Nineteen states raised their minimum wage in 2017, which had been unchanged since 2009. However, most states raised less than a dollar an hour. More workers will get a raise in states with higher proportions of workers in low-wage jobs. Some states have reached their targets, but other states will continue to increase for next few years. And the minimum wage in 19 states will rise annually based on inflation.
Total household debt increased to $12.58 trillion at the end of 2016, which is raised $266 billion from the third quarter. Rising debt hints that banks are extending more credit. At the end of 2016, 4.8% of debts were delinquent, which is lower than 8.5% of total household debt in the third quarter of 2008.
By the minimum wage, 9 countries are higher than U.S($7.25): Canada($9.40), U.K($10.47), Netherlands($11.38), Ireland($11.48), New Zealand($11.66), Belgium($11.9), France($12.64), Luxembourg($14.75), and Australia($14.98). By average annual wage, 2 countries are lower and 7 countries are higher than U.S($57,139). Two lower countries are Canada($56,518) and Belgium($56,729). Seven higher countries are Netherlands($60,621), Ireland($67,922), Australia($70,050), Denmark($73,959), Luxembourg($79,591), Norway($81,508), and Switzerland($95,002). Canada and Belgium have lower average annual wage, even they have higher minimum wage than U.S.
Bankrate recommends 15% of your income for saving, but half of Americans are saving 5% or less, a quarter of people are saving more than 10%, and one in seven people are saving more than 15%. People in the middle class are showing that we can be savers, however. 35% of those people are saving more than 10% of their earnings. Bankrate's Financial Security Index also showed that many consumers are feeling better with their financial situation compared to the last year.
What is shoppers' favorite grocery store? It is the East Coast supermarket chain, according to Market Force Information. Consumers want fresh products with better price. Most of them want to buy organic items, especially on meats. Market Force also shows the list of America's favorite grocery store chains: Wegmans, Publix Super Markets, Trader Joe's Markets, Hy-Vee Food Stores, ALDI, Costco, H-E-B, Kroger, WiCo Foods, ShopRite, Meijer, Giant Food Stores, Safeway, Stop&Shop, and Wal-Mart.
There are lots of different kinds of scam. The FTC got nearly 160,000 complaints in 2014. Top 5 complaints of 2014 were identity theft, debt collection, imposter scams, telephone and mobile services, and banks and lenders.
There are getting less rooms in jobs of retail because of digital. Richter worked in the physical retail business for 20 years and her last job was in Macy's. However, she was one of 10,000 Macy's employees laid off during a mass culling in January. After that, she started an online shopping mall. She buys clothes from the company called Agnes and Dora and she is also starting an Instagram account and YouTube channel for this shopping mall.
More than 1,000 stores in retail industry are closed and more than 100,000 retail workers have lost their jobs. Because of new digital players coming, many department stores are also shut down. However, there are some positive side in retail industry. Many outlet malls and travel-related businesses have seen an increased sales.
Apple reported third-quarter earnings today (its fiscal year ends in September) that came in at the top of its guidance, generating $45.4 billion in revenue, a gain of 7% over the same quarter last year. Apple had said it expected to generate between $43.5 billion and $45.5 billion this quarter, with analysts expecting about the same.
Wall Street responded positively to the results and guidance for the fourth quarter, with shares rising roughly 5% in after-hours trading at the time of publishing. Apple said it expects revenue of between $49 billion and $52 billion for the current quarter, meaning even the low-end of expectations would far surpass the $46.8 billion it generated in the fourth quarter last year.
Wall Street responded positively to the results and guidance for the fourth quarter, with shares rising roughly 5% in after-hours trading at the time of publishing. Apple said it expects revenue of between $49 billion and $52 billion for the current quarter, meaning even the low-end of expectations would far surpass the $46.8 billion it generated in the fourth quarter last year.
Samsung Electronics on Thursday said it expected the memory chip boom to continue in the current quarter, after reporting a record operating profit for the three months through June. The world's biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and television sets is widely expected to be on track to break profit records for the full year.
Operating profit rose 72.7 percent in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, to 14.1 trillion won ($12.67 billion), Samsung said in a regulatory filing. That compared with 14 trillion won estimated in July. Revenue rose 19.8 percent to 61 trillion won, also in line with its earlier estimate.
Operating profit rose 72.7 percent in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, to 14.1 trillion won ($12.67 billion), Samsung said in a regulatory filing. That compared with 14 trillion won estimated in July. Revenue rose 19.8 percent to 61 trillion won, also in line with its earlier estimate.
The richest man in 2017 is Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos. He surpassed Bill Gates in July to become not only the world’s richest man, but the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $90.6 billion.
The richest woman in 2017 is French heiress Liliane Bettencourt. She ranks among the world’s top 20 richest overall, with a $39.5 billion net worth.
The richest woman in 2017 is French heiress Liliane Bettencourt. She ranks among the world’s top 20 richest overall, with a $39.5 billion net worth.
Like many a jobs report before it, the August snapshot of the American labor market is neither overwhelming good nor overwhelmingly bad. It shows moderate payroll growth, an unchanged "real" unemployment rate and downward revisions to previous-months' jobs reports, indicating that while the labor market is still chugging along, some of its elements aren't quite as strong as what some observers might want to see.
Employers in the U.S. added 156,000 non-farm jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, from 4.3%. The payroll result was below the economist consensus, which had called for an addition of 180,000 non-farm jobs. The headline unemployment rate, which is taken from data in the BLS's household survey, missed economists' expectations by 0.1%.
Employers in the U.S. added 156,000 non-farm jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, from 4.3%. The payroll result was below the economist consensus, which had called for an addition of 180,000 non-farm jobs. The headline unemployment rate, which is taken from data in the BLS's household survey, missed economists' expectations by 0.1%.
This week, a massive beauty contest kicks off among North American cities competing to land Amazon’s second headquarters and its 50,000 job prize that promises to reshape the winning region’s economy for years to come. Initial proposals are due no later than Thursday. San Diego aims to get a jump on competitors by delivering its bid to Amazon on Monday – complete with potential locations in downtown, Mission Valley, South Bay and Chula Vista that meet the Seattle-based e-commerce giant’s benchmarks for a second headquarters.
Competition will be fierce. Amazon estimates the average pay for workers at its second headquarters site will top $100,000 a year. The company expects to spend $5 billion on construction alone and attract tens of billions in additional investment in the community akin to the $38 billion of additional investments in Seattle’s economy over the past six years.
Competition will be fierce. Amazon estimates the average pay for workers at its second headquarters site will top $100,000 a year. The company expects to spend $5 billion on construction alone and attract tens of billions in additional investment in the community akin to the $38 billion of additional investments in Seattle’s economy over the past six years.
It's become unavoidable: wealthier countries have slower economic growth . The forecasted increase in gross domestic products for 2017 is just 2.1% among OECD countries – the unofficial club for rich nations. For emerging markets and developing markets, according to the International Monetary Fund, the average predicted growth is 4.6%. Libya (55.1%), Macao SAR (13.4%), Ethiopia (8.5%) and the Ivory Coast (7.6%) are leading the pack.
Few OECD countries are predicting growth rates above the 3% mark for this year. But, amid the ongoing global slowdown, two dominant economies have recently upped their expectations.
Few OECD countries are predicting growth rates above the 3% mark for this year. But, amid the ongoing global slowdown, two dominant economies have recently upped their expectations.
Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday it will pay dividends of about 29 trillion won in the 2018-2020 period as it reported record operating profit for the three months through September, lifted by its largest-ever memory chip earnings.
The world's biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and television sets said the memory chip "supercycle" of tight supply and strong demand was set to continue as servers and mobile devices require ever greater processing capacity.
Operating profit nearly tripled in the third quarter from the same period a year earlier, to 14.5 trillion won ($12.91 billion), Samsung said in a regulatory filing, matching its earlier estimate. Revenue jumped 29.8 percent to 62 trillion won, also in line with its earlier estimate.
The world's biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and television sets said the memory chip "supercycle" of tight supply and strong demand was set to continue as servers and mobile devices require ever greater processing capacity.
Operating profit nearly tripled in the third quarter from the same period a year earlier, to 14.5 trillion won ($12.91 billion), Samsung said in a regulatory filing, matching its earlier estimate. Revenue jumped 29.8 percent to 62 trillion won, also in line with its earlier estimate.
Apple announced its fourth-quarter earnings on Nov. 2—its fiscal year ends in September—and they crushed Wall Street’s estimates. Analysts had expected the company to generate $50.7 billion in revenue, but it actually posted $52.58 billion, up 12% from the same quarter last year. Profits were up 19% to $10.7 billion in the fourth quarter.
The company’s stock spiked in after-hours trading, both on the strong quarter and Apple’s guidance for next quarter, which will include the holiday season and its release of new iPhones. The company said in a release that it expects to generate between $84 billion and $87 billion next quarter; even the low end of that projection would be a 7% increase over Apple’s record-breaking first quarter last year. At the time of publishing, Apple’s stock price was $174.30, up about 3% from when the market closed.
The company’s stock spiked in after-hours trading, both on the strong quarter and Apple’s guidance for next quarter, which will include the holiday season and its release of new iPhones. The company said in a release that it expects to generate between $84 billion and $87 billion next quarter; even the low end of that projection would be a 7% increase over Apple’s record-breaking first quarter last year. At the time of publishing, Apple’s stock price was $174.30, up about 3% from when the market closed.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) said Saturday that sales soared past $18 billion after just 13 hours of the retail blitz known as Singles Day, eclipsing the $17.8 billion it managed in the full 24 hours last year.
Singles Day, a bonanza of online spending in China, has for years racked up more sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
Earlier in the day, Alibaba said eager shoppers had managed to spend $1 billion in just 2 minutes. As the clock struck midnight in Shanghai, the final sales tally rang in at $25,386,927,848, marking about a 40% increase over last year's record-setting sales total.
Singles Day, a bonanza of online spending in China, has for years racked up more sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
Earlier in the day, Alibaba said eager shoppers had managed to spend $1 billion in just 2 minutes. As the clock struck midnight in Shanghai, the final sales tally rang in at $25,386,927,848, marking about a 40% increase over last year's record-setting sales total.
The American company, Starbucks on Wednesday opened its largest store in the world in Shanghai, a 29,000-square-foot sanctuary staffed by 400 employees.
The giant cafe represents the big bet it has placed on a country that until only recently much preferred tea. Starbucks has opened more than 3,000 stores in the country and plans to have 5,000 in four years.
The giant cafe represents the big bet it has placed on a country that until only recently much preferred tea. Starbucks has opened more than 3,000 stores in the country and plans to have 5,000 in four years.
Financial imbalances including those in credit markets and cryptocurrencies will shadow an otherwise robust 2018 U.S. economy, said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Jan Hatzius. Hatzius has already made some predictions for the new year: four Federal Reserve rate hikes, real U.S. gross-domestic product growth quickening to an average of 2.6 percent, the jobless rate dropping to about 3.5 percent, and the yield curve not inverting.
Goldman isn’t the only firm to send up a warning flag about cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon labeled bitcoin a “fraud.” Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said it is a “highly speculative asset,” and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said it’s being used for speculation.
Goldman isn’t the only firm to send up a warning flag about cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon labeled bitcoin a “fraud.” Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said it is a “highly speculative asset,” and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said it’s being used for speculation.
The Dow Jones industrial average topped and closed above 25,000 for the first time Thursday, kicking off 2018 where it left off last year, with sizable stock market gains. Rising stock prices have been powered by a global economic recovery and optimism that the Republican tax-cut bill will provide a fresh boost for U.S. growth and help American companies make more money.
The 30-stock index, which includes leading U.S. companies like Apple, McDonald's and Wal-Mart, closed up 152.45 points, or 0.6%, at a record high of 25,075.13, eclipsing Dow 25K for the first time in its 121-year history.
The 30-stock index, which includes leading U.S. companies like Apple, McDonald's and Wal-Mart, closed up 152.45 points, or 0.6%, at a record high of 25,075.13, eclipsing Dow 25K for the first time in its 121-year history.
The Department of Homeland Security says it will once again accept renewal requests from recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in response to a court order.
The Obama administration began the program in 2012, which enabled certain young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to apply for work permits and protection from deportation. As of September, about 700,000 people are currently protected under the program.
The statement from USCIS says people who have already been granted deportation deferral under DACA can request renewal, but the agency will not accept new requests from people who have never received deferred action before. If someone's DACA expired on or after Sept. 5, 2016, that person may file a renewal request, the agency says; people who received DACA that expired before then can file a new DACA request.
The Obama administration began the program in 2012, which enabled certain young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to apply for work permits and protection from deportation. As of September, about 700,000 people are currently protected under the program.
The statement from USCIS says people who have already been granted deportation deferral under DACA can request renewal, but the agency will not accept new requests from people who have never received deferred action before. If someone's DACA expired on or after Sept. 5, 2016, that person may file a renewal request, the agency says; people who received DACA that expired before then can file a new DACA request.
Stocks went into free fall on Monday, and the Dow plunged almost 1,600 points -- easily the biggest point decline in history during a trading day. Buyers charged back in and limited the damage, but at the closing bell the Dow was still down 1,175 points, by far its worst closing point decline on record.
The White House said in a statement that President Trump was focused on "our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong." The statement cited strengthening economic growth, low unemployment and increasing wages for workers.
If the economy gets much stronger, it could touch off inflation, which has been mysteriously missing for the nine years of the post-crisis recovery. That could force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates faster than planned.The sell-off wiped out the Dow and S&P 500 gains for the year, and left the Nasdaq barely in positive territory for 2018.
The White House said in a statement that President Trump was focused on "our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong." The statement cited strengthening economic growth, low unemployment and increasing wages for workers.
If the economy gets much stronger, it could touch off inflation, which has been mysteriously missing for the nine years of the post-crisis recovery. That could force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates faster than planned.The sell-off wiped out the Dow and S&P 500 gains for the year, and left the Nasdaq barely in positive territory for 2018.
t would take the combined wealth of 2.3 million Americans to equal the $127 billion that the Amazon co-founder is now estimated to be worth. Bezos took the top spot on Forbes' world's billionaires list for the first time ever with a net worth of $112 billion at the end of 2017, leaping past Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.
The steep rise in Amazon's shares have made him America’s only centi-billionaire by amassing over $100 billion in wealth. And his wealth just keeps growing. Since the beginning of the year, he has made billions more and is now worth an estimated $127 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The steep rise in Amazon's shares have made him America’s only centi-billionaire by amassing over $100 billion in wealth. And his wealth just keeps growing. Since the beginning of the year, he has made billions more and is now worth an estimated $127 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.