Wealth, Disparity Grew Sharply Since 2016, Fed Reports

The savings of American families increased strongly between 2016 and 2019, according to Federal Reserve data released on Monday, but wealth inequality remained stubbornly high -- and that was before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Median net worth climbed by 18% in those three years, the Fed's Survey of Consumer Finances showed, as median family income increased by 5%. The survey, which began in 1989, is released every three years and is the gold standard in data about the financial circumstances of households. It offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive snapshot of everything from savings to stock ownership across demographic groups.

The figures tell a story of improving personal finances fueled by income gains and rising home prices, the legacy of the longest economic expansion on record that had pushed the unemployment rate to a half-century low and bolstered wages for those earning the least. Yet yawning gaps persisted -- the share of wealth owned by the top 1% of households was still near a three-decade high.

Nearly all of the data in the 2019 survey were collected before the onset of the coronavirus. Economists worry that progress for disadvantaged workers has probably reversed in recent months as the pandemic-related shutdowns threw millions of people out of work.

"Without a doubt, it will worsen," said Julia Coronado, founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives and a former Fed economist.

United pilots avoid furloughs

United Airlines and its pilots have reached an agreement that both sides say will avoid about 2,850 furloughs that were set to take effect later this week and another 1,000 early next year.

The Air Line Pilots Association said Monday that the deal will allow United to spread a reduced amount of flying across the airline's 13,000 pilots to save jobs at least until next June.

"Our members understood that in order to protect pilot jobs, we needed to approve this agreement," said Todd Insler, chairman of the union's United Airlines council.

The agreement was ratified by about 58% of the pilots who voted on it.

The United deal is the latest between airlines, which are cutting costs sharply during the pandemic downturn in travel, and their labor unions, which seek to save as many jobs as they can.

Brexit fight may mean legal battle

Britain entered a crucial week of post-Brexit talks with the European Union on Monday by rejecting the EU's demand that it drop plans to breach the legally binding agreement it signed on its departure from the bloc. The EU told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to brace for a legal fight.

The EU insisted that abiding by every last detail of the international treaty that regulated the U.K.'s departure on Jan. 31 was key to maintaining trust and hopes of salvaging a rudimentary trade deal in the next few weeks.

After a short meeting between the two sides in Brussels, U.K. Brexit planning minister Michael Gove said Britain wouldn't withdraw its Internal Market Bill, which includes clauses to override parts of the Brexit withdrawal treaty.

"Those clauses will remain in that bill" as a safety net in case the U.K. and the EU don't reach a trade agreement, Gove said.

The EU renewed its threat to take legal action if the U.K. doesn't drop the bill, which is currently passing through Parliament.

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