Current 15 year mortgage rates

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline More than 42,900 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year, the highest number since 2005, and a 10% surge from the year before, a government agency said on Tuesday, as traffic fatalities have continued to rise in recent years after several decades of a downward trend. Key Facts Traffic deaths in 2021 increased in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to early estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an agency within the Department of Transportation. The 10% rise marks the largest annual increase in traffic deaths since the department began collecting data through its traffic fatality tracking system in 1975. Multi vehicle crashes, traffic deaths on urban roads, pedestrian fatalities, and deaths among drivers 65 years and older all increased by more than 12% in 2021, according to the data. Transportation Secretary … [Read more...] about 2021 Traffic Deaths Hit Highest Level In Over 15 Years

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The stock market moved higher on Tuesday in an attempt to bounce back after six consecutive weeks of heavy losses, as investors digested the latest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who pledged to keep raising interest rates until inflation starts “coming down.” Key Facts Stocks widely rebounded, paring back some of the steep losses from last week: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3%, over 400 points, while the S&P 500 jumped 2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite 2.8%. The market broadly moved higher—with ten out of eleven sectors in the S&P 500 posting gains, as shares of technology stocks and financials led Tuesday’s gains. Markets initially moved higher amid a solid retail sales report and news that China could soon be taking steps to ease lockdowns in cities such as Shanghai, with optimism about reopening helping boost prospects for global economic activity. … [Read more...] about Dow Jumps 400 Points After Powell Says Fed ‘Won’t Hesitate’ To Keep Raising Rates To Combat Inflation

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin New data has raised a tantalizing possibility: That for the first time, America's uninsured rate will fall below 10%. (If it hasn't already; the most recently reported data was collected three months ago.) The findings come from the Urban Institute's Health Reform Monitoring Survey , a quarterly survey of non-elderly Americans. And as of March 2015, the Urban Institute's survey found that 10.0% of nonelderly adults were uninsured, down from 17.8% in September 2013, before the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges first launched. No major survey has ever found that the uninsured rate in America has hit single digits. However, the uninsured rate is already down to 7.5% in states that have expanded Medicaid under Obamacare, Urban researchers concluded. Of course, Urban's data is just one snapshot of the uninsured in America. Different surveys use different questions and methodologies. Some are thought … [Read more...] about Survey: America’s Uninsured Rate Is Down To 10% – And Falling

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): As Central Banks around the world are racing to raise interest rates to tame inflation, some quarters argue that an interest rate hike at this juncture is not an effective measure to address the current situation in which prices are driven up mainly by higher costs as a result of the sharp rise of commodity prices plus supply chain disruption. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is probably among the outliers. It indicated that it would not raise rates that soon. Its Governor Haruhiko Kuroda commented that a tighter monetary policy would be inappropriate in dealing with cost-push inflation. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has joined its peers to raise the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25bps last Wednesday (May 11) to 2% after keeping a record low rate of 1.75% since July 2020. When contacted MIER chief economist Dr Shankaran Nambiar told The Edge that the rate hike would not address rising costs, as inflation is being driven more by supply … [Read more...] about Will rate hikes tame cost-push inflation effectively?

- A + A SYDNEY (May 19): Australia's unemployment rate stood at its lowest in almost 50 years in April as firms took on more full-time workers, a tightening in the labour market that will ratchet up pressure for further hikes in interest rates. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed the jobless rate held at 3.9% in April, from a downwardly revised 3.9% in March, matching market forecasts. Employment missed forecast with a rise of just 4,000, though that reflected a large 92,400 gain in full-time jobs being offset by an 88,400 drop in part-time work. The fall in unemployment will be welcomed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison who has made jobs the clarion cry of his election campaign ahead of what is expected to be a close vote on Saturday. It also strongly suggests the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will lift interest rates again in June as it scrambles to contain a flare up of inflation to two-decade highs. The central bank's hike … [Read more...] about Australia boasts lowest unemployment since 1974 in nod for rate hikes

Mark Matthews, Head of Research for Asia at Julius Baer is most excited by the idea that Covid is becoming endemic, and future variants will be even weaker than Omicron, and the world will go back to normal. Matthews who has been at Julius Baer since 2011 and has spent 27 years in banking & finance sector, say he is most worried that the Federal Reserve could raise rates 6 times over the next 12 months, which is what the futures market thinks it will do. "That would be too many rate hikes for the economy and market to bear." Edited excerpts from an interview with Moneycontrol: Are the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries supporting the market sentiment after severe correction? Yes, the fact that sanctions were less onerous than expected is something that the market is taking solace in, for precisely that reason. Close Also read - FIEO says sanctions on Russia not to impact India's export of agriculture, pharma and petroleum products Can … [Read more...] about Daily Voice | I am most worried that US Fed could raise rates 6 times over next 12 months, says Mark Matthews of Julius Baer

Gaurav Misra of Mirae Asset Investment Managers Gaurav Misra, co-head of equities at Mirae Asset Investment Managers, has a constructive view on Indian equities at current levels. "While benchmark indices could deliver those kinds of returns (double digits), I expect many stocks to do well in this period. At this moment both parameters (domestic macros and corporate earnings growth) are looking steady and not a cause of undue concern," he says in an interview to Moneycontrol. With an experience of over 23 years in institutional and private equity, Misra says "US policy response will be the bigger driver for equity outlook in the short term" than Ukraine-Russia tensions. Is it time to be more cautious and do you expect a significant correction in the coming months? Equities as an asset class are more volatile and it is best to have a longer time horizon. It is difficult to predict the short term movement of the market. The short term will be driven more by global … [Read more...] about Daily Voice | Benchmark indices can deliver double digit returns this year, says Gaurav Misra of Mirae Asset Investment

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Felcra Bhd aims to add 50,000 hectares of oil palm plantation land over the next five years to ensure the sustainability and viability of the company as well as to grab the opportunity from the high demand for palm oil exports. Chairman Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub said Felcra currently has 31,000 hectares of plantation land of which the yield is only from 26,000 hectares. “Given that commodity (palm oil) prices are currently rising due to the world’s major producing country, namely Indonesia, having reduced its exports to keep domestic prices low, it provides space for palm oil producers in other countries such as Malaysia to gain market share at the international level,” he said. He told this to reporters at the Aidilfitri celebration and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the Residensi Koperasi Felcra Project at the Setiawangsa Community Centre here on Wednesday. Ahmad Jazlan said Felcra has several commodity crops 20% of … [Read more...] about Felcra aims to add 50,000 hectares of oil palm plantation over the next 5 years

Mr Teeradet, second from left, is accompanied by Mr Kanchai, the new brand ambassador for TrueOnline campaign, second from right. Fixed broadband provider TrueOnline aims to more than double its subscriber base to 10 million over the next five years, from 4.6 million at present, following a surge in demand for smart home solutions. The fixed broadband business arm of SET-listed True Corporation provides a variety of packages, with internet speeds of up to 2 gigabits per second covering 20 provinces. The operator has recently launched a campaign called True Gigatex Pro Life, which focuses on smart home solutions with comprehensive offers. Teeradet Dumrongbhalasitr, co-president of True Corporation, said the country's fixed broadband market has around 11 million households, or half of the nation's homes. True has a 40% share of the overall market. Half of its subscribers have a service package with 1Gbps speed. "The market now goes beyond just the speed of the internet. … [Read more...] about TrueOnline sets 5-year target

Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Photo by Zahid Izzani/The Edge filepix) - A + A SHAH ALAM (May 18): A former director of Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) on Wednesday (May 18) told the High Court here that his company was paying cash in Singapore dollars (SGD) on a monthly basis to former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi from 2014 to 2018, in relation to the Foreign Visa System (VLN) contract. Harry Lee Vui Khun said the payment to Ahmad Zahid which started with SGD200,000 per month and began in late 2014 was increased to SGD520,000 per month some time in 2017. “If I can recall correctly, the payment of SGD200,000 per month began in late 2014 and continued until mid-2015. Around that time, we went to his (Ahmad Zahid) house in Country Heights, Kajang and in that meeting Datuk Seri Zahid (Ahmad Zahid) requested that the monthly contribution be increased. After discussing with Wan Quoris and David Tan, we agreed to a sum of SGD300,000 per month. … [Read more...] about UKSB director admits giving cash to Ahmad Zahid every month for 4 years