Category: Economic News
The macro economy has a large impact on your personal finances. To help you manage your money better we track the import economic trends. Stay up to date so you can be prepared to adjust your personal finance strategies.
Economic News
Economic News
Home Mortgage Applications Reached a Nine-Year High Last Week
Despite some parts of the country seeing snow this past week, make no mistake that it is officially spring. That means that, in addition to blooming trees and allergies, it's time for home sales to pick back up after the slower winter season. On that note it seems that the homebuying bug is already biting as mortgage applications to purchase recently rose to a nine-year high. As CNBC reports, mortgage...
Economic News
President Trump Says Stocks Should Be 10,000 Points Higher, Blames Fed
Even though consensus suggests that Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates this year, that doesn't mean that President Trump's battle with the agency is cooling any. In fact the war of words has escalated into political action as the President looks to install supporters of his own on the Board of Governors. On top of that, this weekend Trump suggested that the U.S. stock market could be significantly...
Economic News
H&R Block Data Finds Vast Majority of Taxpayers Didn't Update W-4s
With the 2019 tax season now in its final stretch, one of the big stories to emerge has been the shrinking refunds Americans have seen. While anecdotes suggested that most refunds were down, new data from tax prep firm H&R Block (reported on by Marketwatch) shows that they actually increased on average — but only by about 1.4%. At the same time, 2018 tax liabilities for individuals fell by a...
Economic News
Job Growth Bounces Back in March After Weak February
In February U.S. job gains came in at a surprisingly low 20,000 — or more than 150,000 less than expectations. Despite being revised upwards to 33,000, it remains the weakest month of gains since September 2017. However the just-released March figures show a return to form of sorts, once again exceeding economist estimates. As CNN Business reports, the U.S. economy added 196,000 jobs in March. That's nearly six times the...
Economic News
Data Shows How Bad American "Retirement Crisis" Really Is
Are you properly preparing for retirement? If you're like many Americans, the answer is most likely "no" — and that's a big problem. As CNBC reports, data shows that the majority of Baby Boomers as well as other generations are woefully ill-prepared for retirement, with savings, pensions, and Social Security benefits all lacking. Starting with private retirement savings, Vanguard found that the average 401(k) account value for individuals over 65...
Economic News
Study Finds Average U.S. Household Has $8k+ in Credit Card Debt
It's sad to say that, for many Americans, credit card debt is just a fact of life. Currently our total outstanding credit card debt tops $1.03 trillion dollars. What's more it seems that attitudes toward debt continue to evolve, leading the majority of adults to admit they'd take on debt for a frivolous purpose. According to WalletHub's latest credit card debt survey, 62% said that there were frivolous purchases worth...
Economic News
