Fed slows rate hikes even as Powell says there's more work to do

Mortgage rates in U.S. fall again, hit 6.09%. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a 25 basis-point hike to its benchmark interest rate, slowing the pace of its drive to tame inflation. The Fed controls short-term rates, but long-term rates, including 30- year mortgages,“ are a function of market expectations for the path of the economy,” said Mike Fratantoni,…

Those who had specific financial goals last year were two to three times more likely to say various aspects of their personal finances improved.

Advisors think we are in the worst investment climate since 2008 but are betting on U.S. stocks to outperform this year amid a tech rebound, new research shows.

More than 80% of U.S. investors say that companies need to more openly communicate the risks and opportunities that shape their standing as “responsible investments” – and 73% also say they are more likely to invest in a company that shares with investors its plans for effectively managing those factors.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers expect to deliver a "couple" more interest-rate increases before putting their aggressive tightening campaign on hold, even as they slowed their drive to curb inflation. Powell and his colleagues lifted the Fed's target for its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%.

For more than a year, the Senate and the House of Representatives discussed issues that needed to be addressed as a follow-up to the SECURE Act of 2019– including many small fixes to make retirement saving easier. Despite having bipartisan agreement, the bill languished until Dec. 23, 2022, when it was folded into the 4,000- page, $1.7 trillion 2023 Consolidated…

Republicans in Congress are seeking to scuttle new rules from the Biden administration that allow retirement fund managers to consider climate change and other factors that conservative critics call "woke capitalism." House and Senate Republicans plan to file a Congressional Review Act resolution to force a vote on dismantling new Labor Department rules…

There's a huge cost-of-living increase coming to Social Security recipients this year- the largest adjustment since 1981, thanks to pandemic-prompted inflation. Other dollar limits on Social Security payroll taxes, taxes on benefits, disability thresholds and qualifying for benefits also will be changing for 2023.. "Medicare premiums are going down and…

You need to consider many things in each stage of retirement planning. Eric Peterson, Founder of Peterson Financial Group, shares the four stages of retirement planning. If you have questions, visit AskEricPeterson.com or call 515-226-1500..

DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: I started drawing my Social Security retirement benefits back in 2021 when I was forced to retire early, but I'm now interested going back to work part-time. DEAR BACK: You can collect Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time, but depending on how old you are and how much you earn, some or all of your benefits could be…

Some 64% of US consumers— equivalent to 166 million people— were living paycheck-to-paycheck at the end of 2022, according to the survey by industry publication Pymnts.com and LendingClub Corp.. And out of that group, some 8 million were people earning more than $100,000 a year. "Prospects for consumer spending are cloudy," said Lydia Boussour, senior economist…

Democrats finally have a strategy to stop billionaires from fleeing high tax states: Block the escape routes. California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, Minnesota, Connecticut and Washington state are all represented, and several of the sponsors have already released bills. "We are here today to put billionaires and multimillionaires on notice," said…

Before you turn 65, you'll want to become familiar with Medicare's rules and features. For someone who' s married and files taxes jointly, and whose MAGI for 2021 was $194,000 or less, the Part B premium for 2023 will be $164.90 per month, and the Part D premium will be whatever amount is charged by their Medicare plan. But if their 2021 MAGI was between $194,000 and…

There's a huge cost-ofliving increase coming to Social Security recipients this year- the largest adjustment since 1981, thanks to pandemic-prompted inflation. Other dollar limits on Social Security payroll taxes, taxes on benefits, disability thresholds and qualifying for benefits also will be changing for 2023.. "Medicare premiums are going down and…

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf won’ t get a raise this year, according to a recent securities filing from the bank. That includes a $2.5 million base salary and $22 million in variable compensation, such as stock awards. The scandal— which revealed that bank employees had created millions of fraudulent accounts for customers— led to a Federal Reserve asset cap that…