Covid has affected everyone, whether or not you were vaccinated. Not that Robert Kennedy, Jr. is right about shots. Polls suggest that people ignore the economic recovery and blame Joe Biden for not giving them the kind of personal prosperity that had supposedly boosted their purchasing power and assured their retirement.
The latest from Washington, D.C., impacting the insurance and financial services industries.
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—Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation. At the same time, with polls showing that costlier rents, groceries and gasoline are angering voters as the…
Actuaries delve into Social Security trust fund deficit
A stronger economy is good news for the Social Security program but Congress must act to keep it solvent.
Prescription drug issues dominate health care policy in 2024
Prescription drug pricing, pharmacy benefit manager reform and the No Surprises Act are among the health care-related issues making news in Washington.
NAIFA members discuss financial security at the Capitol
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors wraps up its 2024 Congressional Conference Tuesday with a visit to Capitol Hill to discuss issues facing the industry and the people it serves.
Think twice before removing pension risk transfers from company toolboxes.
The event will feature targeted advocacy training with briefings on legislative issues that affect members’ businesses, clients, and communities.
Neither of the two presumptive major party presidential nominees wants to seriously discuss Social Security. The longer Congress does nothing, the worse the problem gets for retirees and those nearing retirement. On Monday, the Social Security trustees released their annual report on the fiscal state of the program.
This legislation aims to repeal the Medicare requirement that necessitates a three-day inpatient hospital stay before a Medicare beneficiary qualifies for covered skilled nursing care.
Congress has spent more money on interest so far this year than it has spent on both national defense and Medicare. During the same time period, the U.S. spent $873 billion on Social Security, the federal program that provides retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits to more than 67 million Americans. U.S. interest spending is expected to increase in…
The U.S. economy still hasn't slowed to the Federal Reserve's satisfaction, so don't expect the Fed to cut interest rates at its June meeting, said Ryan Loy, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. In a news conference at the beginning of May, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell expressed frustration about the lack of downward…
This combination of factors has sparked anticipation that the Federal Reserve might reduce interest rates in the near future. The Labor Department's latest report revealed that nonfarm payrolls grew by 175,000, which was below the anticipated 240,000. Additionally, the unemployment rate climbed to 3.9%, a slight increase from the forecasted 3.8%.
The Federal Reserve held its benchmark lending rate unchanged Wednesday, noting a "lack of further progress" in its inflation fight, and suggested that it would hold off on rate cuts until at least later in the year. The policy-making Federal Open Market Committee held its key rate at between 5.25% and 5.5%, the highest in 22 years, a unanimous move that Wall Street…
-The Biden administration announced Wednesday it would be forgiving $6 billion in student debt for borrowers who attended the Art Institutes. Among the infractions against the Art Institutes include falsely advertising that 80 percent of graduates found employment in their field within six months of graduation. That ends today— thanks to the Biden-Harris…
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the end of the Fed's first meeting since recent inflation readings dampened hopes that the central bank will lower interest rates three times this year. Though officials aren't slated to update their March forecasts on the economy, inflation and rates, Powell could provide clues on where…
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers criticized the Federal Reserve recently for having "itchy fingers to start cutting rates." Supply chains have not normalized after years of disruption caused by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. Attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea have caused additional price bumps with shipping goods worldwide.
WASHINGTON- Consumer inflation remained persistently high last month, boosted by gas, rents, auto insurance and other items, the government said Wednesday in a report that will likely give pause to the Federal Reserve as it considers how often- or even whether- to cut interest rates this year. The Fed closely tracks core prices because they tend to provide a good…
Austan Goolsbee, left, testifies on Capitol Hill on the state of the U.S. economy. At the time, he was chairman for the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, and he has since become president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Jobs have been growing and the stock market has been soaring, but many U.S. consumers don’ t feel the economy is working…
More people are coming to believe in the strength of the U.S. economy. "The U.S. economy is really firing on all cylinders, creating more jobs than anticipated," said George Lagarias, chief economist at Mazars. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, gave pointed commentary on interest rates.Bloomberg/Getty Images.
WASHINGTON- Ever since the Federal Reserve signaled last fall that it was likely done raising interest rates, Wall Street traders, economists, car buyers, would-be homeowners- pretty much everyone- began obsessing over a single question: When will the Fed start cutting rates? The Fed typically cuts only when the economy appears to be weakening and needs help.
