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☆ Residents of this state have the worst average credit score—see how you stack up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Read on to see the 10 states with the lowest average credit scores and what credit experts say you can do if you want to bring your score up. Credit scores generally run from 300 to 850, with scores over 750 considered "excellent." Plenty of Americans have some work to do on the credit score front. That's bad news for Mississippians, whose average credit score of 662 is the worst in the nation, according to a recent report from WalletHub , based on data from TransUnion. But being among the worst when it comes to credit scores is especially disappointing.

To combat high inflation, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates this year at the fastest clip in 40 years. But analysts warn that high interest rates and potentially unfavorable terms can trip up shoppers, eroding the hoped-for savings. That’s the highest interest rate since the credit card marketplace began tracking it for store cards in 2018. Using credit cards can help build credit. And with fees and rates for new store cards even higher than the current record levels for traditional credit cards, “many people’s financial margin for error is basically zero,” Schulz says.

☆ Interest rates on retail credit cards are 'crazy high,' with some topping 30%. 4 things to consider before opening one
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Getty ImagesThat offer for a store credit card may sound tempting as you're shopping this holiday season. As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, credit card annual percentage rates — a measure for the yearly cost of borrowing money — are climbing higher. That is especially true for retail credit cards, which tend to charge the most. Credit card interest rates more broadly recently soared to 19.04%. Borrowers with existing retail credit cards may also see the rates they are charged go up soon, Schulz said.

☆ The collapse of crypto firm FTX and its superstar founder explained: Here's what happened and what it all means
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Two years later, Bankman-Fried and his team launched FTX, a crypto exchange platform with perks like low trading fees and advanced options for traders. At his peak, Bankman-Fried was worth $26 billion, though his net worth had dropped to $16 billion before this week. In early November, crypto publication CoinDesk released a bombshell report that called into question just how stable Bankman-Fried's empire really was. Now, the FTX drama is creating a ripple effect throughout the crypto industry. Industry experts told Insider that the saga might encourage regulators to try to crack down on the crypto industry, or make big banks wary of letting customers trade crypto.

☆ What the collapse of FTX means for the future of crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX collapsed in a matter of days and has started Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The FTX fiasco is the latest in a series of meltdowns to rock the crypto world this year. "It's been a long time coming, and it's a real wild west out there for anybody who is trading crypto." Big banks could be less likely to let people trade cryptoFinancial institutions like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley tried to capitalize on the crypto boom last year with services like trading crypto futures or derivatives. Crypto exchanges should watch for contagion riskOther exchanges and companies should be on high alert for continued fallout.

☆ FTX's fortunes fell off a cliff in a matter of days. Here's what experts think the company's fiasco could mean for the future of crypto.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX collapsed in a matter of days and has started Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Less than a year after it boasted a $32 billion valuation, the crypto exchange, owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, faced a "liquidity crunch" that forced it to try to sell itself to rival Binance. "It's been a long time coming, and it's a real wild west out there for anybody who is trading crypto." Crypto exchanges should watch for contagion riskOther exchanges and companies should be on high alert for continued fallout. "As an investor, you should be seriously questioning what you're investing in if it can evaporate over a weekend," Royal said.

☆ New car prices are finally coming down. But not by much
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —New car prices are finally coming down. Over the past few months, though, prices have fallen to only about $230 over MSRP, on average, according to Edmunds. Land Rover models, on average, still sell for $4,500 over sticker price while Kia models sell for about $1,600 over sticker price. For the past 17 months, though, according to Cox Automotive, vehicle inventory shortages have enabled car dealers to push prices above MSRP. Used car prices are also starting to come down a bit, something that could prod new car shoppers back into the market, said Drury.

The cost of carrying a balance on your credit card is now the highest it's been in more than 30 years. According to survey data from Bankrate.com, the average credit card interest rate has climbed to 19.04%. "Bankrate has been surveying credit card rates since 1985, and this eclipses the previous all-time high of 19.00% from July 1991," Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride wrote on Wednesday. The new average represents a substantial increase from the 16.3% average rate for credit cards seen at the beginning of the year. Yet even as racking up large credit card balances can ultimately affect credit scores, and as the total amount of all credit card balances in the U.S. remains at record levels, delinquencies remain low, Rossman said.

☆ Credit card rates hit a record high as Fed fights inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

It’s never a great time to carry credit card debt. The spike comes after credit card balances rose sharply earlier this year amid high inflation, according to Federal Reserve research. Credit card debt can be punishing, even at lower rates. The good news is that despite high inflation, Americans are largely paying their credit card bills. Rossman recommends Americans struggling with credit card debt consider either taking out a low-rate personal loan or transferring their balance to a 0% balance transfer card.

The latest data on jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a still-robust labor market in the US. With inflation continuing to soar in the US, the Federal Reserve has moved aggressively to combat high prices by hiking interest rates. But on Friday, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the labor market continues to be strong. As Insider previously reported,the Fed's high interest rates would cause companies to slow their hiring plans, and therefore lead to smaller pay gains for workers. Looking ahead, all eyes are on the Fed's December meeting when it will announce its next round of interest rate hikes.

☆ Here's what the Federal Reserve's fourth 0.75 percentage point interest rate hike means for you
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Federal Reserve raised the target federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage point for the fourth time in a row on Wednesday, marking an unprecedented pace of rate hikes. The federal funds rate, which is set by the central bank, is the interest rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another overnight. As the federal funds rate rises, the prime rate does, as well, and your credit card rate follows suit within one or two billing cycles. Still, it's not the interest rate but the sticker price of the vehicle that's causing an affordability problem, McBride said. Federal student loan rates are also fixed, so most borrowers won't be impacted immediately by a rate hike.

☆ What rising interest rates mean for your credit, loans, savings and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“Interest rates have increased at the fastest pace in 40 years,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. They’re offering far higher rates – with some topping 3% currently – and have been increasing them as benchmark rates go higher. At the most recent auction in October, for instance, the 5-year TIPS had an interest rate of 1.625%. Home loans: Lock in fixed rates nowMortgage rates have been rising over the past year, jumping more than three percentage points. That said, “don’t jump into a large purchase that isn’t right for you just because interest rates might go up.

☆ Despite the odds, the Great Resignation lives on
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Madison Hoff | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

According to Pollak, "the overall trend is back towards less turnover in the labor market, higher retention numbers." At the industry-level, the quit rate in construction slipped to 2.0% after two consecutive months at 2.7%. The quit rate for professional and business services, for instance, increased slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 3.2%. There were 10.7 million job openings in September according to Tuesday's release. But while a lot of job openings might seem like a good thing for the economy, it could spell danger ahead.

☆ Fintech firm Upgrade offers top U.S. savings rate of 3.5% as competition for deposits heats up
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Credit-card startup Upgrade is releasing a new savings account with what it says is the country's top interest rate as competition for deposits heats up, CNBC has learned. The fintech firm's Premier Savings account is being launched Thursday with a 3.5% annual percentage yield, according to CEO Renaud Laplanche. That is higher than any account currently tracked by Bankrate.com, senior analyst Ted Rossman said in an e-mail. "At 3.5%, we're by far the best savings account in the country," Laplanche said during an interview. "This suggests that deposit-pricing pressure is becoming more widely dispersed across the banking industry as rates move sharply higher," Graseck said.

☆ 'Borrowers are feeling the squeeze' as interest rates climb while inflation remains high, chief financial analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

From credit cards to mortgages, it's suddenly a lot more expensive to borrow money. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark short-term rate 3 percentage points since March in an effort to curb unrelenting inflation, with another rate hike likely on the way next week. "Borrowers are feeling the squeeze from both sides as inflation has stretched household budgets while borrowing costs for homebuyers, car buyers and credit card borrowers have increased at the fastest pace in decades," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. And "with more rate hikes still to come, it will be a further strain on the budgets of households with variable rate debt, such as home equity lines of credit and credit cards," McBride said. Here's how increases in the benchmark interest rate have impacted the rates consumers pay on the most common types of debt, according to recent figures from Bankrate.

☆ Recession obsession: Warnings grow but nobody knows for sure
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Christine Romans | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The welcome GDP report comes amid almost daily recession warnings from bank CEOs, business economists, think tanks and former Treasury secretaries. But as the dread grows, today’s news is a reminder that no one knows for sure whether the US economy will tip into a recession. Moreover, most of those same prognosticators agree that even if we do have a recession, it would be mild. Thirdly, we won’t know if we are, or were, in a recession until it is over:A recession may be coming. But even the staunchest recession hawks think a recession — if it happens — would be mild.

But that higher inflation has already been baked into many tax and wage figures that will change in 2023. Income tax bracketsThe IRS tax brackets corresponding to your marginal tax rates are also shifting upward — by 7% — thanks to inflation. But many banks, especially those that are online-only, are also paying out more money through higher interest rates for high-yield savings and certificate of deposit accounts. California is the largest state that will see a cost of living adjustment next year, with the minimum wage rising to $15.50 for all establishments. California's increase is limited by a statute that declares the minimum wage cannot increase by more than 3.5% each year.

☆ Visa profit beats as payment volumes surge on travel demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Mehnaz Yasmin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Travel outbound from the U.S. to all geographies continue to pick up steam," Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu said on a post-earnings call. "The strong dollar and delays in visa issuance from some countries appear to be impacting travel into the U.S," he added. Transactions processed at the world's largest payments processor rose 12% on a constant dollar basis to 50.9 billion in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30. On a constant dollar basis, Visa's payment volumes surged 10%, while cross-border volumes - a key measure that tracks spending on cards beyond the country of issue - jumped 36%. Excluding items, the world's largest payments processor reported a profit of $1.93 a share, beating estimates of $1.86, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

☆ Visa profit rises as U.S. travel spending boosts payment volumes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Mehnaz Yasmin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Visa continues to benefit from the travel rebound and the ongoing shift away from cash," said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com. Visa results mirror that of American Express (AXP.N), which reported a stronger-than-expected profit as travel and entertainment spending in international markets surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time on Friday. On a constant dollar basis, Visa's payment volumes surged 10%, while cross-border volumes - a key measure that tracks spending on cards beyond the country of issue - jumped 36% for the three months ended Sept. 30. Transactions processed by Visa also rose 12% on a constant dollar basis to 50.9 billion in the three months ended Sept 30. Net income was $3.9 billion, or $1.86 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $3.6 billion, or $1.65 a share, a year earlier.

☆ Americans now say they will need $1.25 million to retire comfortably, survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mstudioimages | E+ | Getty ImagesAmericans now expect they will need $1.25 million to retire comfortably, according to a new study from Northwestern Mutual. That's not necessarily good news for individuals who have seen their retirement savings decline in the past year amid persistent high inflation and market volatility. The average retirement nest egg has fallen 11% to $86,869, down from $98,800 a year ago, Northwestern Mutual's survey found. Why people plan to work longerA quarter of Northwestern Mutual's survey respondents — 25% — plan to retire later than they had anticipated. About a quarter, 26%, are taking care of relative or friend, and 24% have had to dip into retirement savings, 24%.

Individual employees will be able to contribute up to $22,500 to their 401(k) retirement plans for the 2023 tax year, up from $20,500 in 2022, the Internal Revenue Service announced Friday. Under the IRS's defined contribution plan provision, employees will also see a total annual limit of $66,000 in 2023, up from $61,000 this year. This provision governs limits to the retirement plan contributions made through an employer-sponsored program, which can include matching-dollar amounts that some companies make toward employee retirement savings. The IRS also increased the limit on annual contributions to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) from $6,000 to $6,500. “More than one-third of workers feel they are 'significantly behind' on their retirement savings,” Greg McBride, Bankrate chief financial analyst said in a Bankrate.com release.

☆ 55% of working Americans feel they are behind on retirement savings. Here's how to catch up
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nicoletaionescu | Istock | Getty ImagesAs it has become more difficult to stretch a dollar at the grocery store and gas pump, some Americans are pulling back on one key long-term goal: retirement savings. More than half of workers — 55% — said they feel they are behind on their retirement savings, a new survey from Bankrate.com finds. watch nowThe results come as the IRS has just announced new contribution limits for retirement accounts in 2023. The limit for individual retirement accounts will go up to $6,500, up from $6,000 this year. 'Biggest financial regret' is not starting to save earlyHow to stay on track with retirement savings

☆ U.S. retirees see biggest Social Security hike in more than 40 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Retirees and other beneficiaries will get an 8.7% cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment starting in January, the U.S. Social Security Administration, which administers the benefit program, said in a statement. The average recipient will see $140 more per month in their 2023 benefit checks, it added, benefiting about 70 million people receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) aid. The programs benefit older Americans who have retired from their jobs as well as the disabled and certain widows, widowers and children. The consumer price data, used to set the Social Security adjustments, showed rising rent, food and health care costs pressuring consumers. Mary Johnson, an analyst at the seniors advocacy group Senior Citizens League, said adequate cost-of-living increases were necessary "as older Americans live longer lives."

☆ Holiday sales at Target and Amazon are starting in October—here’s why shopping early is a smart financial move
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With less than 90 days until the winter gift giving season, some holiday shoppers are getting started sooner rather than later. Half of winter holiday shoppers plan to begin making purchases before Halloween this year, according to a September Bankrate survey. Although about 12% of shoppers plan to wait until December to do their holiday shopping, getting a head-start can provide added time to plan and find the best deals. "Holiday shopping will look different this year with inflation around 40-year highs," Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate.com, says. Even before you begin to spend money, simply starting your shopping plan early can help your budget go farther.

☆ How to make the buy vs. rent housing decision as mortgage rates surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

With mortgage rates rising, more people may be asking themselves the age old question: rent or buy? The latest Federal Reserve interest rate increase, while not directly tied to mortgage rates, is having some effect on lending and home prices. Although they are higher than the recent past, rates are still among average levels over the last 30 years, he said. If the buying elements are right for you, it could still make sense to buy, even as rates are rising. Phillips offers the example of a client who is looking to buy a house in the $200,000 to $275,000 range.

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