U.S. home sales tumbled to the slowest pace in nearly a decade as soaring mortgage rates and sky high prices in 2022 pushed homeownership out of reach for many Americans. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 5.03 million last year, a 17.8% decline from 2021. That is the […]
Continue ReadingAlphabet Slashes Jobs, Pushing Tech Layoffs
Google’s parent company Alphabet is cutting the most jobs in its history, showing that its massive investments in artificial intelligence haven’t offset the pullback in advertising and tech spending that has triggered a parade of tech companies to announce mass layoffs in recent months. In an email posted on the tech giant’s blog Friday, Sundar […]
Continue ReadingVox Media Announces Layoffs Of 7% Of Workforce
Vox Media, parent company of brands including Vox, New York, Recode, Now This and other digitial titles, announced that it was cutting about 7% of its workforce. The company has about 1,900 employees. In a memo to staff, CEO Jim Bankoff wrote that the job reductions were “due to the challenging economic environment impacting our […]
Continue ReadingWhat Is the Average Social Security Benefit at Age 62?
Your retirement benefit amount depends on how much you’ve earned over your lifetime at jobs for which you paid Social Security taxes — and the age at which you claim. You can claim Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but you’ll only receive your full benefit amount if you wait to claim until […]
Continue ReadingGetty Images Sues AI Art Generator
Getty Images announced it’s suing Stability AI, makers of the AI art tool Stable Diffusion, over alleged copyright violations. “It is Getty Images’ position that Stability AI unlawfully copied and processed millions of images protected by copyright and the associated metadata owned or represented by Getty Images absent a license to benefit Stability AI’s commercial […]
Continue ReadingParty City Files For Bankruptcy
Party City files for bankruptcy with plans to restructure mounting debt Retailer Party City has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, toppled by a heavy debt load. Party City has secured a $150 million bankruptcy loan and will seek approval to use half of those funds to immediately pay wages and vendors, among other expenses. […]
Continue ReadingNurses in New York City to Strike
Thousands of nurses in New York City to strike in pursuit of fair contract Strike date at seven hospitals set for 9 January after 98.8% vote in favor, with wages, staff ratios and health insurance key issues At least 12,000 nurses at seven hospitals in New York City are threatening to strike after their union […]
Continue ReadingNOBODY GIVES A DAMN
‘NOBODY GIVES A DAMN:’ Home Depot co-founder blames ‘socialism’ for lack of motivation to work The co-founder of Home Depot is pointing the finger at socialism for why Americans no longer have the drive to work. Bernie Marcus, who along with Arthur Blank made the home improvement big box retailer a North American empire, […]
Continue ReadingZombie Debt
‘Zombie Debt’: Homeowners face foreclosure on old mortgages Rose Prophete thought the second mortgage loan on her Brooklyn home was resolved about a decade ago — until she received paperwork claiming she owed more than $130,000. “I was shocked,” said Prophete, who refinanced her two-family home in 2006, six years after arriving from Haiti. “I […]
Continue ReadingMortgage Rates Hit a 12-Year High
Mortgage rates continued to rise this week, reaching their highest level in more than a decade. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.11% in the week ending April 21, up from 5% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. It is the seventh consecutive week of increases and is significantly higher than the 2.97% average this […]
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