Summary List Placement Vaccine distribution is ramping up, stimulus checks are being sent, and summer is on the horizon. It’s a hopeful combination that’s got Americans itching with wanderlust. Airline, hotel, and restaurant spending are all up compared to a year ago when the pandemic first ravaged the country, although still not close to pre-pandemic […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden is getting even more serious about raising taxes on the wealthy, according to a new Bloomberg report. It likely won’t look like a “wealth tax,” though. Biden hasn’t said he’d enact a wealth tax like the one proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and instead he’s reportedly considering alterations to […]
Summary List Placement The Americans who endured the toughest employment hits of the past two decades are also the ones most prone to long-term scarring, according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It’s the youth. The coronavirus pandemic fueled labor-market turmoil across nearly all groups. The headline unemployment peaked at […]
The Supreme Court said Monday it will consider reinstating the death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, presenting President Joe Biden with an early test of his opposition to capital punishment. The justices agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Trump administration, which carried out executions of 13 federal inmates in its final […]
This month, United Wholesale Mortgage took the industry by surprise when it made a statement that it would block mortgage brokers from doing business with the company if they did business with either Quicken Loans or Fairway Mortgage. With that announcement came a modification to the UWM-broker contract, making note of significant financial penalties for […]
Summary List Placement Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said that the country is seeing the “least responsible” macroeconomic policy of the past 40 years, resting the blame on lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Summers offered the negative economic forecast during an appearance on Bloomberg Television’s “Wall Street Week” on Friday. Summers has […]
Summary List Placement Canadian Pacific Railway has agreed to acquire Kansas City Southern in a deal that will create the first ever rail network that spans across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The combined company will operate 20,000 miles of rail, employ close to 20,000 people, and generate total revenues of about $8.7 billion, […]
Summary List Placement Regime changes are usually identified years after they first emerge. LeBron James’ decision to take his talents to South Beach kicked off a new era of NBA “superteams,” assembled by friendly superstars coordinating their movements via free agency. Robert Downey, Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in 2008 set the […]
Summary List Placement Fresh off their first major legislative victory, Democrats are renewing their push to achieve another key part of President Joe Biden’s agenda: A massive, multitrillion-dollar infrastructure bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi instructed key House committees last week to start assembling a package. House Democrats scheduled two hearings for Tuesday and Wednesday as well. […]
French language lovers could celebrate International Francophonie Day on Saturday with a new online interactive dictionary. Rolled out by the French government, it reflects not only the language’s evolution but also the reality that most of today’s speakers are not French. Did you receive a “pourriel” or “throw a camel” today? If you are wondering […]
Summary List Placement A couple bought a home in Riverside, California, in January 2020, but over a year later they haven’t been able to move in because the seller refuses to leave, Fox 11 LA reported. Tracie and Myles Albert bought the four-bedroom home in cash for the asking price of $560,000, real estate agent […]
Summary List Placement It feels like a fever dream now, but for one week in late January all anyone in the media could talk about was Gamestop’s skyrocketing stock prices. In case you’ve already driven the episode out of your memory, here’s a brief recap: A Wall Street hedge fund had placed a big bet […]
Summary List Placement You might have noticed that you’ve been shelling out more for things like houses, gas, and cars. And it’s been hard to get your hands on things like fitness gear, sofas, and roller skates. That’s because America is reopening to a more expensive economy than the one that existed pre-pandemic. For now, it […]
A growing chorus of mortgage industry observers believe the final week of February might have been the last hurrah for sub-3% mortgage rates. And the proof is in the refi pudding. With mortgage rates making their ascension, many late-to-the-game homeowners hopped on the chance to refinance their home loans and pushed refi volume to 68% […]
Summary List Placement We’ve read a lot in quarantine — be it by way of audiobooks or hardcovers. Below, you’ll find the Insider staff’s favorite books from the past year, from light rom-coms to sobering memoirs. The list includes reviews of bestsellers like “The Vanishing Half,” “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone,” and “Dark […]
Summary List Placement As the coronavirus pandemic pummeled the economy starting in spring 2020, states and cities seemed increasingly vulnerable. Would they be forgotten in stimulus relief efforts? Was New York City truly dead? But the recently enacted $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan might provide a strong start for state and local governments, which also […]
National homebuilder Lennar Corp. plans to spin off all its non-core businesses to become a pure-play homebuilder and financial services company, the company announced on Wednesday. In an earnings call this week, Lennar executive chairman Stuart Miller said the move would maximize the technology investments made through LENx, the company’s primary investment vehicle. Those investments […]
Summary List Placement While the lack of a minimum wage increase in the latest stimulus bill was a blow to many progressives, they aren’t giving up the fight to ensure the wage gets increased this year. And on Friday, they joined labor leaders in a call with reporters to share ways they might look to […]
Students can safely sit just 3 feet apart in the classroom as long as they wear masks but should be kept the usual 6 feet away from one another at sporting events, assemblies, lunch or chorus practice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in relaxing its COVID-19 guidelines. The revised recommendations represent […]
Summary List Placement According to Upwork’s 2021 report, remote work will keep rising, offering more opportunities to freelancers. Below are the most in-demand technical skills for freelancers, based on a 2020 Upwork report. You can also find courses to learn the skills from Codecademy, edX, Coursera, and Udemy. Working as a freelancer can be […]
Summary List Placement Although student debt cancellation for every American has not been implemented, debt accrued by students who were frauded by for-profit schools will see their loans forgiven in the coming weeks. In his first major move as Education Secretary for President Joe Biden, Miguel Cardona on Thursday reversed a Trump-era policy that gave […]
Summary List Placement A rule change that eased capital requirements for major banks will expire as planned on March 31, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. The pandemic-era policy to give banks relief from what is formally called the supplementary leverage ratio allowed Wall Street firms to keep less cash on hand against Treasurys than […]
Summary List Placement In the past year, anti-Asian and xenophobic violence has skyrocketed in the US, with vulnerable populations within the Asian community (such as women, children, and the elderly) bearing the brunt of the attacks. Most recently, a mass shooter in Georgia killed eight people — six of them Asian women. In response […]
Summary List Placement Forget the pandemic. Inflation is the new issue haunting Americans, on Wall Street and Main Street alike. Celebrations over vaccine approvals and falling COVID-19 case counts are giving way to concerns over just how quickly the economy will recover — and what that means for prices. New stimulus signed last week promises […]
Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee are poised to finally make it official that most fans from abroad will be prohibited from attending the postponed Olympics when they open in four months. The announcement is expected to come after “five-party” talks on Saturday with the IOC, local organizers, the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan […]
Summary List Placement Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said potential central bank digital currencies must coexist with cash. COVID-19 has brought forward the need to address the limitations of current payments, he said. Achieving an improved payments system would require multiple stakeholders to collaborate, he said. Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before […]
Mortgage rates have increased roughly 50 basis points in the first few months of 2021, in no small part due to fears that inflation will rear its ugly head as the economy rebounds. But the Federal Reserve is staying the course, maintaining the low-rate environment that gave rise to the best year for the mortgage […]
Summary List Placement With political polarization, it can be hard to get someone — like a family member — to sympathize with your views. These 10 online classes and books can teach you how to have more impactful and meaningful dialogues with others. You can also use these skills to negotiate effectively in your […]
Summary List Placement With student debt in the US totaling approximately $1.7 trillion, there is no question that forgiving that debt would be a welcome relief for many Americans. But whether $10,000 or $50,000 in student debt is cancelled per person, experts found middle- and high-income families would reap most of the benefits. A new […]
Summary List Placement The IRS chief said during a congressional hearing on Thursday that the agency is taking steps to issue refunds for people who paid taxes on the first $10,200 in jobless aid. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig urged taxpayers to refrain from filing an amended return. Instead, the organization is aiming to distribute refunds […]
Summary List Placement American small businesses have experienced significant revenue hits since COVID-19 began, but the majority are now fully open as shutdown restrictions lift across the country. A report released on Wednesday by Kabbage — an American Express company — found that 57% of the more than 550 surveyed small businesses were fully open. […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden is seeking to finance a major infrastructure and jobs package in the months ahead, and it appears increasingly likely tax hikes will be among the bill’s key components. The Biden administration is reportedly considering a tax increase on both high-earning Americans as well as big corporations, White House aides […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden signed his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan last week, and Americans are eager to receive their stimulus checks and get tax refunds. But H&R Block and TurboTax customers will have to wait for some of it. Taxpayers with income under $150,000 in 2020 are eligible for a tax exemption on the […]
In the wake of an ultimatum that mortgage brokers couldn’t use Rocket Pro TPO and Fairway Independent Mortgage while still sending loans to United Wholesale Mortgage, Mat Ishbia declared victory. In a statement issued after Monday’s deadline, the president and CEO of UWM said that more than 10,000 broker shops have pledged to no longer […]
Summary List Placement The world economy is set to thrive through 2021 as vaccinations and a new swath of fiscal support bring countries back to pre-pandemic norms, Fitch economists said. The team led by Brian Coulton lifted their estimates for economic growth in a Tuesday note, joining several other firms in preparing for a strong […]
For the third consecutive week, mortgage rates pushed past 3% – with the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan up four basis points last week to 3.09%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Rising mortgage rates typically signify a recovering economy, and despite applications for mortgages dropping week-over-week, according to Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s […]
Summary List Placement While the pandemic hit the US, everyone seemed to want their own house. With mortgage rates at record lows and no need to commute to work in cities for at least 2020, prices soared everywhere. But they’re also soaring because there isn’t enough wood out there: lumber, to be exact. Now it’s clear how […]
Summary List Placement The US labor market is still slowly recovering from the massive job loss last year, with around 9.5 million fewer jobs in February 2021 than there were a year ago. States across the US are also seeing job gains at different rates, but almost every state was still below pre-pandemic employment in […]
More than 650-million copies of Dr. Seuss books have sold around the world since author Theodor Seuss Geisel published his first title in the 1930s. The prolific author of books like “The Cat in the Hat” is credited with helping millions of children learn to read. But this month, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it will […]
Tokyo Olympics creative head Hiroshi Sasaki said he had resigned after making a derogatory comment about a popular female Japanese entertainer, in the latest controversy over insensitive remarks toward women to hit games organizers. Sasaki, who was the head creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies at this year’s games, said he had told […]
White supremacist propaganda reached alarming levels across the U.S. in 2020, according to a new report that the Anti-Defamation League provided to The Associated Press. There were 5,125 cases of racist, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBTQ and other hateful messages spread through physical flyers, stickers, banners and posters, according to Wednesday’s report. That’s nearly double the 2,724 instances […]
In concert with its ultimatum to brokers that they not use Rocket Pro TPO and Fairway Independent Mortgage, United Wholesale Mortgage on Wednesday officially released a new jumbo product. The Pontiac, Michigan-based wholesale lender, which discontinued jumbo products at the onset of the pandemic, is offering its mortgage broker partners a jumbo product that goes […]
Summary List Placement Like other great schools, Duke offers a number of affordable courses online. The e-learning platform Coursera has a long list of paid programs and free online courses led by Duke staff. Below are 14 Duke classes you can take online for free, from biology to data science. Located in Durham, North […]
Summary List Placement The Federal Reserve expects a strong economic recovery through 2021, but it still aims to maintain ultra-easy financing conditions well into the future. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee ruled on Wednesday to hold interest rates at historic lows following the conclusion of its two-day meeting. The central bank will also […]
Summary List Placement To continue providing aid to small businesses recovering from the pandemic, the House voted on Tuesday to extend the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by two months, ahead of its expiration on March 31. The bill to extend the PPP had been introduced on March 11 by Small Business Committee Chair Nydia Velàzquez, […]