US financial news summary | 29 August 2023
Headlines: Tuesday 29 August 2023
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that another interest rate hike may be necessary
- Weekly average rate of 30-Yr fixed-rate mortgages rise for fifth straight week
- Initial unemployment claims dropped to 230,000 last week
- Existing-home sales fell in July, prices rose for first time in five months
- White House launches SAVE, its new income-driven student loan repayment plan
-Minimum wage in Florida set to increase in September
- New requirements to receive SNAP benefits in 2024 set to take effect soon
- Gas prices are up this summer as extreme heat hampers oil refinery operations
- 20% of student loan borrowers to pay $500 monthly when payments resume, according to study
The new month is ticking along and that means SNAP recipients are keen to know the arrival dates of their new payments.
Bearing in mind that the deposit of the coupons is under the administration of state governments, these are the payment dates for the month of August in each state of the country.
What are your repayment options?
The SAVE plan aims to lower monthly payments for borrowers and eliminate them entirely for individuals who meet the income criteria. It will also halt the accumulation of unpaid interest as long as repayments are made promptly. You simply have to be enrolled in an Income Driven Repayment plan for paying back your student debt.
After being extended multiple times, the student debt moratorium is coming to an end. Payments are resuming on 1 September and interest will be accrued once more.
If you have not enrolled in the SAVE plan then payments will resume as they were at the beginning of 2020. Contact your student loan servicer to find out what you could expect to have to pay.
Was your application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) denied? If so, you can appeal the decision in certain situations.
The federal government, through the Department of Agriculture (USDA), implements several nutritional programs. The best known is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but there is another one called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
Fairfax County in the state of Virginia has launched the Economic Mobility Pilot program, which will provide monthly payments of $750 to 180 eligible families for 15 months.
The guaranteed income program has a total budget of $2 million, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors and will be funded by the American Rescue Act.
According to the parameters of the project, those who want to participate in the Fairfax County Economic Mobility Pilot will need to meet a set of requirements.
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President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act into law in June, and one of the most salient points of the measure was the change in work requirements for some recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
As the program currently stands, there are already work requirements in place for most able-bodied adults without dependents, or ABAWD, from the ages of 18 to 49.
The modifications will begin on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2023, although the new policieswill be implemented gradually.will
Is your ZIP code among the most in-demand areas of the year?
So-called "Zoom towns" − small, rural towns that saw an influx of remote workers during the pandemic − have been waning in popularity as employers have begun calling workers back to the office.
For the first time in five years, the suburbs of five major metropolitan areas – Boston, New York, Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis – are represented on the annual Realtor.com's Hottest ZIP Codes report, marking a renewed interest in homes with a commute as much of the country’s workforce returns to in-person work.
To drink the most expensive wine in the world, you need to have a good checking account, and perhaps also a great love and fascination (with just a touch of madness) for this drink; after all, the priciest bottle in history was purchased for more than half a million dollars five years ago.
For those who can afford it, or who are simply curious, here is the list of the top five most expensive bottles ever sold.
French winemakers are facing a blend of problems that has left them with an oversupply. The EU and France are allocating millions to destroy the excess.
Home prices climb for fifth straight month
Home prices climbed for the fifth straight month in June as demand continues to outweigh supply and higher mortgage rates put off potential sales.
The S&P Case-Shiller US National Composite home price index increased by 0.7% in June compared with May on a seasonally adjusted basis. That was in line with the 0.7% increase the month before. The index remains just 0.02% off its all-time peak exactly a year ago.
Per Yahoo Finance, the index measuring home prices in the 20 largest US cities also gained in June, rising 0.9% month over month and exceeding the Bloomberg consensus estimate of a 0.8% gain.
3M to pay $6 billion to military personnel for hearing loss
3M has agreed to pay $6.01 billion to settle nearly 260,000 lawsuits by current and former US military service members who say they suffered hearing loss from using the company's earplugs, according to a person familiar with the agreement.
The deal comes after a failed attempt by 3M earlier this year to move the lawsuits, which had grown into the largest mass tort litigation in US history, into bankruptcy court in the hope of limiting its liability.
The money will be paid out mostly over the next five years.
3M shares had risen 5% on Monday on earlier reports that a settlement was imminent. Some analysts' estimates of the company's potential liability from the earplug litigation had been as high as $10 billion.
(REUTERS)
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In the United States, the federal minimum wage has been $7.50 an hour for about 14 years, marking the longest period without an increase since the base salary was created in 1938.
However, 30 states, including California, Florida, and New York, as well as the District of Columbia, have adopted wages above the federal minimum.
Some of these states have legislation that establishes automatic increases at the beginning of the year, while others link the increases to salaries in relation to changes in the cost of living and inflation.
That is why in 2024, workers in several states will see an increase in their hourly minimum wage.
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Supplemental Security Income recipients will receive two payments in September.
According to SSA’s schedule, SSI payments are sent on the first day of each month. However, if the first day falls on a weekend, the payment will be sent in advance. If the first of the month falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the payment for that month is sent the Friday before during the previous month.
Nordstrom closes flagship store in downtown San Francisco
Nordstrom shuttered its marquee store in the heart of San Francisco following through on plans announced in May. The company’s chief executive of stores, Jamie Nordstrom, said in a statement at the time: “The dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”
The move comes days before its lease was set to expire in the San Francisco Center mall and two months after Westfield abandoned the same mall. Another factor that “definitely” had some role in the Seattle-based retailer’s decision according one employee was crime and said that “COVID had a big impact.”
Nordstorm will refocus resources on sixteen other stores around the Bay Area.
Social Security beneficiaries saw a record cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase for 2023. The monthly payments the Social Security Administration sends out were given an 8.7 percent boost to help recipients keep up with price rises not seen in four decades.
That is due to how and when the COLA is calculated each year.
Fuel prices are steadily rising in the US. Usual lower summer demand coupled with the global price of oil falling had kept prices decreasing since the highs of February 2022.
However, the beginning of hurricane season and slowing production in key oil mining states are changing this.
Good morning and welcome to AS USA's live financial blog!
We will be bringing you the latest news on SNAP benefits, Social Security updates and student debt plans, as well as other financial news affecting US consumers as policymakers continue working to tame inflation.