US financial news summary | 21 June 2023
US Financial News: Latest Updates
Headlines | Wednesday, 21 June 2023
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before Congress
- Initial unemployment claims remained steady at 262,000 last week
- Retail sales unexpectedly rise 0.3% in May
- Federal Reserve held rates steady in June, but signaled two more rate hikes in 2023
- The Consumer Price Index tracks a 0.1 percent increase in prices in May
Read more from AS USA:
Lawmakers urge FTC to finalize new consumer protections for car buyers
A group of 17 Democratic legislators have urged the Federal Trade Commission to finalize new consumer protections for car buyers despite objections from auto dealers who argue the rules would actually raise the cost of buying a car.
The FTC in June 2022 proposed banning fees and bait-and-switch advertising tactics and requiring dealers to make key disclosures to consumers, including providing a true "offering price" and being transparent about optional add-on fees. The FTC said the rules "would save consumers time and money and help ensure a level playing field for honest dealers.”
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The US has a large number of economic programs dedicated to helping the sector of the population that needs it most; that is, those with limited resources.
Many of these economic relief programs are federal, while others are administered at the state level. Such is the case of the Guaranteed Basic Income Programs, which are available in certain states of the nation. Through these, it is possible to offer monthly payments of $500 to low-income families.
Find out if your state offers this assistance and who are qualified to receive it.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program is designed to provide financial assistance for low-income households. The monthly payments are a supplement for the household food budget to ensure that recipients can afford to purchase healthy food.
Low-income Californian households can be eligible to receive monthly payments to cover the cost of food if they earn under a certain threshold.
As this report tells us, California has no asset or resource limit for SNAP benefits, but it does have eligibility requirements on both gross and net income.
Your car could be worth much less than your loan
Motorists who took on car loans at high interest rates could face headaches down the road as car values pull back in an economic slowdown.
The car you plan to trade in- particularly if you bought a used car- could be worth far less than you'd imagine. And lenders are growing more concerned about people falling behind in their car payments, especially if that car drops significantly in value.
Negative equity, or owing more on your car than it's worth, is building, particularly in used cars bought by subprime borrowers.
Three-plus years since the student loan moratorium was put into place it will officially be coming to a conclusion at the end of summer. Here’s what to know
There are differences between states in terms of retiree-friendliness with some states having many more benefits to others once one stops working.
Powell expresses pace of rate hike policy to how you would control the velocity when driving
The level to which we raise rates is separate to the speed with which we move. Earlier in the process speed was very important, it's not very important now.
The sense of these summary of economic projections and the decision really is just that given how far we've come, it may make sense to move rates higher but to do so at a more moderate pace. That's really it.
We were at 75 basis points for several meetings and we were at 50 basis points, then 50 basis points, 25 basis points at three consecutive meetings and now we're moderating that pace.
Much as you might do if you were to be driving 75 miles an hour on a highway. Then 50 miles per hour on a local highway. And then as you get closer to your destination, as you try to find that destination, you slow down even further.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before US House Financial Services Committee
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before the US House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday 21 June to present the semiannual Monetary Policy Report.
Follow along...
Each month, the Social Security Administration sends Social Secuirty checks and makes payments for Supplemental Security Income, in addition to distributing disability and survivor benefits.
The SSA is preparing to send out June benefits, and certain beneficiaries will receive a double payment next month. Here’s who’s eligible, the amounts, payment dates, and why sometimes two payments are made.
A significant number of individuals in the United States consider themselves to belong to the middle class,unaware of their true status as workers.
The United States government has several nutrition programs. One of the largest is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, which provides support to more than forty million people.
SNAP is a federal program that, in coordination with state governments, provides benefits to low-income families to buy food through an electronic benefits transfer card (EBT), which works like a debit card in certain establishments.
Read more in our full coverage.
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The Social Security Administration is continuing to mail out June benefits for retired workers, Supplemental Security Income payments, as well as disability and survivor assistance.
This year, thanks to the 8.7% increase in the COLA, the average payments of retirees are $1,827, the SSA revealed in January. The maximum benefit for those who retire at age 62 is $2,572 per month, $3,627 for workers who retire at full retirement age (67), and $4,555 for those who retire at age 70 or later.
As for average Supplemental Security Income payments, SSA sends out about $600 each month. The maximum monthly SSI benefit is up to $914 for an individual and $1,371 for a married couple where both spouses are eligible for the program. Here are the beneficiaries who will receive their payments on June 21.
A mortgage grace period is a temporary leniency provided by the lender to allow the borrower some additional time to make the payment without penalties.
The duration of the grace period can vary depending on the terms of the mortgage agreement and the policies of the lender. Commonly, grace periods range from 10 to 15 days, but they can be shorter or longer depending on the specific terms of the loan. These avoid late fees that can go as high as 6% of a typical mortgage payment amount.
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Some Pennsylvania residents may receive up to $975 through the Rental/Property Tax Refund Program, which is a bonus refund of property taxes or rent paid in the prior year.
To request last year’s reimbursement, it is necessary to submit an application, which you can download and submit from the program’s web portal. This application is for the taxes and/or rents paid in the previous year; that is, 2022.
Every month, the Social Security Administration issues millions of payments to program beneficiaries, most of whom are retired workers, or people with any disability, which can be part of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Can you claim disability benefits more than once? Find out how and where to apply for SSDI from our coverage.
30-year fixed-rate mortgage average ticks down but expected to stay elevated
The average weekly 30-year fixed rate went lower for a second week in a row, nudging down 0.02% this week to 6.69%. However, that is nearly one percent higher than a year ago and more than double the rate the two years prior to 2022. And, it isn’t expected to come down much in the near future, perhaps even increasing again.
While just one of several factors, elevated mortgage rates are in part why there is suchlimited housing stock available for would-be buyers as those who own are reluctant to sell. That should come as no surprise when four out five homeowners have a mortgage rate of less than 5%. Almost a quarter have a mortgage rate of sub 3% according to Redfin data.
“People who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for mortgage rates to decline, should know that’s unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future,” says Chen Zhao, Lead Economics Researcher at Redfin.
“If a home that’s in your price range and has everything on your wishlist hits the market, there’s no good reason to wait.”
US falling behind other countries in closing the gender gap
The US this year dropped further behind other countries in closing the gender gap, according to new data from the World Economic Forum.
The country ranked 43rd in gender equality out of 146 countries, down from 27th place last year, according to the WEF’s 17th annual Global Gender Gap report.
Overall, it will take 131 years to close the gender pay gap across the world economy, according to the report.
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SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program that, in coordination with state governments, provides benefits to low-income families to buy food. Each month, money is deposited onto an Electronic Benefits Transfer card, which works like a debit card at certain locations.
In case you are waiting to receive yours, this report explains who will receive up to $192 between June 20 and 23.