The low mortgage rates that propelled the housing market throughout the COVID-19 pandemic will rise later in the year, but they’ll do so gradually, Freddie Mac said Thursday in its quarterly outlook. That will give more homeowners a final opportunity to refinance their mortgages. The gradual rate climb has led Freddie’s economists to increase their […]
Summary List Placement While the economy is showing promising signs of recovery, adding 850,000 payrolls in June, inflation is also on the rise, concerning some economists and executives. To balance it out, CEOs are saying they will have to raise prices on their goods. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly Consumer Price Index release showed […]
Mortgage credit availability dipped 8.5% in June to 118.8 — indicating that lending standards are tightening, per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index. It’s the lowest MCAI level — which uses 100 as a benchmark — since September of 2020, and ends more than six months of increasing credit supply, according to Joel […]
Summary List Placement The country is reopening and the economy is recovering from the pandemic, and while COVID-19 cases are down, prices for goods and services are on the rise. President Joe Biden’s administration says this phenomenon, known as inflation, is not a cause for concern, but CEOs of major companies are warning that they’ll […]
Online mortgage marketplace Morty announced the close of a $25 million Series B financing round, pushing the total company valuation to $150 million. Morty’s marketplace has processed more than $500 million in loans in the past 12 months, and saw revenue grow 800% year over year. The company is currently licensed in 36 states and Washington D.C., […]
Summary List Placement This summer is looking a lot brighter for teen employment compared to last year. Pew Research noted that in 2020, teen summer employment “plunged to its lowest level since the Great Recession, erasing a decade’s worth of slow gains.” However, the employment-to-population ratio, or the share of teens who have a job, […]
Summary List Placement Even in an increasingly vaccinated America, dining out just isn’t the same as it was two years ago. At many restaurants, you can no longer linger past dessert as late as you once could and you might end up forking over more dollars for your meal. It has a lot to due […]
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell two basis points from the week prior to 2.88%, according to mortgage rates data released Thursday by Freddie Mac‘s PMMS. According to Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, the decline provides modest relief to those who are looking to buy homes in a tough market, with scant inventory and […]
Summary List Placement Initial unemployment claims came in at 360,000 for the week ending July 10, below the previous week’s revised read of 386,000. That reading matched the consensus forecast among economists, according to Bloomberg. The decline in the seasonally adjusted number resumes the overall downward trend of the volatile data series after an unexpected […]
Summary List Placement A frothy M&A environment helped to boost profits at the big banks in the second quarter, as did large releases of loan loss provisions firms had stored away in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. But as revenues in fixed-income trading fell short of those seen during last year’s volatile […]
A shareholder sued Rocket Mortgage, the Detroit-based mortgage behemoth, for allegedly making misleading disclosures to conceal adverse market conditions. The class action-seeking lawsuit, which was filed in the Eastern District Of Michigan’s Southern Division, alleges that Rocket was aware of factors that were already taking a toll on its business, while touting its future performance […]
Summary List Placement If you’re eager to return to the office, this data isn’t for you. But, if you’re one of the nearly 40% of workers who wants to keep working from home so much that you’d consider quitting your job rather than return to the office, Goldman Sachs has some data that could help […]
Summary List Placement For the nation’s minimum-wage workers, even working two full-time jobs sometimes isn’t enough to afford rent, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The average minimum-wage worker would have to work 79 hours a week to afford a modest one-bedroom rental and 97 hours a week to […]
Summary List Placement The much-expected wave of inflation amid an unprecedented post-pandemic economic reopening is here, but how long it will stay with us is an open question. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday that the Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in the prices of a basket of common goods and services, rose […]
Summary List Placement Consumer prices are rising, ticking up by 0.9% last month. That’s the largest increase in more than a decade, according to the latest US government figures. But that figure is just a summary of the overall price picture for American households — the important stuff is in the details. To see how […]
Summary List Placement As the school year approaches, some children will say goodbye to virtual learning and hello to a lot of new back-to-school clothes, shoes, and other items needed for in-person learning. A recent Deloitte report found parents are gearing up to spend more on back-to-school shopping than in 2019, and that they are […]
Summary List Placement For Americans, early July marks Independence Day. This year, it also marks independence for hospitality workers. A record number of hospitality workers are simply quitting their jobs with no intention of ever going back, declaring a certain kind of independence. And those still on the job just gained independence from daily housekeeping as […]
Summary List Placement In today’s topsy-turvy car market, people are shelling out thousands more for used cars than they did just a year ago, with prices jumping more than 10% in June alone. And although prices appear to have peaked, it’ll be a long while before you’ll be able to pick up a secondhand set […]
After several consecutive weeks of drops, mortgage applications jumped 16% for the week ending July 9, 2021, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The prior week‘s report showed a 1.8% drop in applications to the lowest level since January 2020. The sudden increase in applications was driven “heavily” by increased refinancing as […]
Summary List Placement Senate Democrats on Tuesday announced they struck a deal on a $3.5 trillion price tag for a Democrat-only infrastructure package that will expand Medicare and strengthen social safety net programs — and skirt Republicans staunchly opposed to more federal spending. Combined with a $579 billion bipartisan infrastructure deal, the party-line agreement would […]
Guaranteed Rate has found another dance partner. And Compass is borrowing from the playbook of its most visible direct competitor. Guaranteed Rate, the Chicago-based mortgage lender, and Compass, the New York City-headquartered residential real estate brokerage, “entered into a definitive agreement to form OriginPoint, a new mortgage origination company,” according to a press release Tuesday. […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Joe Manchin is ruling out borrowing money to finance a party-line infrastructure package as Senate Democrats deliberate the range of tax increases that would be needed to pay for President Joe Biden’s agenda. ‘I think everything should be paid for now,” he told reporters. “I think we’ve put enough free money […]
Summary List Placement Summer vacation is getting expensive. Prices for airlines, hotel stays, food, and car and truck rentals have all soared over the past several months as part of a larger inflation trend amid supply chain issues and an economic reopening. But they all hit new heights in June. Just look at the chart […]
Summary List Placement Prices are on the upswing for many goods, and people could start feeling the pinch at their next grocery store visit. In particular, beef saw a large increase in prices over one month compared to some other food items. The price of beef rose by 4.5% in June compared to May, per […]
Summary List Placement As the US transitions into the recovery phase of the pandemic, tipped workers across the country are leveraging their strength in numbers and sending a clear message to the restaurant industry that they should be paid what they deserve. The sub-minimum wage for tipped workers is a direct legacy of slavery that […]
Summary List Placement A photo of a Burger King sign saying “we all quit” went viral this week after a group of nine disgruntled workers resigned from a Lincoln, Nebraska, outlet of the fast-food chain over working conditions. The sign outside the restaurant, which has since been taken down, said: “We all quit, sorry for […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday said he’s pushing Democrat-only infrastructure package larger than $3.5 trillion, as Senate Democrats kicked off a frenzied legislative period. “I’m going to fight to make that proposal as robust as it can be,” Sanders told reporters outside the White House after an afternoon meeting with President Joe […]
Summary List Placement Jobs are once again being added to the labor market and the economy is showing signs of recovery from the pandemic. But this recovery is not equal, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan represents an opportunity to change that. “You cannot have a strong workforce, a strong […]
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume dropped yet again, this time falling 11 basis points to 3.76% in the period ending July 4, according to a survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. It’s the 19th straight week of forbearance decreases. The MBA estimates that 1.9 million homeowners are currently in forbearance plans. The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased eight basis […]
Summary List Placement A record number of millennials wanted to buy homes in 2020, but the real estate market can’t keep up. So finds financial services company First American, which measures potential homeownership demand based on lifestyle, societal, and economic factors in what it calls its Homeownership Progress Index (HPRI). When potential homeownership demand exceeds […]
Hispanic homeowners are more likely to have adult relatives currently living with them — and are more likely to have lived with relatives themselves, prior to buying their home. Per a recent Redfin study of 1,500 homeowners, 52% of current Hispanic homeowners have at some point lived with family or friends without paying rent to […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden may not have yet canceled student debt for every borrower, but new hires to his administration suggest the crisis could be inching up on his agenda. On Monday, the Education Department announced five new hires to the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office, four of which were former employees at […]
Summary List Placement If you’re looking to get a sweet deal on a used car to take advantage of the warm summer weather, it’s not going to happen. The market for secondhand cars is absurdly and unprecedentedly hot right now. Used vehicles went for a whopping 40% more in June than they did before the […]
Summary List Placement Papa John’s is paying bonuses of up to $400 as the restaurant industry scrambles to retain workers amid a huge labor shortage. About 14,000 staff at company-owned restaurants, and in its supply chain, can get up to $400 paid in increments over the next six months. Papa John’s didn’t say how it […]
Summary List Placement The labor market is weird right now. A lot of people remain unemployed, even though the number of job openings is high and businesses are desperate to hire. Americans that do have jobs are quitting at record-breaking rates. In other words, a major reshuffling is going on in the labor market. As […]
Summary List Placement Debt is all-American, Astra Taylor says. And she doesn’t mean that in a good way. Taylor, who founded the Debt Collective, which calls for the cancellation of all forms of debt, namechecks Thomas Jefferson as a founding father of how we understand debt today. In the early 1880s, he wrote in a letter […]
Summary List Placement Boats sit on dry land. Once-lush palm trees are now brown and shriveled. And waterways that were formerly deep and flowing have been reduced to puddles of toxic residue. This is the landscape in parts of California, which is experiencing a historic mega-drought that is expected to strain the state’s electrical grid […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Bernie Sanders indicated that he would oppose a Democrat-only spending bill if its price tag didn’t top $3 trillion, brushing anything lower as too meager. It may set the stage for a confrontation between Sanders and moderate Democrats looking to restrain the size of a follow-up package. In an interview with […]
Summary List Placement Former President Donald Trump cautioned Senate Republicans against signing off on a bipartisan infrastructure bill and told GOP legislators to maintain the tax cuts that the party enacted during his tenure. In a statement on Friday, Trump derided Republican members who are working with President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats as RINOs, […]
Summary List Placement America is still in a seller’s market when it comes to housing, and could stay there until next year. Prices are climbing at the fastest pace in more than three decades, and homes are frequently selling above their list price, according to the National Association of Realtors. In May, the average listing […]
Summary List Placement The US job market is in an interesting place. Despite a pick-up in jobs growth, payroll employment remains about 6.7 million its pre-pandemic peak and roughly 9.5 million below the trend if hiring had continued at the same pace, indicating a significant degree of slack. On the other hand, several widely followed […]
Summary List Placement Chipotle has started accepting TikTok videos as resumes for job applications, continuing a cultural shift in US retail towards meeting applicants on their own terms. “Given the current hiring climate … it’s essential to find new platforms to directly engage in meaningful career conversations with Gen-Z,” Marissa Andrada, Chipotle’s chief diversity, inclusion, […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul and his top deputy on Friday afternoon, sparking a face-off as Saul says he doesn’t intend to step down from his post. Saul, a Trump appointee, had triggered fierce criticism from Democrats and advocates, who said he gummed up the speedy distribution of […]
Summary List Placement Over half of the states in the US have opted out of federal unemployment benefits early, citing the programs as potentially fueling the current labor shortage. But that doesn’t seem to quite be the case. A Friday note from JPMorgan researchers Peter B McCrory and Jesse Edgerton looks at the impact on […]
Summary List Placement Vaccination may be keeping COVID-19 at bay, but the pandemic’s fallout lives on in supply shortages and labor scarcity, the Federal Reserve said Friday. March stimulus, vaccination, and the reversal of pandemic restrictions allowed businesses to reopen and unleashed a wave of consumer demand through the first half of the year, but […]