—The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged Thursday and warned that the Iran war would boost inflation in the short term through higher energy prices- but that the long-term impact on consumer prices and the economy was uncertain. The ECB move follows a decision earlier on Thursday by the Bank of England to hold its main interest rate at…
An expansive new report from the nonpartisan Common Sense Institute— "The Inflation Hangover: How the Post-Pandemic Price Surge Reshaped Affordability in America"— digs deep into the causes and where Colorado now falls into the mix. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve pushed interest rates to zero and expanded its balance sheet by $3 trillion through "quantitative…
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of“ a” of China Taiping Insurance Company Limited. The outlook of these Credit Ratings is stable. The ratings reflect CTIM’ s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and…
Washington youth in extended foster care will no longer have to reimburse the state using their own disability or survivor benefits under a new bill signed into law Wednesday. Emily Alvarado, D- West Seattle, and Sen. Judy Warnick, R- Moses Lake, stops the state, starting next year, from intercepting funds from foster youth ages 18 to 21 who receive federal benefits…
This year, most Americans plan to use their tax refund toward financial goals, including car insurance. Last year, the IRS issued 102,122,000 tax refunds to Americans, averaging $3,052 per refund.1 The national average annual cost of full-coverage car insurance was $2,144 in 2025, a slight drop from the significant rate increases recorded between 2022 and…
"In early 2025, the Palisades and Eaton fires upended the California home insurance market," said Matt Brannon, senior economic analyst at Insurify and author of the 2026 Insuring the American Homeowner Report. Insurify data scientists also note that California insurers will likely begin using more advanced risk modeling to set rates in the state.
–The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and reiterated plans to cut rates later this year, even as rising energy prices from the Iran war threaten to prolong the administration's efforts to control inflation ahead of the midterm elections. The sole dissenting vote came from President Donald Trump's newest FOMC appointee, Stephen…
Set for Friday, March 27, at 8 a.m., the forum will take place at the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts. Tony Pittarese, dean of the College of Business and Technology. In his role, Barkin oversees the Richmond Fed's operations and serves on the Federal Reserve System's Federal Open Market Committee.
Zocks, the privacy-first AI assistant for financial advisors, today announced it is bringing its AI-automated operational and document intelligence capabilities to the life insurance market. Zocks is already in use exclusively at two of the three largest U.S. life insurance carriers. “Zocks speeds up our workflow after calls, letting us send emails and…
MONROE COUNTY— Monroe County Mayor Michelle Lincoln, the Monroe County Commission and Growth Management Director Emily Schemper recently proclaimed March 9-15 as Monroe County Flood Awareness Week. The week is recognized statewide by the Florida Floodplain Managers Association to encourage residents to learn about flood risks, flood insurance and…
Gold prices often drop as the economy improves, and news reports initially attributed the drop to a surge in business confidence after the president chose a moderate to head the Fed, the USA's central bank. The sudden drop in gold and silver prices in January wiped out $7 trillion in paper wealth in two days. That is equivalent to the combined national debts of the…
The state Treasurer's Office has oversight of the SHP, which is North Carolina's largest purchaser of medical and pharmaceutical services. Since state Treasurer Brad Briner took office in January 2025, he had focused primarily on reducing expenses as part of an effort to provide more financial stability to SHP. The SHP presentation listed that there would be…
QuSecure™, Inc., the market leader in post-quantum cybersecurity and cryptographic agility, today announced that the Post-Quantum Financial Infrastructure Framework submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’ s Crypto Assets Task Force specifically cites QuSecure’ s, Banco Sabadell’ s, and Accenture’ s four-month banking deployment as a…
An expansive new report from the nonpartisan Common Sense Institute—“ The Inflation Hangover: How the Post-Pandemic Price Surge Reshaped Affordability in America”— digs deep into the causes and where Colorado now falls into the mix. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve pushed interest rates to zero and expanded its balance sheet by $3 trillion through“ quantitative…
It’ s open enrollment season for Medicare Advantage, when people currently enrolled in private managed-care plans can either sign up for a new one or switch to original Medicare through March 31. "We really want people to factor that in," said Kata Kertesz, managing policy attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy. "We saw some Medicare Advantage plans that just…
The bill was tentatively scheduled for debate Thursday in the Iowa House after it passed the Appropriations Committee in a 14-10 vote Monday. The proposal also would transfer $296.2 million from the Iowa Taxpayer Relief Fund to account for state revenue decreases caused by tax cuts through the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act approved by President Donald Trump…
A bill advancing rapidly in the Iowa House would make a one-time tax increase on some health insurers and draw money from the Taxpayer Relief Fund to address the state's Medicaid shortfall. The bill would also include a $296.2 million transfer from the state's Taxpayer Relief Fund to account for state revenue declines caused by changes made through the…
What's being proposed: a temporary tax increase on health insurers and additional withdrawals from a state reserve fund to offset impacts on the state's budget from federal tax cuts contained in the Republicans' "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act. House Democrats requested Wednesday's public hearing to give the public more time to weigh in on the proposal after it…
The postpartum Medicaid bill, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 102, expands coverage from 60 days after birth to a full year and makes Wisconsin the second-to-last state to adopt the expansion. Evers signed the bill at Children's Wisconsin Hospital in Milwaukee on Wednesday. But the tide turned last month after hours of private debate among Republicans and a concerted…
