Another round of stimulus checks meant Americans had more money to spend in January. Personal income jumped 10% in January, following a 0.6% increase in January. The big gain was largely due to the $600 checks issued as part of Congress’s latest aid package. Still, the increase beat the 9.5% climb that Dow Jones had […]
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the average FICO credit score hit a new high of 711 in the U.S. last year. It may seem counterintuitive that credit scores would climb during a period when millions were out of work and struggling to keep up with their bills. The head of research and analytics for FICO told […]
A subcontractor’s failure to check the correct boxes has cost Citigroup more than $500 million. Now, a federal judge, calling the mistake “one of the blunders in banking history,” says they will not get the money back. The costly mistake was made last summer. Citigroup intended to make a payment to creditors who held debt […]
Service companies in the U.S. saw a strong increase in activity in February, while their European and Japanese counterparts saw growing declines. The purchasing managers index (PMI) for the U.S. service sector posted its biggest increase in nearly six years, jumping to 58.9 in February from January’s 58.3. A reading above 50 indicates an increase […]
Demand for single-family homes is has reached a fever pitch, and builders are finding it harder to keep up. One of the major hurdles for homebuilders is the skyrocketing cost of materials. The costs for lumber reached an all-time high recently, inching above $1,000 per 1000 board feet. The record high of $1,004.90 is double […]
