U.S. Economy
Mortgage demand slides further, even as interest rates pull back slightly
Mortgage rates turned lower for the second straight week, but it wasn’t enough to boost demand for either new purchase loans or refinances, according to a weekly report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Rates are still much higher than they were for the past two years. Last week the average contract interest rate for 30-year […]
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CBO boosts U.S. GDP growth estimates, says inflation has topped and will cool to 2% by 2024
A person runs in front of the U.S. Capitol building during morning hours in Washington, February 10, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters U.S. economic growth will exceed 3% in 2022, while roaring inflation has topped and will cool each month to around 2% by some point in 2024, according to a government forecast published Wednesday. […]
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Watch live: House grills FDA commissioner, Abbott executive on baby formula shortage
[The stream is slated to start at 11 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] The head of the Food and Drug Administration and executives from the infant formula industry are set to answer questions from House lawmakers Wednesday about the nationwide shortage that has […]
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FTC launches investigation into infant formula makers over nationwide shortage
A woman shops for baby formula at Target in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 16, 2022, as a nationwide shortage of baby formula continues due to supply chain crunches tied to the coronavirus pandemic that have already strained the countrys formula stock, an issue that was further exacerbated by a major product recall in February. Jim […]
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What retail inventory misses and markdowns signal about the market’s fight against inflation
Jay Laprete | Bloomberg | Getty Images Retailers are missing and missing big. It started last week with the Walmart and Target results which showed big inventory builds and the need for markdowns, and it’s been followed up by weak earnings and outlook from Abercrombie & Fitch which sent its shares tumbling in a similar […]
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CDC says monkeypox doesn’t spread easily by air: ‘This is not Covid’
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to calm public anxiety over how the monkeypox virus is transmitted, emphasizing that it doesn’t spread that easily through the air because it requires close contact with an infected person. Monkeypox is primarily spread through sustained physical contact such as skin-to-skin touch with someone who has an […]
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Sales of newly built homes tumbled over 16% in April while prices soared
Sales of newly built homes dropped 16.6% in April from March, far more than expected, and were down 26.9% from April 2021, according to the U.S. Census. The annualized rate came in at 591,000 units, seasonally adjusted. Analysts had been expecting 750,000. March’s read was also revised lower. That is the slowest sales pace since […]
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Here’s why major cities may still be worth their high cost of living
Many renters believe that a cost-of-living crisis is brewing in America’s major cities. New York City is showing up as a hotspot of rent inflation. The average rent for 1-bedroom apartments in Manhattan rose to $3,995 a month in May 2022 — a 41% increase from one year ago, according to Zumper. Sudden, double-digit rent […]
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The number of billionaires soared during the pandemic. How tax proposals aim to reduce wealth inequality
A mobile billboard calling for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy depicts an image of billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos, near the U.S. Capitol on May 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer | Getty Images A new billionaire was created on average about every 30 hours during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report by […]
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CDC officials sound alarm for gay and bisexual men as monkeypox spreads in community
A section of skin tissue, harvested from a lesion on the skin of a monkey, that had been infected with monkeypox virus, is seen at 50X magnification on day four of rash development in 1968. CDC | Reuters The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday alerted gay and bisexual men that monkeypox appears […]
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