Amid the Federal Reserve's efforts to fight inflation, interest rates are expected to surpass levels not seen since 2007, according to a new economic forecast from Credit Union National Association. At its most recent meeting in May, the Federal Reserve elected to raise interest rates for the second time this year, raising the federal funds rate 50 basis…

Medicare insolvency put off until 2030—but only if we avoid recession
The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2022 to 2032 reports that Medicare’s Hospital Insurance trust fund will become insolvent in 2030. This is a substantial improvement over last year, when the Medicare trustees projected that the trust fund would be exhausted in 2026.
Inflation worries, a tight labor market and global fallout from the Russo-Ukraine war have dropped business executives’ view of U.S. economic prospects to its lowest level since 2011, according to the second-quarter AICPA Economic Outlook Survey. The survey polls chief executive officers, chief financial officers, controllers and other certified public…
The White House insists President Biden will run in 2024 but speculation is rampant that he will pass the baton to someone on the Democratic bench. Top prospects include Vice President Kamala Harris, members of the Cabinet and governors such as Phil Murphy of New Jersey who sees his state as a roadmap for a national Democratic agenda. Mr. Biden would be 82 years old…
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.– Betty Ashley made headlines as a lively senior who walked the Gasparilla 5 K during her 90 s and served as Grand Marshal this year at the age of 100.. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management is an agency that disperses the payments from the annuity of Ashley's late husband who served as a U.S. Postmaster. When Ashley and her daughter Thelma Metzger…
The latest jobs report shows that the U.S. economy continues its rapid recovery from the pandemic crisis. Employers added 428,000 new jobs in April, continuing a now-year-long streak of similarly strong job growth. After surging to a post-World War II high of 14.7% in 2020, unemployment is now down to 3.6%, the lowest level in 50 years.

Retirement savings legislation ‘cool,’ NAIFA members told
If retirement savings legislation such as SECURE 2.0 is popular, why is the bill still in a Senate committee?
When I talk to business groups these days, the most commonly asked question is, "Are we headed for stagflation?" At the beginning of 1979, the United States already had 9 percent annual inflation; the surge in oil prices after the Iranian revolution sent inflation well into double digits. The Federal Reserve, under Paul Volcker, responded with drastically tighter…
Pay rate is the top factor U.S. wage earners look for when seeking a job, according to the nearly 19,500 wage earners who took part in the 16 th annual Voice of the Blue-Collar Worker survey. “Hourly workers are absolutely essential to the U.S. economy, yet often their perspectives are not heard or understood,” added Ms. Canfield.“ EmployBridge launched the annual…
Lisa Gomez could get a long-awaited vote next week on confirmation to lead the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors will kick off their annual Diversity Symposium before heading to the Capitol for their Congressional Conference.
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled several updates to the Medicare.gov website that make it easier,…
The Federal Reserve is currently attempting to rein in the highest inflation since the 1970 s without tipping the U.S. economy into recession. In a new book, "21st Century Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve from the Great Inflation to COVID-19," Bernanke explores the Fed's recent history, one "defined by remarkable innovation and change." On January 29, 2020, Jay…

Ben Bernanke: ‘Stagflation’ Dead Ahead After Fed Tinkering
But the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact – the overnight pullback in employment coupled with an infusion of money not seen in history and now, seemingly, runaway inflation – have had Bernanke thinking. And writing.
To combat the hot housing market, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. The National Association of Realtors expects home sales to drop 9% during 2022 compared to 2021 because of rising interest rates. The average 30- year-fixed home loan rate is now 5.37%, up more than 2 percentage points since the year began, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
That's how the affordable housing community looks at the Federal Reserve's decision to finally increase lending rates. The Fed should have done this years ago. The Fed was guided by a belief that growth in the investment community would trickle down into other areas of the economy, but no such trickling occurred.

NAHU CEO: ‘Medicare For All’ Moves From Congress To The States
Congress has backed off “Medicare for All” for the time being. But legislators in several states are now taking up the charge.
Last month, President Biden proposed fixing the so-called "family glitch," a quirk in Obamacare's text that has prevented millions of people from purchasing subsidized coverage through the exchanges. It's only the latest attempt to gift more people taxpayer-sponsored health coverage. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, this could make an additional…

Senate Confirms Jerome Powell To Second Term As Federal Reserve Chair
The Senate confirmed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell to a second term leading the central bank on Thursday, as he faces the enormous task of slashing the highest inflation in 40 years without sending the country into a recession.