If you owned US stocks over the past decade, you’ve been richly rewarded. It’s payback time. Over the next decade or two, investors will experience bull and bear markets, but at the end of the journey they will not be far from where they started. When you own a stock, your returns come from two … Read more
Do you want the good news about the Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell, the other good news…or the bad news? Let’s start with the first bit of good news. Powell and his fellow Fed committee members just hiked short-term interest rates another 0.25 percentage points to 4.75%, which means retirees and other savers … Read more
The Federal Reserve raised the target federal funds rate for the eighth time in a row on Wednesday, in its continued effort to tame persistent inflation. That its latest meetingthe central bank approved a more modest 0.25 percentage point increase after recent signs that inflationary pressures have started to cool. “The easing of inflation pressures … Read more
HELOC use rose as cash-out refis dropped Last year, as mortgage rates climbed higher, accessing home equity by taking cash against it during refinancing — a so-called cash-out refi — became less appealing. Rates on mortgages went from close to 3% at the beginning of 2022 to a peak of above 7% in the fall. … Read more
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce its eighth consecutive rate hike at this week’s policy meeting. This time, Fed officials will likely approve a 0.25 percentage point increase as inflation starts to ease, a more modest pace compared with earlier super-size moves in 2022. Still, any boost in the benchmark rate means borrowers … Read more
By most measures, the US economy is in solid shape. Although the first half of 2022 started off with negative growth, a strong labor market and resilient consumer helped turn things around and give hope for the year ahead. Gross domestic product, which tracks the overall health of the economy, rose more than expected in … Read more
Colorful cafe bars at the iconic Beale Street music and entertainment district of downtown Memphis, Tennessee. benedek | iStock | Getty Images Despite broad hikes in rental prices, competition is easing in some US markets as inventory grows, according to a new report from national real estate brokerage HouseCanary. At the end of 2022, the … Read more
Housing rights activists and tenants protest against evictions and the poor condition of their apartments outside the offices of the landlord Broadway Capital in Chelsea, Massachusetts on April 25, 2022. Brian Snyder | Reuters The Biden administration announced on Wednesday new actions to protect renters across the US, including trying to curb practices that prevent … Read more
Lifestyle Visuals | E+ | Getty Images It may come as no surprise that among millennials who have intended to buy a house this year, 92% said in a recent survey that inflation has impacted their goal. Yet most of them aren’t letting it serve as a roadblock, according to the survey from Real Estate … Read more
Randy had an 850 credit score. According to FICO, the most popular scoring model, that’s as good as it gets. Still, a line on his credit report said he could lower his utilization rate, so he promptly paid off the remainder of his car loan with one $6,000 payment, and then his score dropped 30 … Read more
