Interest rates

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This has been a year of inflation and the corresponding interest rate adjustments. When we began the year, the Federal Reserve suggested that they would raise rates approximately three times, each time for a .25% raise, for a total of a .75% increase. However, inflation didn’t behave as expected and the Fed has instead increased the rate more than expected – so much in fact that each of the 4 meetings this year has had a .75% increase. When Will Interest Rates Stop Rising? Where does that take us going forward? How much higher can we go? And how will it impact your financial life, including your retirement ? We started this year with a Fed Fund rate between .25% and .50% and we’re hovering in the range of 3.75% to 4% now. The general consensus between economists is that we likely have another 2 or 3 additional rate increases over the next few meetings this year and into the beginning of next year. The terminal rate, … [Read more...] about Where Interest Rates May Land And How It Could Impact Your Retirement

SINGAPORE  – Asian equities jumped on Thursday, while the dollar slid as investors poured into risky assets after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened the door to a slowdown in the pace of monetary tightening. In an eagerly-awaited speech, Powell said the central bank could scale back the pace of its interest rate hikes “as soon as December,” but cautioned the fight against inflation was far from over. Powell’s comments at the Brookings Institution in Washington sent the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields lower, while stocks soared with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 1.65 percent higher. The index posted its biggest monthly gain in nearly 30 years in November as hopes for a Fed pivot toward slower rate hikes gathered steam after four consecutive 75-basis-point increases. But the index was still down about 17.8 percent on the year. European markets are set to continue the risk-on mood, with the pan-region Eurostoxx 50 futures up 1.29 percent, … [Read more...] about Asian shares rise, dollar sways as slowing rate hike looms

Investors turned modestly bullish on currencies of South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, supported by prospects of China’s reopening, a Reuters poll found, while bearish positions on other Asian currencies hovered at multi-month lows amid a weaker greenback. Market participants turned bullish on the U.S. dollar-sensitive South Korean won for the first time since July 1, 2021, the poll of 12 analysts showed on Thursday. The fortnightly poll was conducted before U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled slower rate hikes from as soon as December late on Wednesday, following which the safe-haven dollar lost its footing. The dollar index tumbled 5.2 percent in November, its worst monthly showing since September 2010. Expectations that the dollar’s strength and U.S. yields had peaked saw investors return to emerging markets in November. “Given the negative burden of the Fed’s tightening cycle on Asian currencies, an eventual pivot toward easing will likely deliver a rally in … [Read more...] about Asian FX bulls loom on signs of slowing Fed rate hikes, China reopening: Reuters poll

Representative image India's growth cycle may have already peaked, Nomura economists have said, even as the government has expressed confidence that the latest GDP numbers showed the economic recovery was gaining momentum. "We believe India's growth rate cycle has peaked and a broad-based slowdown is underway," Nomura economists Sonal Varma and Aurodeep Nandi said in a note on November 30. "While lower inflation should help support private consumption in coming months, the lagged effects of tighter financial conditions and weak global demand will weigh on both investment and exports, while the post pandemic catch-up in services is largely complete," they added. Varma and Nandi's comments come after data released by the statistics ministry showed India's GDP growth fell to 6.3 percent in July-September from 13.5 percent in April-June, largely due to the fading away of a favourable base effect. Speaking to reporters after the release of the data, Chief Economic Adviser … [Read more...] about India’s growth rate cycle has likely peaked, says Nomura

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The national college six-year completion rate stands at 62.3%, according to a new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC). The report’s time period covers students who entered college for the first time in 2016 and completed a degree by June 2022. The rate is basically the same as the 62.2% completion rate reported for the cohort of students beginning college in 2015. NSCRC completion rates account for all students who begin postsecondary education for the first time each year, enrolling full-time or part-time at two-year or four-year institutions and completing a degree at any U.S. degree-granting institution. The results include those who complete after transferring in addition to those who earn their degree at their starting institution. Thus, the NSCRC data portrays students’ diverse pathways to college completion that increasingly includes moving between institutions and across state … [Read more...] about Latest College Completion Rate Holds Steady At 62.3%

Car loans have become more expensive since the Federal Reserve increased the prime interst rate in October and November 2022. The average interest rate on a car loan in October 2022 was 10.6%, almost double the cost of a loan in early 2022. Interest rates are only part of the story, however. Cars are also more expensive now than they were before the pandemic, because automakers have been hit with supply chain difficulties. Ultimately, a combination of high prices and high interest rates might make new cars unaffordable for low- and middle-income families, at least in the short-term. As the Fed raises interest rates to combat inflation, auto loan rates are rising. Though the Best Auto Loan rates are still as low as 4%, in the last month the weighted average auto loan rate across all loan types has increased by 2.8 percentage points to 10.6%. New cars are also expensive at the moment, with the average sale price in September 2022 above $48,0000. Some analysts fear … [Read more...] about Interest Rate Hikes Put Car Loans Out of Reach For More Americans

Representative Image The country's unemployment rate rose to a three-month high at 8 per cent during November, according to data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The unemployment rate in urban India was higher at 8.96 per cent, while in rural areas, it was at 7.55 per cent, the CMIE data showed on Thursday. In October this year, the urban joblessness was at 7.21 per cent and the rural unemployment rate was at 8.04 per cent. Among the states, Haryana continued to have the highest unemployment rate in the country in November at 30.6 per cent, followed by Rajasthan at 24.5 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir at 23.9 per cent, Bihar at 17.3 per cent and Tripura at 14.5 per cent. The states that witnessed the least unemployment rate in the previous month are Chhattisgarh at 0.1 per cent, Uttarakhand 1.2 per cent, Odisha at 1.6 per cent, Karnataka 1.8 per cent and Meghalaya at 2.1 per cent. … [Read more...] about Unemployment rate rises to three-month high at 8% in November: CMIE

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The spin rate on Wilson's new Omega football, already in use by Auburn University, increases between 3% and 8%. That equates to an addition 40-60 revolutions per minute on a quarterback's throw, helping the ball cut through the higher, increase velocity, add distance and improve accuracy. It took science to make it happen. When studying the properties of the different balls across the Wilson line, from the official NFL ball on down, Wilson Labs engineers investigated each ball's moment of inertia and how the weight distributed around the ball relates to its resistance to turning. "When we throw these balls, we see a big difference in spin rates," says Daniel Hare, research and development manager at Wilson Labs. "Can we take advantage of that to build a ball a new way? That is how Omega was born." To increase spin rates, engineers needed to place more weight near the center of the rotation, reducing the weight on … [Read more...] about Wilson Creates Omega NCAA Football With Higher Spin Rate

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Kevin Amolsch is an investor and hard money fund manager who has participated in over 2,000 transactions. PineFinancialGroup.com . Mortgage rates have more than doubled in the last year. The last time rates increased this fast was in 1980 and 1981, and the starting point before that massive increase was already in the double digits. As seen in a graph from Freddie Mac, rates have never increased at this pace as a percentage of the starting point! That is scary when you think about it. As savvy real estate investors, we can make money in any market. Because we are in a high mortgage rate environment, we need to focus on ways to make money with high and rising rates. Here are three ways investors can make money in today’s environment. 1. Lease Option Lease options are my favorite way to make money in a high-rate environment. I’ve found them to be especially effective for newer investors. This option … [Read more...] about Three Strategies For Real Estate Investors To Take Advantage Of Rising Rates

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Retail customers aren’t the only ones experiencing a shortage of new cars and trucks, since the pandemic began in 2020, followed by a lingering shortage of computer chips. Sales to fleets are way down, too. But fleet sales are expected to recover somewhat in November. After months of complaining about low supplies, automakers have managed to increase new-vehicle production a bit. The bad news is, the increase in production arrives just in time to find some consumers worried about inflation, rising interest rates , and sky-high prices for scarce new vehicles. Those factors are driving some would-be new-car buyers to the sidelines , or to used cars . Fleet customers can take up some of that slack. The fleet category includes daily rent-a-cars, but also business and government fleets. As a general rule, deliveries to retail customers have gone to the head of the line in the current shortage, since retail sales … [Read more...] about Could Retail Demand Be A Bit Soft? Auto Sales To Fleets Make A Modest Comeback At Year-End