US financial news summary | 23 October 2023
Headlines: Monday 23 October 2023
- Housing sales fall to the lowest level in more than a decade
- Five biggest US banks expected to lay off 20,000 workers this year
- The different kinds of stocks explained
- Americans’ net worth increased by 37% during the pandemic
- SSI beneficiaries will see their first 2024 COLA-applied check in December
Check out some of our related news articles:
Beneficiaries and contributors as well as those planning to retire should be aware of three main changes that will be coming next year to Social Security. These will affect how much the SSA the pays out each month, the maximum that has to be paid in and how long you have to wait to claim benefits in order to receive the full amount.
You may have to wait longer to claim full benefits in 2024
Every year the Full Retirement Age increases by two months. That means that in 2024 only those born in the first three months on 1958 will be able to qualify for Full Retirement Age, which is 66 and 8 months for those born in 1958, taking into account that you must wait a full month from your birthday to qualify. The Full Retirement Age will keep increasing until it reaches 67 for those born in 1960.
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With the 3.2% increase, the average payment of a retired worker for 2024 will increase by approximately $57, which leaves the checks for next year at an average of $1,885.
This is only an approximate amount, which means that the exact number varies depending on the personal situation of each beneficiary. Here is a simple formula with which you can calculate the increase in your payments for 2024: multiply the figure of your current benefits by 1.032.
The United States has various economic assistance programs for individuals with limited resources. Relief is distributed at the federal, state, county, and local levels, with residents in some areas eligible for far more assistance than others.
Harris County in Texas has allocated $20.5 million towards the Uplif program, which will allow for the sending of $500 checks on a monthly basis to a small group of beneficiaries. In total, over 18 months, those enrolled in the program will receive $9,000. The program was approved by the county in June of this year.
Read more on the program in our full coverage.
Across the country, renters are facing an unsustainable situation. In September, the average rental price rose half a percent, leading to a year-over-year increase in prices of 7.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Incomes are not increasing at the same rate, leaving many tenants to spend more on their rent.
Not all cities have seen rental prices surge at the same rates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the last year, the cities that have seen the highest increases in rent are...
Some people get Medicare parts A and B automatically, while others must register. The Social Security Administration offers an online portal to sign up.
Medicare participants will have just over seven weeks to take advantage of open enrollment to sign up or change their coverage.
Housing market: new listings and pending sales up but home purchases falling through
Homeowners, fearing that the value of their house may fall due to high mortgage rates, have started listing their homes helping increase new listings. This has brought some house hunters off the sidelines creating an uptick in pending sales. However, the high mortgage rates are giving would-be buyers cold feet causing deals to fall through at the highest rate in nearly a year according to Redfin data.
Last week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage weekly average rose to 7.63%, with the daily average topping 8% for the first time since 2000.
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Would-be homebuyers have watched mortgage rates climb up over the past two years, limiting what they can afford on their budgets.
The official IRS release for 2024 tax brackets is expected soon. However, a look at reported inflation this year provides insight at what they could be.
Starting in January 2024, all beneficiaries who receive monthly checks from Social Security will have an increase in the amount they receive, as part of a process of adaptability to increasing costs and needs.
How many Americans will benefit from the recently announced cost of living adjustment?
Americans overdue on car payments at highest level in nearly 30 years
The higher price tags on vehicles and increased borrowing costs are causing car owners to falling behind on their payments.
The percent of subprime borrowers who are at least 60 days late on their car payments reached the highest level since 1994, sitting at 6.1%. The figure was just below 6% in January.
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Every month, the Social Security Administration issues around $70 million in payments to program beneficiaries, most of whom are retired workers.
The payment date for these retirees is regulated based on the day of their birth, except in the case of those who retired before May 1997. Those who were born from the 1st to the 10th of any month receive payment on the first Wednesday. Those with a birth date between the 11th and the 21st get payments on the second Wednesday of the month, and those from the 21st to the 31st, on the third.
Taking into account the way payments are distributed, who will receive $1,800 from Social Security on October 25?
The covid-19 pandemic took a toll on the economy, and Americans were hit by record levels of inflation. Despite these developments, average net worth in the country surged by the inflation-adjusted figure of 37% in 2022 as compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.
According to the Survey of Consumer Finances by the Federal Reserve, this is the biggest three-year rise since the Fed started conducting the triennial survey in 1989. The study measures income, net worth, debt, and home ownership, among other financial indicators. Read more.
Gas prices are falling even with oil nearing $90 a barrel
US crude oil futures have risen about 5% since the Israel-Hamas war started earlier this month, but that jump hasn't stopped the downward trend in gasoline prices, per Yahoo Finance.
The national average cost of retail gasoline sits at $3.58 per gallon, $0.10 less than a week ago, and $0.30 off from last month, according to AAA data. Even California, which has the highest average in the nation at $5.59 per gallon, has seen a $0.17 decline from exactly one week ago.
"Gas prices seasonally fall every autumn," Andrew Gross, spokesperson for AAA, told Yahoo Finance. "2023 is no exception."
The main reasons behind the decline is the switch to a less expensive winter blend driving fuel and lower seasonal demand.
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Through the Choose Topeka program, this Kansas city is offering up to $15,000 to select individuals and families who opt to move there for economic opportunities.
According to a report from personal finance website Go Banking Rates, the areas where older adults decide to live after retirement will be crucial to their having a comfortable transition to retirement. This is because there are states where the cost of living is cheaper compared to others. There are also certain areas that have a higher average number of retirees.
Here is a list of states with the highest number of retired people and the cost of living in each of them.
The battery test race to work out what used EVs are really worth
A race is on to certify battery health and performance in used electric vehicles, with some startups scrambling to help buyers figure out how much a secondhand EV is really worth.
With traditional combustion-engine cars, mileage and years racked up can quickly tell prospective buyers how much they should fork out. That formula does not work with EVs - whose value depends largely on their battery's driving range and ability to hold a charge.
Until recently, there was no way to measure battery health, hampering used EV sales. But that is changing as companies rush to scale up EV battery tests - some of which take just minutes.
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McDonald’s is the largest fast food restaurant chain in the United States and for that matter in the world, with a workforce of tens of thousands of people.
Salaries at the Golden Arches vary depending on several factors, such as experience, location, and department. However, the average hourly wage is slightly above the federal minimum of $7.25.
Here’s a look at the best and worst paying jobs in the company.
The minimum wage in California, already double the federal minimum wage, is scheduled to increase for all workers next year. However, there are select groups of workers that will get an even bigger increase.
Anti-obesity drugs can be boost for food makers, investors say
The growth in demand for appetite-suppressing anti-obesity drugs like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy presents opportunities for food manufacturers and the market's initially downbeat reaction may be overdone, investors say.
When Walmart said this month that it saw a slight pullback in food consumption when people took the medication, it sparked a sell-off in shares of companies including Nestle, the world's biggest packaged food maker.
Nestle has already started work on products that "companion" weight loss drugs like Wegovy, CEO Mark Schneider said last week, which may include supplements to help compensate for the "loss of lean muscle mass" and "rapid regain of weight".
Those initiatives, and the limited availability of the drug as Novo struggles to keep up with demand, have persuaded some investors that the so-called "miracle drugs" will not hurt the industry in the long term.
(REUTERS)
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The Medicare premiums and deductibles for parts A, B, C, and D for 2024 have been released by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMM). Compared to last year, they will only increase slightly.
Since the more valuable Child Tax Credit, included in the American Rescue Plan, expired in 2023, various states have moved to increase the value of their state-level credit to support families with children. One of these states is Minnesota, where a new Child Tax Credit worth up to $1,750 has been approved for the 2024 fiscal year.
According to a message put out by the office of Governor Tim Walz, the expanded credit is expected to cut child poverty in the state by one-third and will be received by “nearly 300,000 households, including 513,000 children.” These figures represent around 10% of households and more than a third of households with children. The Governor called attention to the fact that outside the counties that make up the Minneapolis and St. Paul region, “with five Minnesota counties where at least 1 in 5 children are living in poverty and each of those counties located outside the seven-county metro.”
Read more on who is eligible and how to claim in our full coverage.
US finance news, live updates: welcome
Good morning and welcome to AS USA's daily live blog for Monday, 23 October 2023, bringing you the latest US financial news.
We’ll be looking at the major stories affecting Americans like the Social Security 2024 COLA increase that will boost benefits for the over 70 million recipients of monthly payments from the agency. Also changes to SNAP benefits and when they will be paid.
Likewise, how inflation is still being felt by consumers across the country and what the Federal Reserve's next steps will be. Additionally, the knock-on effects of those measures.