DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Extreme heat is prompting higher home cooling costs. It is also putting some individuals at risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors walk during a long-duration heat wave impacting much of California on July 9 in Death Valley National Park, California. Amid surging summer heat, the earth reached a new hottest day on record on July 22. That day, the global average temperature was almost 63 degrees Fahrenheit, and was surrounded by similar high temperature days. As a result, many Americans face a tough tradeoff between paying higher cooling costs or suffering in the heat to save money, research finds. Home cooling costs have risen in the past decade as higher temperatures require more electricity.

Persons: Heather Higginbottom Organizations: Finance, Miami, National Energy Assistance, Association, Center for Energy, U.S, JPMorgan Chase Institute, JPMorgan Chase Locations: California, Death, , California

[1/3] An employee hiring sign is seen in a window of a business in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., April 7, 2023. So far, he said at a Boston Fed labor market conference earlier this month, measures like the employment-to-population ratio largely have not behaved differently for key racial groups, for women versus men, or among those with different education levels. Research has since tended to suggest that there may be untapped pools of labor that only become available when the job market is tight - an argument for keeping monetary policy looser than not. The labor market recovery so far has been "remarkably equitable," she said. Pandemic-era programs threw a safety net under many families, and the tight job market that has since developed helped many get a foothold, Rouse said.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, William M, Rodgers III, Rodgers, Torsten Slok, Jerome Powell, quartile, Chris Wheat, Cecilia Rouse, Joe Biden, Rouse, what's, we're, Howard Schneider, Dan Burns, Paul Simao Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Institute for Economic Equity, St, Louis Federal Reserve, Boston Fed, Blacks, Apollo Global Management, JPMorgan Chase Institute, Workers, Reuters Graphics, of Economic Advisers, Brookings Institution, Thomson Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, joblessness

☆ Here's what CEOs are saying about consumers this earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Consumers have more cash on hand now than before the pandemic, according to a July analysis from the JPMorgan Chase Institute. So, what do corporate earnings reveal about the health of the consumer? “The consumer is in good financial shape, particularly the premium consumer base that we target,” Ed Bastian, chief executive of Delta Air Lines (DAL), said last month. “Both the lower-income consumer and our higher-income consumers are showing really good strength,” said Brian Niccol, chief executive of Chipotle, during the company’s post-earnings call. “The macro effects of higher inflation and a slowing US economy have put increased pressure on the price-sensitive consumer,” said Chip Bergh, chief executive of Levi Strauss.

Persons: Taylor Swift’s, ” Ed Bastian, ”, Robert Jordan, “ We’re, Laxman Narasimhan, Chipotle, Brian Niccol, Levi Strauss, LEVI, Chip Bergh, “, Tarang Amin, Zachary Kirkhorn, Peter Valdes, Kirkhorn, Tesla, Elon Musk’s, Vaibhav, Read, Jennifer Korn, it’s, Google Organizations: CNN, JPMorgan Chase Institute, Airlines, Consumers, Delta Air Lines, DAL, Southwest Airlines, Papa Johns, Apparel, Tesla, Google Locations: United States, Pacific, Papa Johns ’ North, bitcoin

Elon Musk commented on credit card debt in the US, saying the situation looked "scary." The US is seeing record-high credit card debt, indicating people are spending beyond their means. Credit card debt is at an all-time high in the United States, and the world's wealthiest person is speaking out about it. Credit card debt is looking scary." Average credit card debt for Gen Z now exceeds $3,300 — a 4.2% rise — while millennials hiked up credit card debt by 2.5% to an average of nearly $7,000.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, they're, Gen, Gen Z, millennials, Morgan, X Organizations: Twitter, Morning, Tesla's, Federal Reserve, Morgan Chase Institute, Consumer Financial, Bureau, X Corp, Bloomberg Locations: United States

☆ Americans aren’t rebuilding their savings fast enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Fairly well, but at the expense of their nest eggs, according to a new analysis from the JPMorgan Chase Institute. A separate analysis that Wheat co-authored found that Americans have 10% to 15% more in their bank accounts today, compared to 2019. In June 2021, the top-income quartile of Chase customers had a median cash buffer of 43 days, while the lowest-income quartile had a median cash buffer of 22 days. At the same time, Americans weren’t spending as much money on goods and services when many businesses were forced to close. Cash buffers are drying up because families aren’t replenishing their savings when they dip into them, Wheat said.

Persons: ”, Chris Wheat, Wheat, That’s, quartile Organizations: New, New York CNN, JPMorgan Chase Institute, “, CNN Locations: New York

☆ People have the least amount of money on hand since the start of the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

During the pandemic, Americans' cash balances grew as the government handed out stimulus checks. But those pandemic gains are long gone, and inflation has eaten away at Americans' bank accounts. That might be why Americans feel so dreary about the economy, even with a hot labor market. Indeed, relative to 2019 levels, cash balances are still higher across the board. But they're still far from early pandemic highs, and still getting eaten up by high prices.

Persons: Morgan, they're, Americans skyrocketing Organizations: Service, Morgan Chase, Americans Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ The real reasons stores are closing in big cities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

These big chains and others have closed stores in major US cities recently, raising alarm about the future of retail in some of the country’s most prominent downtowns and business districts. How policymakers remake their downtowns — with retail as a crucial attraction — will be crucial to cities’ fiscal health and regional economies. People who are being employed in those stores are losing their jobs” because of crime, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, said in February. San Francisco lost around 6% of its retail establishments from 2019 to 2021, according to the think tank’s research. For example, chain-store closures in New York City have correlated to the products most frequently bought online.

☆ There's a good chance your tax refund will be smaller this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

However, many of those have now wound down, and it means smaller tax refunds for some filers. The Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit will both be smaller for some taxpayers. Specifically, the enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will revert to their pre-pandemic levels. But after Democrats failed to renew the enhanced credit, eligible parents are set to receive only up to $2,000 for the child tax credit. Now, many of those credits are winding down, although some progressives are mounting efforts to try and beef up the Child Tax Credit alongside any tax breaks for big corporations.

☆ America's best tool to fight inflation and prevent recessions is facing a dangerous death spiral
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Austin Clemens | Erica Groshen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Threats to truthConsider the many benefits of having a source of trustworthy and publicly available economic data. Of course, private datasets, like those used by Opportunity Insights, the JPMorgan Chase Institute, and Earnest Research, complement federal statistics. In addition to competition from other sources, statistical agencies are facing a lack of money. Sustaining the future of statsThe good news is that statistical agencies are trying to keep up with the times. To continue producing this work, federal statistical agencies need a funding boost.

Search resuls for: "Morgan Chase Institute"

9 mentions found