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Employer Benefit Costs Rose 3.9% Over the Past Year, Outpacing 3.1% Wage Growth in the Q3 2026 Employment Cost Index
Employer benefit costs rose 3.9% in the 12 months ending September 2026, faster than the 3.1% increase in wages and salaries, according to the Bureau
Freddie Mac Mortgage Rates Hold At 7.40% As The 30-Year Average Pauses Near Its Highest Level Since November 2023
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.40% for the week ending October 15, 2026, unchanged from the prior week, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The pause ends a seven-week climb but leaves borrowing costs 1.13 percentage points above the 6.27% average recorded a year ago. Key Takeaways
American Households Feel Worse Off but Plan to Spend More, New York Fed’s September Consumer Survey Shows
American households expect to spend more over the next year even as they report worsening finances, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s September Survey of Consumer Expectations, released October 7. One-year inflation expectations rose to 3.9%, and expected household spending growth climbed to 5.5%, both the highest
Holiday Retail Forecasts Project a $1.7 Trillion Season, but September’s Confidence Slump Puts the Outlook to the Test
Deloitte forecasts holiday retail sales of $1.70 trillion to $1.71 trillion from November 2026 through January 2027, up 4.0% to 4.8%. Bain & Company expects November–December sales to top $1 trillion for the first time. Both forecasts came out before September data showed consumer confidence at its lowest level since
Virginia Small Business Owners: An Honest Q&A on Unsecured Funding
Virginia’s small business economy blends defense contracting around Northern Virginia, a growing technology corridor near Washington, DC, and a genuinely diverse base of agricultural and manufacturing businesses across the rest of the state. Each of these regional economies creates its own specific version of the same underlying financing challenge, and
Target and Home Depot Beat Earnings Estimates as Wall Street Turns to Walmart for the Definitive Consumer Read
The most concentrated week of retail earnings in the second-quarter cycle delivered two consecutive beats before the marquee event has even arrived. Home Depot reported Q2 fiscal 2026 net sales of $47.86 billion on Tuesday, up 5.7% year over year and ahead of estimates. Target followed on Wednesday morning with
Anthropic Pursues $6 Billion Acquisition of AI Infrastructure Startup Decart as IPO Roadshow Gains Momentum
Anthropic, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company valued at $965 billion in its most recent private funding round, is in advanced discussions to acquire Israeli AI startup Decart for approximately $6 billion, a deal that would represent its largest known acquisition and arrive weeks before a planned Nasdaq listing that
S&P 500 Closes Near Record as July CPI Data Eases Rate Hike Pressure and AI Earnings Surge
The S&P 500 gained 19.51 points on Wednesday, August 12, closing at 7,747.46 after opening in record territory on the back of an in-line July inflation report and a cluster of strong AI infrastructure earnings. The index ended the session 0.25% higher but just below its all-time closing high of
Business Loans for Entrepreneurs and What Access Looks Like Today
A woman who runs a commercial cleaning company in Detroit told me she applied to four different banks before she finally gave up on traditional lending entirely. Her business had eighteen months of steady, growing revenue and contracts with two mid-sized office buildings. Every bank conversation followed a strikingly similar
How Do You Get a Business Loan With Inconsistent Revenue?
Inconsistent revenue is one of the most frequently cited reasons business owners give for not pursuing working capital, and one of the most frequently misunderstood qualification challenges in the direct lending market. The underwriting systems that performance-based direct lenders use are built to evaluate revenue patterns across twelve months of
Inherited Homes Hit Record 9% of Property Transfers as $120 Trillion Wealth Shift Begins
Data from Totality shows inherited homes climbing to nearly 9% of property transfers in 2025, a historic peak that CNBC’s Sharon Epperson highlighted in recent reporting. The figure sits within a broader demographic reality reshaping household finances: $120 trillion in wealth transfers are projected across the coming 20 years as
Amazon Crosses $200 Billion in Quarterly Revenue for the First Time as AWS Growth Reaches 18-Quarter High
Amazon posted Q2 2026 net sales of $200.6 billion, a 20% year-over-year increase that marked the first time the company surpassed $200 billion in a single quarter. Amazon Web Services drove a significant share of the acceleration, delivering $42.2 billion in revenue at a 37% growth rate, the fastest AWS
How Social Security Benefits Are Calculated: What Determines the Monthly Check
The Social Security Administration does not assign retirement benefits arbitrarily or base them on a single year of earnings. Every monthly check is the product of a three-step calculation that considers a worker’s 35 highest-earning years, runs the result through a progressive formula with built-in income thresholds, and then adjusts
US Tax Filing Requirements: How Much Do You Need To Earn Before Filing A Return
The minimum income required to file a federal tax return depends on filing status, age, and the type of income earned. For the 2025 tax year (returns filed in 2026), single filers under 65 must file if gross income exceeds $15,750, while the threshold for married couples filing jointly starts