Weekly Digest – May 15 2024
Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.
The U.S. economy’s soft landing is still on track
While there’s been a recent string of disappointing macroeconomic data, in reality, these developments are signs of the U.S. economy’s strengths, not weaknesses. The economic pessimism of the last few years has often been rooted in a misreading of the U.S. consumer, according to a recent article in the Havard Business Review.
These 2 charts show just how little faith Americans have in the economy
Indicators be damned: US consumers are still gloomy about the state of the economy. In the latest University of Michigan survey, the consumer sentiment index dropped a whopping 13% from April, after staying roughly the same since January.
The Social Security fix no one is talking about
What if the traditional wisdom on how to fix Social Security no longer holds? The trustees who oversee the program issued their annual financial forecast on Monday, predicting that the combined retirement and disability trust fund reserves will be depleted in 2035 – one year later than forecast last year.
How the U.S. economy adapted to 5% interest rates
One year ago this month, the Federal Reserve pushed its target interest rate above 5% — a step that seemed sure to cause ripples across the corporate landscape and the global economy. To a surprising degree, though, the world has taken the onset of 5% rates in stride.
Full employment, low inflation and a virtuous cycle in the American economy
Until recently, the idea that the economy could simultaneously have low unemployment and low inflation seemed to be a fantasy. Conventional wisdom, after all, holds that when unemployment is low, businesses need to pay higher wages to attract workers, which pushes up the cost of goods and services and, ultimately, inflation. But that logic has been turned on its head.
How to place or lift a security freeze on your credit report
A credit freeze restricts access to your credit report. If you suspect your personal information or identity was stolen, placing a credit freeze can help protect you from fraud.
Labor union push pits the United Farm Workers against a major California agricultural business
In a meeting room at a hotel in California’s crop-rich Central Valley, a fight is taking place that could help shape the future of farm labor in fields that grow a chunk of the country’s food. The battle between a unit of the Wonderful Co. — one of the state’s most well-known farm companies that grows pistachios, pomegranates and citrus — and United Farm Workers — the country’s biggest farm worker union — comes after California passed a law in 2022 aimed at making it easier for agricultural laborers to organize.
IRS adjusts HSA amounts for 2025
The Internal Revenue Service issued the annual inflation adjustments for health savings accounts in 2025 as prices continue to rise, albeit at a slower pace.
IRS Tax Withholding Estimator helps ensure withholdings are correct for 2024
The IRS encourages taxpayers to use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to ensure they’re withholding the correct amount of tax from their pay in 2024. This digital tool provides workers, self-employed individuals and retirees with wage income a user-friendly resource to effectively adjust the amount of income tax withheld from their wages.
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