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His counterpart at Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Brian Moynihan, cited resilient consumer finances and spending as positive signs. At a separate event, Bank of America's CEO reiterated what he has been saying for months - that consumer spending remains robust and is underpinning the economy. While consumer spending remains healthy, credit card delinquencies are increasing, and growth in Wells Fargo's commercial bank is moderating, he said. Despite some easing concern about an economic slowdown, the bank chiefs said they were managing headcount to constrain costs. It aims to have a workforce of about 213,000 to 214,000 in the next three to four months, Moynihan said, down from 216,823 at the end of 2022.

☆ UK watchdog proposes banning referral fees for debt advice firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Thursday it proposes to ban firms who give advice on debt from receiving referral fees from other related firms in the sector, citing an acute conflict of interest which can harm customers. It has estimated that around 52,000 of the 1.7 million people who seek debt advice every year begin with a debt packager, a figure which has likely increased due to the cost of living crisis. Debt packagers are regulated providers of debt advice, who refer indebted customers to debt solution providers - in return for a referral fee - which make formal arrangements to repay debt. Firms representing two-thirds of the market in customer numbers have either left or suspended their activities since the FCA first raised concerns in July 2021, the watchdog added. The FCA said it also proposes to clarify how unauthorised businesses, who source potential customers and recommend a particular debt solution provider to them for advice, may need to be authorised by the watchdog.

☆ Shoppers are dipping into savings and going into debt. That could cause a holiday hangover
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And that would be problematic for an economy that is driven by consumer spending. But the savings rate has come down since, in large part due to the high cost of living. The savings rate fell to just 2.3% in October, according to government statistics released last week. By contrast, the savings rate in 2019 averaged nearly 9%, according to Moody’s. Markowska expects consumer spending to remain solid until layoffs pickup steam, likely during the third quarter of next year.

That came on the heels of last week's report that October consumer prices rose less than anticipated, and Fed officials have signaled they are likely done with the three-quarter-point rate increases approved at the central bank's last four meetings. "Tech companies may have over-extrapolated the rapid growth they experienced during the pandemic and are now correcting for over-hiring," the Goldman economists wrote. Job growth through October remained strong but was moderating from its pre-pandemic highs, and Fed officials said they saw some initial signs that wage growth was beginning to cool. Curbing demand is one aim of Fed rate increases that have come at the fastest pace in 40 years on the expectation that less consumption will translate into less inflation. "You'd actually expect more competitive pressure to start bringing those costs down," Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Monday at a Bloomberg event.

"There's a reasonable chance of a recession in the U.S., but it's not certain," Solomon said on Tuesday after the company released third-quarter earnings. "Fitch expects the U.S. economy to enter genuine recession territory — albeit relatively mild by historical standards — in 2Q23." David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 2, 2022. "Private equity activity gets reset at a time like this because values have to come down because financing costs have gone up," he said. "So there's been less private equity activity right now."

☆ Can you afford a 'second act' after retirement? Here are some questions to ask yourself
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Andrew Osterland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Fg Trade | E+ | Getty ImagesAre you ready for a "second act" in retirement? Although they may long to quit a job and pursue a passion — a "second act" — their financial state will make that difficult. "We need to have a second act," she added. The key to figuring out your second act, Garrett said, is starting with a realistic self-assessment that answers several important questions: • What is your passion? Depending on your financial circumstances, a second act may still have to provide you with substantial income to make sense — in effect, you'll be "unretiring."

☆ These are the wealthiest US states, according to a new report — and a wealth tax on the country's richest would raise $415 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That family is already effectively paying a wealth tax in their local property tax bill every year on the home that they own," Davis said. Once they're sold off, they're subject to the capital gains tax, which is much lower than the straightforward income tax most Americans pay on their paychecks. If wealth over $30 million there was subject to a 2% wealth tax, it would bring in $88 billion. According to the report, at the national level, a 2% wealth tax on those with over $30 million could bring in about $415 billion. "We've seen a big rise in extreme wealth, partly because we tax that wealth so lightly, if at all," Davis said.

☆ UPS and Fedex are in for reckoning as the e-commerce boom cools and new competitors fight for a shrinking number of packages
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-26 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The pandemic-driven e-commerce boom buoyed results for UPS and FedEx the past two years. E-commerce sales in the first quarter were up nearly 7% from the first quarter of 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. The other is that the slowdown may loosen the two companies' grip on the pricing power they've held for the past two years. On the downward slope of the pandemic e-commerce boom, UPS and FedEx are going to be left with a smaller slice of a smaller pie. So far, both carriers are holding fast to their pricing power in the customary first-quarter contract negotiations, according to Roberson.

The racial wealth gap in America is well-documented, but there are steps we can take now to help close the gap — including encouraging Black Americans to invest more. In the US, Black Americans tend to invest at lower rates than white Americans, reducing Black Americans' opportunity to build wealth. There has been some progress related to investing in recent years, and the racial investing gap seems to be shrinking. That means the existing racial wealth gap can then feed into the investing gap. Research has found that Black Americans also tend to take fewer financial chances when compared to white Americans.

☆ New housing laws around the country could give renters alternatives to cash security deposits. Here are 5 startups that could see a windfall.
▼ + stars: | 2020-02-21 | by ( Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The rising cost of rent has prompted some states like New York, Oregon, and California to retool their rent laws. The high upfront cost of a security deposit can dissuade some renters from moving into a new location. Cincinnati recently passed a "Renter's Choice" law, which required landlords of a certain size to provide alternatives to security deposits. Rental properties typically charge both the first month's rent and a one-month's rent security deposit, which puts many apartments out of reach for a median American. A new slew of "renter's choice" laws have been hitting the desks of local, state, and national politicians, offering renters the choice between a traditional security deposit or security deposit insurance.

Persons: Bernie Sanders, Ankur Jain, Scott Stringer, Stringer, Bill de Blasio, Ben Carson, Mike Rudoy, Rudoy, Reichen Kuhl, he's, Kuhl Organizations: Democratic, Federal, Consumer Finances, Legislators, U.S . Department of Housing, Urban Locations: New York , Oregon, California, Cincinnati, of New York, New York, New York City, Virginia, New Hampshire, Reichen

The typical American household has a net worth of about $97,300. To be in the richest 20% of the US population, you need a household net worth of nearly $500,000. It can be helpful to see how your net worth compares with others', broken down by age. The typical American family had a net worth of $97,290 in 2016, which is the most recent data available. In other words, 50% of the population has a net worth below that threshold, and 50% has a net worth above it.

☆ Here's the net worth of the average American family
▼ + stars: | 2019-05-14 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Americans say, on average, that it takes a net worth of $2.27 million to be considered "wealthy," according to a 2019 survey from Charles Schwab. Net worth means assets minus liabilities, so this is a picture of your total savings, including the value of your home, 401(k) and any other assets you may have, minus any debt. How does that compare to the net worth of the typical American family? The average net worth of all U.S. families is $692,100, according to The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances. Don't miss: The best credit cards for building creditThe Federal Reserve also looked at the mean and median net worth of U.S. families at different ages and found that "median and mean family net worth generally increase with age, with a plateau or modest decreases for the oldest age groups relative to the near-retirement age groups."

First, it's quite likely your friends don't know what the heck they are talking about, whether it comes to recommending specific investments or brokers. AdvertisementHowever, the best financial advisors or broker doesn't have to be Bernie Madoff to tell you your friend's advice sucks. Take a look at a study entitled The Market for Financial Advice: An Audit Study, released earlier this year by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Related storiesYou just know that some of these testers were recommending their new guy to their friends too. The best financial advice is boring.

Persons: Warren Buffet, Bernie Madoff, Sendhil Mullainathan, Sohn, Jon Stein, Jon Organizations: Survey, Consumer Finances, Madoff, National Bureau of Economic Research, Harvard University, AARP, Consumer Federation of America, Investment Advisors, Sohn Investment, Securities Representative, Harvard University ( Economics, Columbia Business School

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