Relief checks: summary news 30 December
Headlines: Friday, 30 December 2022
- Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) figure fell to 5.5% in Nov as inflation eases
- Last Friday, Congress passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill to fund government through September
- Supreme Court to hear two challenges to student loan forgiveness plan in February
- US inflation slowed to 7.1% in November
- Fed continues to raise interest rates as inflation starts to ease
- Minimum wage to rise in several US states in 2023
Related news stories:
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/BVTIVPRUONI4DAGGBCF6CNTSYQ.jpg)
The price of eggs hits record highs in the U.S.
According to official figures from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of eggs has reached a record high in the country. Currently, a dozen Grade A eggs are $3.60, when last year around the same time the price was $1.82.
Large Midwestern eggs have fetched a price of $5.60, according to Egg Price Current; which means that prices are up about 49 percent compared to a year ago.
Why are eggs so expensive and when will prices drop?
There are several factors in the price rise. One of them is the avian flu, which has caused the death of 60 million birds in the country, 43 million of them laying hens.
Currently, there are around 308 million hens laying eggs, while in December 2021 the figure stood at 328 million. Added to the low production is the high demand for the product. “That makes the price go up more and more,” Daniel Sumner, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of California, Davis, told Market Place.
Another key factor in the increase has been the high rates of inflation. Currently, inflation in the United States stands at 7.1 percent. In the middle of this year the figures reached their all-time high, passing nine percent.
Egg prices are expected to drop after the holiday season as demand for the product declines, according to experts.
California residents to receive checks in January
If you haven't received your check yet, don't despair. Final inflation relief payments are on their way to California residents, with debit cards being sent by Jan. 14
Indicator of inflation cool-down?
Bond traders have pulled back on expectation for where US inflation will be in a decade. This suggests there is growing confidence that 2022’s consumer-price blowout is under control.
Market indicators are showing an annual pullback in traders’ inflation perceptions for the first time in at least two years.
Banks will be open on New Year’s Eve but because of the day New Year’s Day falls upon they won’t be open again until Tuesday 3 January.
At most banks, if you must do any transactions on New Year’s Eve or Day you can use an ATM or online banking service. However, be aware that the Federal Reserve will be closed until the New Year, so any money transfers done between banks online will not be processed until the following business day.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/WVUOD6KZ5EFHR6QVZQGZTSIYNM.jpg)
New Year’s Day is a federal holiday in the US meaning many shops and services will be closed. Banks are no exception and due to a dating quirk they will be closed an extra day as well.
However, this is different for shops that are likely to be open on both days. Shops may be closed on the federal holiday of 2 January, 2023. This has been moved a day later because the holiday of New Year’s Day is on a Sunday. Check your local for more information as it will vary.
IRS chose not to investigate Trump
We anticipated the IRS would expand the mandatory audit program to account for the complex nature of the former president’s financial situation yet found no evidence of that. This is a major failure of the IRS under the prior administration, and certainly not what we had hoped to find.
All presidents of the United States in recent decades have released their tax returns to the public for scrutiny. It just became the done thing. Then Donald Trump rolled up and despite saying he would follow suit, did everything in his power to evade the process. It was almost like he had something to hide.
So to today, and a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives committee has taken it upon themselves to release the former president’s returns. Six years worth of information and a move that comes just days before Republicans are due to take control of the chamber.
Inflation and economy heading for trouble say voters
Recent polls show continued pessimism over America’s future, with about two-thirds of voters saying the country is headed in the wrong direction amid anxiety about the economy, despite recent signs inflation has peaked.
More than two-thirds of Americans (70%) said the country is not on the right track, according to a State Policy Network/Morning Consult poll. More than half (55%) said their state was also headed in the wrong direction.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/diarioas/UAN5RE5OPBFCXDKCJIUHQQMJWI.jpg)
The Social Security Administration in the United States released the biggest cost-of-living increase in more than four decades. With an annual rate of 8.7 percent, this historic COLA will significantly increase the maximum Social Security payout.
As we approach the end of the year, some will already be looking ahead to 2023 and the upcoming tax season in the United States. Most of the pandemic-era tax relief initiatives have now ended and we’re back to normality when it comes to tax filing.
However not everyone is required to file a return with the IRS and low earners will not have to pay tax. If your total earnings are less than the standard deduction amount then you will not be required to declare taxes.
In a bid to curb inflation, the Federal Reserve has been steadily raising interest rates in the US for several months.
What effect does this have on Americans' day-to-day lives?AS USA's Will Gittins takes a look.
Southwest Airlines will be held to account for cancelations stranding thousands
SouthWest Airlines has canceled thousands of flights as its operation collapsed in the wake of the Winter Storm Elliot. Things went into a tailspin after two of its major hubs were buried under snow snarling traffic in and out. The chain reaction has left travelers that had booked flights with the carrier stranded across the nation and lost baggage piling up.
While airlines are not required to compensate ticket holders for expenses incurred when a flight is canceled Soutwest has said that it "will honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation."
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is planning on holding the carrier to written commitments that it and other airlines made this summer after another bout of travel chaos developed as Americans began to travel again in mass but airlines and airports had trouble handling the surge in demand.
We're likely to find out the result of the legal challenges against President Biden's student debt cancellation plan in the spring, as the Supreme Court has announced it is to hear arguments relating to the case in February.
Six Republican states are challenging the forgiveness scheme.
Finance news and live updates: welcome
A warm welcome to AS USA's daily live blog for Friday 30 December 2022.
Here we will be bringing you the latest US financial news and information - with a particular focus on inflation relief measures in the country as the new year approaches.