argue the steps would save the state money long term and cut down on what they call “SNAP fraud.”
Iowa’s food bank operators say that as they are already seeing more people needing their services, any new restrictions on food stamps are likely to fuel a surge in demand.
The United States offers a number of social programs to aid low-income residents, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which focuses on food assistance.
SNAP is a federal program run by the US Department of Agriculture but administered by the states who usually depend on county governments to enroll beneficiaries and manage the program. Households receiving SNAP are sent an EBT card, which functions like a debit card, and each month money is added to an account associated with the card that can only be used to purchase certain food and household products. The amount varies depending on the number of people who live in the home and the state in which the beneficiary lives.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government approved an increase of $95 for SNAP recipients to better provide crisis relief. However, this increase ended on 1 March after almost three years. As inflation continues to drive up food prices, these dollars are sorely missed by many households enrolled in SNAP.
Read our full coverage for details on which SNAP beneficiaries will see a small increase in their benefit amount.
Last year, prices began to rise rapidly, and to support residents in combat inflation, various states began sending out relief checks. Although inflationary pressure in the market has weakened in recent months, the delivery of support will continue in April.
Read our full coverage for details on which residents can expect a check or refund.
Mortgage rates on the upswing
Mortgage rates zoomed to beyond 7% in October last year, then slid back into the area of 6% levels in February 2023.
While the weekly average has been trending down for five weeks in a row hitting 6.27% last week, they're now on their way back up. Prospective homeowners might be wondering how the outlook for the housing market will turn out to be this year. Our coverage has some answers.
Purchasing a property during a recession may save you money. The 2008 recession and housing market crisis highlighted how much property values affect the economy.
If you’re considering purchasing a property, you may have a different worry than other consumers: how long each upswing and recession will endure and how severe it will become. Is buying during a recession risky?
As Andy Restrepo reports, even specialists have failed to forecast home market crashes. Prices rose sharply in 2020 and 2021, but the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes may result in lower house prices.
The housing market is down from its peak in the summer of 2022 cooled by rising borrowing rates and many previously red-hot markets being overvalued. But will the US see a housing market crash in 2023?
While the general downturn is expected to continue, it depends on which market, with four potentially set for a major correction. Other markets though could come through with but a scratch and some even seeing slight gains.
Greg Heilman tells us that the consensus among housing experts is that they are all thinking this is going to be a moderate downturn.
Welcome to AS USA’s live blog on the latest financial news
Tax Day has come and gone. The deadline to submit your tax returns and pay any taxes due to the IRS was 18 April. If you missed the deadline, you still have until November to file and the sooner the better to avoid incurring further penalties and interest.
We'll bring you information that can help and if you already filed, changes to keep in mind for next year and get ready early.
Plus we will give you the latest figures on the economy and other financial news.