Summary List Placement What is a labor shortage, after all? Maybe it’s just a shortage of labor at a low wage. As the American economy reopened, numerous businesses that found it difficult to hire are raising their minimum wages to attract talent. For the better part of five decades, that was not the norm. While […]
Summary List Placement The successful development of COVID-19 vaccines has created at least nine new billionaires since the start of the pandemic, according to a new report by the People’s Vaccine Alliance. These include a range of scientists and executives at vaccine makers including Moderna, CanSino Biologics, and BioNTech, the report said. It said soaring […]
Keeping up with the rapidly evolving algorithms and best practices of social channels is no easy feat for marketers. That’s why we’ve invited Chelsea Peitz, national director of social sales for Fidelity National Financial, to explain how she is leveraging Instagram and social platforms at engage.marketing on June 17. With thousands of followers on Instagram, Peitz […]
Summary List Placement As US employers struggle to find workers, some corporate leaders and politicians have blamed the federal expansion of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for a “labor shortage” and over 20 Republican governors have moved for its early cancelation. But new research suggests that enhanced UI may not be the reason jobs are going […]
Summary List Placement The Treasury Department has proposed at least a 15% global minimum tax rate for corporations in recent negotiations, The New York Times reports. Treasury officials told the Times that their proposal was met “enthusiastically;” it’s a lower rate than anticipated, but they told the paper that it marks a “pivotal moment” in […]
April’s 7.08% decline in mortgage delinquencies wasn’t even half of the drop March posted, but it did manage to push the national delinquency rate to below 5% for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, Black Knight revealed in a new report. Overall, the number of past-due mortgages fell to 4.66% in April […]
Summary List Placement Reading news about how we have less than a decade to try and prevent irreversible, devastating climate change can be daunting, especially if we want to find ways to limit our carbon footprint or get involved in the fight to save our planet. I reached out to climate scientists Elizabeth M. Cook, […]
Summary List Placement Have you ever wondered why you feel happy when doing something for other people, or when you build new relationships? One online class – and the first-ever massive open online course (MOOC) on the topic of positive psychology – aims to dive into the science behind the everyday actions that make […]
Summary List Placement Prospective buyers waiting for the housing market to cool down shouldn’t hold their breath. Home-price inflation will slow from last year’s peak of 11.4% but remain elevated as the market boom charges forward, according to economists surveyed by the Urban Land Institute in May. The estimates for average price growth in 2021 […]
Summary List Placement To ensure that taxes are not going uncollected, the Treasury Department announced on Thursday new measures to strengthen Internal Revenue Service enforcement. It estimated that its new plans will generate $700 billion over the next decade and help close the tax gap between what taxpayers owe and what they actually pay. Treasury […]
Summary List Placement The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on Thursday: Vaccinated people can go without face masks in nearly every situation, marking a huge step in returning to pre-pandemic ways. But some states have more vaccinated residents than others, and they’re not quite ready to lift mask mandates until vaccination […]
Summary List Placement In mid-April, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University teamed up with Poker Pow her — a community that teaches women “game-changing skills” like strategy, confidence, and capital allocation — to create a new extracurricular pilot program. “Many top business schools, including the Kellogg School of Management, have more than 40% female […]
Summary List Placement The chaos of COVID-19 has upended the global economy and although the road back to normality is opening up, it’s much like a middle-aged patient that has survived a heart attack – that road to recovery is going to be a long one. That’s the take of markets veteran Kit Juckes, who […]
After hovering below 3% for a month, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate popped back up six basis points to exactly 3% last week, according to Freddie Mac‘s PMMS. Mortgage rates climbed north of 3% over the first few months of 2021, but crested at 3.2% in March before descending again. Despite such a favorable rate […]
An inquiry into how the BBC secured the 1995 interview with Britain’s Princess Diana in which she disclosed intimate details of her failed marriage concluded on Thursday that the journalist involved had acted deceitfully. The BBC set up the investigation, headed by former senior Court judge John Dyson, in November following allegations from Diana’s brother […]
Summary List Placement The problem is that the US just doesn’t have enough homes. The solution might be too expensive for homebuilders’ liking. Home prices are growing at their fastest rate on record, and economists are attributing the tightness to simple economics: Where the rally that famously went bust in 2008 was fueled by risky […]
The Ivory Coast resort town of Grand-Bassam is known for its beaches and French colonial architecture. Recent flooding and the passage of time have taken a toll on the city’s historic buildings, but some people are determined to fix things, as Yassin Ciyow found in this report narrated by Carol Guensberg. Camera: Yassin Ciyow Produced by: Robert Raffaele […]
Summary List Placement The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance fell again last week as reopening spurred more hiring. New jobless claims totaled an unadjusted 444,000 last week, the Labor Department announced Thursday morning. The median estimate from economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a modest jump to 450,000 claims. The reading marked a […]
Summary List Placement It was the winter of 2010 and Mark Zuckerberg was in a hurry. A few months earlier, 40 of America’s richest families had signed the Giving Pledge, a public promise initiated by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett to give at least half of their wealth to charitable causes. Death was […]
Summary List Placement Students of color bear a significant burden of the country’s $1.7 trillion student debt crisis, and today, a major technology company announced an investment to help lift the burden off of those students. The Student Freedom Initiative — a nonprofit dedicated to helping students at minority serving institutions (MSIs) — announced a […]
Summary List Placement According to NC Policy Watch, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reversed its plans to offer a tenured teaching position to Nikole Hannah-Jones, the New York Times Magazine journalist and creator of the 1619 Project. Last month, the university offered Hannah-Jones a position as the Knight Chair in Race and […]
Summary List Placement Gun and ammunition sales are surging as the country begins to reopen from the pandemic. In 2020, the FBI processed a record 39.7 million firearm background checks — the most of any year since the agency started recording the data. This year, data indicates there could be another record set, with firearm […]
A full month of sub-3% mortgage rates, ongoing housing market supply constraints, and a 300% increase in lumber prices over the past 15 months has prompted Fannie Mae‘s Economic and Strategic Group to revise several of its 2021 forecasts. March’s existing home sales report perfectly illustrated the country’s core housing market issues – a decade […]
Summary List Placement Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia suggested redirecting federal funds from President Joe Biden’s stimulus law to finance an infrastructure package. “I think there’s all kinds of different ways that we’re looking at. Certainly repurposing some of those covid dollars,” she told Bloomberg. “I’ve been looking at those 21 states […]
Summary List Placement You don’t need to make it into the slim 6.2% of accepted students and pay tuition fees at The University of Chicago, one of the top 15 schools in the world, to enroll in its courses. Most of the top schools around the world — including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Columbia, […]
Summary List Placement Supply for homes can’t keep up with demand. At a point when the country badly needs more houses, housing starts fell 9.5% in April, and Goldman Sachs doesn’t see the cavalry arriving soon. A May 2 note from Goldman’s Ronnie Walker found that new home sales and housing starts have reached their […]
Social media is constantly evolving, with new platforms and algorithms challenging models and strategies just when businesses have gotten into a rhythm. That’s why we’ve asked LinkedIn Business Coach Judi Fox to speak at engage.marketing on June 17. Fox, who led a highly rated social session at last year’s engage event, will update attendees on […]
Summary List Placement A propulsive, can’t-put-it-down thriller is one of life’s greatest joys. Whether it’s delivered by a pool-water-logged paperback or an audiobook on a long road trip, a mystery book’s mix of intrigue and psychological suspense improves any activity — be it a long road trip or folding the laundry. Below, you’ll find […]
Summary List Placement The nationwide shortage of new homes lifted selling prices at their fastest-ever rate earlier this year. Now rent prices are following suit. The cost of renting a single-family home in the US rose 4.3% year-over-year in March, CoreLogic said in a Tuesday release. That’s up from 3% in March 2020 and places […]
“Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” — Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, 1789. Thankfully, after more than a year with innumerable challenges, it appears that the pandemic will end. From an […]
Summary List Placement After a group of Republican senators met with President Joe Biden last week to discuss their $568 billion counter-proposal to the president’s infrastructure plan, he gave them a Tuesday deadline to bring forth a new offer. That never happened. Republican senators, led by West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, introduced the $568 […]
Mortgage applications increased for the second straight week, this time jumping 1.2% for the week ending May 14, 2021, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. All loan types hit their highest levels in two weeks. Mortgage rates were still lower than levels reported in late March and early April, providing additional […]
Summary List Placement UK inflation rose 1.5% in April compared to a year earlier as economy reopened and energy and clothing prices climbed, official figures showed Wednesday, an increase that was in line with economists’ expectations. The rise in the headline consumer price index inflation rate was up sharply up from 0.7% in March. When […]
Summary List Placement Considered one of the top global colleges, the University of Edinburgh is one of the oldest and most popular universities in the UK. But for those who can’t swing a move to Scotland, the school — like many of the best colleges — offers many of its courses for free through […]
As uncharted and bizarre as an app with dancing teenagers seems, TikTok has staked its claim on the home screen of millions. An app where trends live and die within a mere 24 hours is also teaching a younger generation how to change their oil, effectively bake a cake, and now, buy a home. While […]
Charles Grodin, the droll, offbeat actor and writer who scored as a caddish newlywed in “The Heartbreak Kid” and later had roles ranging from Robert De Niro’s counterpart in the comic thriller “Midnight Run” to the bedeviled father in the “Beethoven” comedies, has died. He was 86. Grodin died Tuesday in Wilton, Connecticut, from bone […]
Summary List Placement The assignment was a gimme. With house supply near record lows, demand strong, and prices surging to record highs, contractors simply needed to build more. Data out Tuesday suggests they aren’t rising to the occasion. That risks closing off the housing market to millennials just as they reach peak homebuying age. US […]
Summary List Placement As more GOP governors withdraw their states from federal unemployment benefits, millions of workers are poised to feel the blow of government aid ending early. Following April’s dismal jobs report — and anecdotes that workers were opting to remain on UI benefits rather than return to work — at least 22 states have […]
Summary List Placement Whether you’re looking for guidance in navigating your 20s, learning how to invest, or advancing in your career, books are a highly accessible way to continue your education in any subject. “Success,” naturally, is a topic that readers tend to seek out a lot. The self-help genre is full of bestsellers that […]
Summary List Placement Colonial Pipeline is having network issues preventing shippers from planning upcoming shipments of fuel, the company said on Tuesday, just after the system reopened after a week-long ransomware attack. Last week’s closure of the 5,500-mile (8,900-km) system was the most disruptive cyberattack on record, preventing millions of barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet […]
Summary List Placement Bank of America, one of the US’ largest banks, announced on Tuesday that it will be increasing its hourly minimum wage to $25 by 2025. “A core tenet of responsible growth is our commitment to being a great place to work which means investing in the people who serve our clients,” Sheri […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced today the selection of Melito Ramirez, an intervention specialist at Walla Walla High School in Washington state, as the nation’s first Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) awardee. This new honor, established by Congress in 2019, spotlights classified school employees’ outstanding contributions to quality K-12 education in the United […]
Summary List Placement Now that the entirety of President Joe Biden’s $4 trillion infrastructure plan has been unveiled, his administration is canvassing for support. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was the most recent member of Biden’s administration to make the case. On Monday, Yellen delivered a speech to the Chamber of Commerce, which supports the interests […]
Summary List Placement Americans stopped moving around the 1980s, but that changed last year with remote work. A new Apartment List report that surveyed 5,000 Americans and analyzed US Census data has confirmed the migration narrative of 2020: Remote work ignited a residential migration rebound as the number of movers increased by 14% to 16% […]
A Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) report highlighted the perils of low-rates for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s single-family Credit Risk Transfers. Despite heightened investor uncertainty during the onset of the pandemic, GSE-backed mortgages have outperformed expectations, the report notes. Although markets experienced a significant liquidity disruption in March 2020, questions remain about the strength […]