US financial news | Summary news 17 October
US finance news: live updates
Headlines: Tuesday 17 October 2023
- Drugstore chain Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy
- Gas prices continue to fall in the US, regular $3.58 per gallon
- Medicare Open Enrollment period has begun. Here's what you should know...
- Social Security Administration (SSA) announces 3.2% COLA for 2024
- Average Social Security retirement recipient to receive at least $50 more per month
- Mortgage rates continue to climb. When will homebuyers get relief?
- Which US states are issuing stimulus checks and tax rebates?
Check out some of our related news articles:
Tax filing time is still a while away, thank goodness, but that doesn’t mean preparations are yet to begin. Indeed, the IRS has announced plans for a huge trial for a new federal income tax pilot that aims to finally make taxes free, easy, and accessible.
The “Direct File” pilot test will provide taxpayers with the choice to electronically file their federal tax return directly with the IRS for free. Taxpayers can choose to use it for tax year 2023 and it will be a mobile-friendly, interview-based service that works on all devices. It will be an option for hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in 13 states in 2024. Read more.
After decades of decline, the number of manufacturing jobs in the US is beginning to tick up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that in September, the number of workers employed in the sector surpassed thirteen million, a benchmark that has not been met since 2008.
In 2008, nonsupervisory workers employed in the manufacturing sector made an average of $17.75 an hour. Accounting for inflation, in today’s dollars, this wage would be worth around $25.37, only $0.83 more than the average in 2023 ($26.20). This slight difference means that while wages have kept up with inflation, the conditions for workers in the sector have not improved substantially over the last fifteen years.
Checks are a pretty old-school method of paying for something. Data suggests they are used in just 7% of transactions, though this data is six years old. This number is likely much lower by 2023.
If you are using checks to pay for something, however, there may be times when you change your mind about sending it. ‘Voiding’ is the method to achieve this without the check being filed and money moving out of an account. Remember that once a check is voided, it can’t be cashed or deposited.
When choosing what kind of plan they want, those eligible to participate in Medicare can purchase additional health insurance to get extra coverage.
Retail drugstore chains have been closing hundreds of locations around the US leaving some areas without a nearby pharmacy. What’s behind the downsizing?
Social Security checks are not the only benefits that will be higher in 2024. Recipients of the SNAP food-stamps scheme, which is run by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), are also getting a 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment.
Unlike the Social Security Administration, though, the USDA is implementing that increase right away.
For the full lowdown on Social Security and SSI payment dates in 2024, let me recommend this piece by AS USA's Corina González and Oli Povey.
On average, retired workers in the US will be able to claim just over $1,900 a month in 2024.
For American workers who wait until what SSA terms 'full retirement age' before seeking retiree benefits, the maximum monthly amount will be just about double that.
The Social Security Administration pays out benefits to over 71 million Americans injecting billions of dollars each month into the US economy. Every year the agency automatically increases benefits every year with a cost-of-living adjustment. For 2024, the COLA increase will be 3.2%, but how will that affect inflation in the US economy?
As mortgage rates climb, the weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular, hit 7.57% last week, homebuyers are exploring other options for financing their purchase. One of those is adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs).
Also known as a variable-rate mortgage, ARMs are a type of home loan where the interest rate is not fixed for the entire duration of the loan.
Every month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues about 70 million payments to program beneficiaries, most of whom are retired workers. Last week, the SSA announced that beneficiaries of the programs it oversees would see a 3.2 percent increase in their benefits next year. This boost, commonly known as the Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), is made each year to limit the impact of inflation on the purchasing power of retired workers and other beneficiaries.
However, the sending of COLA-applied benefits is still a few months away.
This month, the SSA will continue to distribute Social Security payments, with the next batch of payments scheduled for Wednesday, 18 October.
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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...
A tax credit that was enhanced in the Inflation Reduction Act is being made easier to access. The $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit used to only be accessed through tax returns but a major change means it can now be qualified upfront when the car is purchased.
This means the the full tax break can be qualified for even if they don’t owe federal taxes, making it basically a $7,500 discount on an electric vehicle.
Medicare participants will have just over seven weeks to take advantage of open enrollment to sign up or change their coverage.
Would-be homebuyers have watched mortgage rates climb up over the past two years, limiting what they can afford on their budgets.
US finance news, live updates: welcome
Good morning and welcome to AS USA's daily live blog for Tuesday 17 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.