Economic News Archives - Page 17 of 19

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.

receipt and tax filing

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...
US 2019 Job Growth Chart

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...
elderly man holding his hands

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...
62% of people would go into credit card debt for frivolous purchases

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...
Federal Research Chairman Jerome Powell

Federal Reserve Seems Unlikely to Raise Rate This Year

Over the past year, one recurring economic story has revolved around the Federal Reserve. That’s because the central banking system spent 2018 slowly raising interest rates from their historically low levels — much to the dismay of the President. Although that trend was expected to extend into this year, it now seems that may not happen after all. At a meeting on Wednesday, not only did the Federal Reserve vote...
a new home

Despite Recent Dip, Housing Market Looks for Spring Uptick

Winter has never been a popular time to buy to home but a recent dip did have some economists concerned. In January home sales fell 1.2% from the prior month, leading some to ponder whether it was a sign of a larger slowdown. However, as CNN Business reports, analysts have a few reasons to believe this spring will see homes sales bloom once again. The first factor adding to this...
US job growth table

February Jobs Numbers Come In Low, Adding Just 20,000

Recent months have shown official job numbers well-exceeding economists expectations — but that was not the case in February. While estimates reported by CNN Business anticipated that data would show the U.S. economy added 180,000 jobs during the shortest month of the year, the Labor Department announced that it actually only added 20,000. That marks the lowest job growth month since September 2017. Nevertheless it was the 101st straight month...
chart of US trade deficits

U.S. Trade Deficit Rises to New Record in 2018

Over the past year one of the biggest financial and economic stories has been President Trump’s use of tariffs on goods from China and other countries. Even before becoming President, then-candidate Trump frequently railed against the trade deficits we hold with various nations. However, despite efforts to curtail these deficits, new figures show that they actually reached a record high in 2018. As the New York Times reports, new data...
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2025 SoFi Checking and Savings Review

 Ever since I started taking an interest in the FinTech sector, one company whose name I’ve seen pop up over and over again is SoFi. That was later sent into overdrive as the company has not only become a household name thanks to its stadium naming rights deal but also because of the company’s continued product expansions. The most interesting development in my mind is SoFi’s acquisition of Golden Pacific...
Travelers with two Best Western Credit Cards

Best Western Debuts Two New Rewards Credit Cards

After pausing applications for their previous rewards card, the hotel chain Best Western has unveiled a new pair of rewards credit cards with a new issuer. About the Best Western cards: Best Western is partnering with First Bank & Trust and Mercury Financial to introduce two new co-branded credit cards. First up is the no-annual-fee Best Western Rewards Visa Signature Card. With this card, customers can 4x points on Best...
Marriott Bonvoy card and a woman on vacation

Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card Launches Travel Contest

Chase and Marriott Bonoy have unveiled a special contest while continuing to offer its best-ever welcome bonus. About the welcome bonus and Bold Chat Court Contest: Marriott Bonvoy and Chase have launched a special opportunity called the Bold Chat Court contest. As part of this contest, 10 lucky travelers will be awarded 500,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (for a total of 5 million) as well as $5,000. For this contest, the...
Bilt and All Reward logos

Bilt Adds 2 New Transfer Partners Including First 3:2 Transfer Rate

Bilt is once again expanding its travel transfer rewards program — and is even breaking the mold with one new partner. About the new additions to Bilt: This week, Bilt launched partnerships with two more travel brands: TAP Air Portugal and Accor. As a result, Bilt members will now be able to transfer their points to Miles&Go and ALL Reward, respectively. In total, Bilt now has 18 transfer partners including 13...
PayPal Debit Card app

PayPal Debit Card Review: Earn Stackable 5% Cash Back

In recent weeks, PayPal debuted an updated debit card product (perhaps you've seen the incessant Will Ferrell commercials for it during football games?). With the launch of this card, the company known for online payments is encouraging customers to pay with them anywhere. To encourage such behavior, the debit card allows cardholders to earn 5% cashback — although, as you can imagine, there are some important restrictions on that. So,...