The initial euphoria that greeted the Federal Reserve’s decision this past week to cut interest rates for the first time in four years was keenly felt on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, widely used as a proxy for investor sentiment, soared to new...
American labor costs rose more than anticipated last quarter, new government data shows. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a measure of wages and benefits, climbed 1.2% last quarter after increasing by an unrevised 0.9% during the last three months of 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said...
The resumption of student loan payments has challenged borrowers in more ways than one. As reported here, the return of loan payments following their COVID-fueled hiatus has placed added pressure on paycheck-to-paycheck consumers. But as CNBC reported Friday (Oct. 13), borrowers have also described getting...
As inflation grows faster than most wages, an increasing number of households are living paycheck to paycheck, having just enough money to make it to the next payday with little to no funds in savings or investment accounts. Even households with high wages can find...
September 24, 2024
For lower-income consumers, the most vulnerable subset of the paycheck-to-paycheck economy, the outlook is, in a word … gloomy. As measured in the latest reading by The Conference Board, the consumer confidence index dropped to a reading of 98.7 this month, down from 105.6 last month. The Board noted that this was the largest decline […]
September 23, 2024
The initial euphoria that greeted the Federal Reserve’s decision this past week to cut interest rates for the first time in four years was keenly felt on Wall Street. The...
April 30, 2024
American labor costs rose more than anticipated last quarter, new government data shows. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a measure of wages and benefits, climbed 1.2% last quarter after increasing by an unrevised 0.9% during the last three months of 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday (April 30). Wage growth was more pronounced year-over-year, with […]
October 15, 2023
The resumption of student loan payments has challenged borrowers in more ways than one. As reported here, the return of loan payments following their COVID-fueled hiatus has placed added pressure...
