The US central bank has raised interest rates to the highest level in 16 years as it battles to stabilise prices. The Federal Reserve increased its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points – its tenth hike in 14 months. The Fed signalled that Wednesday’s rise may be its last one for now. The moves […]
Category: Business
Hollywood writers strike; Talk shows shut down
The future of movies and television is up in the air after the first Hollywood writers strike in 15 years began Tuesday. The Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East voted to strike after failing to reach a deal with major studios over the last six weeks. Shortly after the strike […]
States fight Biden’s mortgage redistribution plan
State treasurers and other top finance officials from 27 states on Monday urged President Biden to end what they said was his “unconscionable” policy of forcing people with good credit scores to subsidize mortgage loans of higher-risk borrowers, and warned Biden’s plan would be a “disaster.” Biden’s plan was outlined just a few weeks ago […]
First Republic Bank collapses; Chase takes over
JP Morgan Chase is set to take over the troubled bank First Republic in a deal brokered by regulators. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) confirmed in a statement that First Republic Bank had collapsed on Monday. Investment banking giant JP Morgan will take on all of the deposits and the majority of First Republic’s […]
Fed admits it screwed up on SVB failure
The US central bank has said it failed to act with “sufficient force and urgency” in its oversight of Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed last month in the country’s biggest bank failure since 2008. The conclusion is one of the main findings from the Federal Reserve’s investigation of the episode. It sparked global fears about […]
Fox News ratings tank after Tucker Carlson fired
Hundreds of thousands of Fox News viewers are reacting to Tucker Carlson’s firing by abandoning the network in his old time slot — at least temporarily. Fox drew 1.33 million viewers for substitute host Brian Kilmeade in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour on Wednesday night, putting the network second to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes in a […]
US Growth Slows to 1.1%, Inflation Accelerates
The US economy slowed in the first three months of the year, as businesses reduced investments in the face of higher borrowing costs. The economy grew 1.1% on an annualised basis, the Commerce Department said. That was down from a rate of 2.6% in the prior quarter, despite strong consumer spending. Analysts are watching nervously […]
UPS warns of downturn in US economy
UPS says the US economy is slowing down. America’s largest trucking company said Tuesday that revenue fell 6% in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, as its operating profit fell 22%. Its earnings fell just short of Wall Street forecasts for the period. “In the first quarter, deceleration in US retail sales resulted […]
Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon’s Monday Massacre
The shock exits of Tucker Carlson at Fox News and Don Lemon at CNN share striking similarities: Both came about after the anchors created an endless stream of controversies and distractions for their parent companies; both were their respective network’s highest-profile stars who thought they were bigger than their platforms; and both were undone by […]
ExxonMobil launches biggest refinery in 10 years
Near the Gulf Coast just east of Texas’ oil-rich Permian Basin, nearly 2,000 ExxonMobil contractors are making sure the company’s latest project – which includes 26 miles of piping, 35 miles of electrical wiring and 875 tons of steel – is pumping oil at full capacity. After launching America’s largest oil refinery expansion in over […]
Bed, Bath & Beyond Bankrupt; closing all stores
Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and is preparing to close its remaining stores, the company announced Sunday, after months of speculation the suffering chain would make the financial move. In a statement, Bed Bath & Beyond said it filed chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey, and has begun […]
Biden says, Good Credit = Higher Mortgage Fees
Homebuyers with good credit scores will soon be facing higher mortgage fees as the Biden administration seeks to close the racial homeownership gap and get more first-time and low-income buyers through the door. Starting in May, a new federal rule will upend the current structure of the Loan-Level Price Adjustment (LLPA) matrix. Homebuyers with a […]