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Consumers don't expect their incomes to grow as fast as prices

May 13, 2024
Consumers forecast inflation at 3.3% this time next year and are less confident that their earnings will rise as much as they had expected.
Consumers expect to spend more on the need-to-haves, like housing and food. Discretionary want-to-haves in their budgets may be squeezed.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Gen Z is taking on more credit card debt

May 9, 2024
The credit bureau TransUnion is out with a report showing that borrowers aged 22 to 24 are carrying an average of $2,834 in credit card debt — about a quarter more than millennials in the same age range a decade ago.
Adjusted for inflation, members of Gen Z ages 22 to 24 are carrying roughly a quarter more debt than millennials in the same age range a decade ago.
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AARP survey shows many older adults worry about financing retirement

May 6, 2024
More than 60% of people over 50 are worried they won’t have enough money to live on in retirement, which is more than last year, according to a recent survey from AARP.
About a third of people 50 and older who are still working have saved less than $10,000 toward retirement.
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As consumer sentiment survey is released, differences emerge at different wealth levels

Apr 26, 2024
Inflation continues to be a key factor but richer folks have greater protection from its effects.
Wealthy and low-income households are not experiencing inflation the same way, says Kayla Bruun with Morning Consult.
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U.S. GDP grew by 1.6% in the first quarter, slower than expected

Apr 25, 2024
This marks the end of a six-quarter streak of GDP growth of 2% or more. But the downshift might not be cause for worry just yet.
The good news: consumer spending, the force that’s been buoying economic growth for months, still looks solid. The bad news: business leaders aren’t feeling quite as confident.
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Why does the world want dollars? Because of high interest rates, thriving economy in U.S.

Apr 23, 2024
The greenback is so strong that Japan and South Korea have complained.
“The U.S. has strong growth, strong earnings potential, and so we’re drawing in global equity investment,” said Win Thin at Brown Brothers Harriman.
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Summer EBT will help families buy groceries. But 14 states are opting out.

Apr 12, 2024
Administrative costs and a lack of political will are leading some states to turn down a new food aid program for children.
While $40 per child per month may not solve child food insecurity, it could help families that struggle with grocery costs.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

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Home prices have risen 423% in 40 years, fueling economic discontent

Apr 9, 2024
From 1984 to 2023, the median cost of a new home rose from $79,900 to $417,700, more than double the rate of overall price inflation.
This is not the first time America has dealt with rapid, destabilizing price increases, says Thomas Stapleford, economic historian at the University of Notre Dame.
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Wage growth outpaced inflation in March

Apr 5, 2024
That's good for workers, who have been experiencing positive real wage growth since May 2023.
“And so workers are coming out ahead. They’ve now experienced positive real wage growth since May of 2023,” says Julia Pollak at ZipRecruiter.
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Fed Chair Powell: Interest rates likely won't return to "historically low levels" before the pandemic

Powell discusses how monetary policymakers arrive at consensus, the value of transparency and the issues that influence interest rate decisions.
"Marketplace" host Kai Ryssdal interviews Jay Powell, head of the Federal Reserve.
Courtesy Federal Reserve