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Summary List Placement Half of all states in the country have opted out of federal unemployment benefits early, which is set to impact an estimated 4 million workers and cost states’ economies $12 billion. Four states ended their benefits on Saturday. All of those 25 states are helmed by GOP governors, but a new wrinkle […]

Mortgage operations were a make or break component of every lender’s 2020 strategy, putting operational professionals in the housing economy to test in a turbulent market.  As Chief Operating Officer at Waterstone Mortgage, Rich Tucker is no stranger to the challenges of last year as he led his team through a record-shattering few months. Shortly […]

Summary List Placement Home Depot, hoping to sidestep a global shipping crisis, has contracted its own ship to transport its goods. The home-improvement store is one of many retailers grappling with shipping delays and rising costs caused by supply-chain problems. According to data from the Journal of Commerce, cited by CNBC, Home Depot is the […]

Summary List Placement Toys and cheap furniture are among consumer goods that could get more expensive in the coming months as retailers continue to grapple with surging shipping costs.  According to experts quoted in a Bloomberg report, low-cost and bulky goods are more vulnerable to price hikes: They take up more room on a shipping […]

Summary List Placement Everywhere you look in the economy, there seems to be a shortage. The important things missing from shelves can be explained by factors like backed-up supply chains and a shipping crisis. But another shortage that’s emerged — with increasing prominence as America’s recovery continues its long and winding path — is labor. […]

Summary List Placement The Labor Department released its monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data on Thursday, revealing a 5% jump in headline consumer prices year-over-year in May, the fastest pace of increase since August 2008. That came in above the consensus economist estimate of 4.7%. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose […]

Summary List Placement As the labor shortage continues to hit industries from education and healthcare to hospitality and ride-hailing apps, companies across the US are scrambling to find perks to attract new hires. Some are offering free accommodation and college tuition to staff, while others are hiking up wages. Some are even giving rewards like free food and a $50 […]

Summary List Placement A group of Senate Democrats are ratcheting up their criticism of ongoing infrastructure negotiations with Republicans — and a few are warning they would derail a deal that omits climate change measures. At least six Democratic senators have publicly raised concern that a bill negotiated with Republicans would produce a watered-down package […]

Summary List Placement For nearly 340,000 workers on Saturday, a steady flow of federal assistance will abruptly end. Mississippi, Missouri, Alaska, and Iowa are the first four Republican-led states to scrap their federal unemployment insurance programs. They include the $300 federal supplement to unemployment checks, along with a pair of federal programs that expanded government […]

Summary List Placement Earlier this week, ProPublica published a stunning exclusive report documenting how billionaires like Elon Musk, Michael Bloomberg, and Jeff Bezos pay very little — sometimes even nothing — in income taxes.  Based on a cache of confidential IRS documents, the ProPublica report found that the nation’s 25 richest Americans “saw their worth […]

Summary List Placement Following an April jobs report that fell significantly short of expectations, 25 GOP-led states announced they would be ending unemployment benefits early to incentivize people to get back to work. Both Bank of America and Goldman Sachs partially agreed that doing so will ease the labor shortage, with Goldman projecting a resultant […]

Summary List Placement Accountants in New Jersey are advising clients to leave the state because of its high living costs and corporate and property tax rates. Seventy per cent of certified public accountants (CPAs) have advised individual clients to leave the state because of the high cost of living, according to a survey by the […]

Summary List Placement People have been fleeing high-tax states like New York and California during the pandemic, leading to reports of an “exodus” to Florida and Texas — but people moving to avoid paying rates need to watch out for other surprise taxes, a tax advisor has said. Though Florida and Texas have no personal-income […]

Mortgage brokers are facing a vastly different landscape than this time last year. In 2020, the refinance boom caused lenders and brokers to go on hiring sprees, and loan originators were putting in substantial hours. Now, as refinance volume slows and we get deeper into homebuying season, purchase originations are dominating brokers’ time, resources and […]

Summary List Placement Democratic lawmakers have been keeping the pressure on President Joe Biden to cancel $50,000 in student debt per borrower. Biden just told a top Democrat to keep the calls coming. Student Debt Crisis, an advocacy organization, led an event on Wednesday to urge Biden to take action on the $1.7 trillion student-debt […]

Summary List Placement Lumber prices fell for the eighth straight day on Friday to near $1,000 per thousand board feet for the first time since March in a reprieve for ailing homebuilders and renovators. Lumber futures fell 5.61% to trade at $1,059.20 per thousand board feet on Friday.  Rising lumber prices in 2021 have hit […]

Summary List Placement Lumber prices fell for the eighth straight day on Friday to near $1,000 per thousand board feet for the first time since March in a reprieve for ailing homebuilders and renovators. Lumber futures fell 5.61% to trade at $1,059.20 per thousand board feet on Friday.  Rising lumber prices in 2021 have hit […]

Summary List Placement The price for a shipping container is looking a lot like a meme stock. The surge in shipping costs points to our shortage of semiconductors, lumber, chicken, chlorine, and, really, “just about everything.” The pandemic broke the supply chain last year, and the shipping companies that move stuff all over the world still […]

Summary List Placement The wealthy sitting on their savings may be helping finance the debts of poorer Americans and therefore play a role in rising inequality, according to the Chicago Booth Review.  Researchers Amir Sufi, Ludwig Straub, and Atif Mian looked at the growing savings of America’s wealthiest residents, and found it isn’t going into […]

Summary List Placement Bacon is now 13% more expensive than a year ago, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  And it’s not just shoppers facing higher prices: The owner of Burger King and Popeyes says prices for its key ingredients, including bacon, are rising, according to an internal report […]

Summary List Placement A bipartisan group of senators announced on Thursday evening that they had struck an early infrastructure deal, though it faces major political hurdles. The faction includes Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Rob Portman of Ohio, as well as Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and […]

Summary List Placement Thursday brought two big numbers for the American economy: Another significant rise in inflation, and the lowest level of weekly jobless claims since the onset of the pandemic. They show the paradox that is the current economic recovery. Goods are still getting pricier — although inflation shows signs of cooling down soon […]

Mortgage credit availability increased by 1.4% in May – a sign that volume-hungry lenders continued to loosen credit standards in a highly competitive market, according to Thursday data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) which uses 100 as a benchmark — increased to 129.9 in May. A decline in the […]

Summary List Placement Republicans and Democrats are eyeing a potential increase to the gas tax as both parties enter a last-ditch effort to strike a bipartisan infrastructure deal. The bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers includes Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Rob Portman of Ohio, as well as Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West […]

Summary List Placement Tax-induced migration was a key part of the narrative of 2020, but the story actually began long before that.  Lower-tax states are continuing to get richer thanks to a steady influx of new residents from higher-tax states, per a recent Bank of America Research note, which looked at recently released IRS data […]