Personal finance weekly news roundup November 2, 2024 ~ Credit Sesame

Credit Sesame’s personal finance news roundup November 2, 2024. Stories, news, politics and events impacting personal finance during the past week.

Consumer confidence bounced back in October 2024

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose by 9.6% in October. This was the strongest monthly gain since March of 2021. However, despite the recent surge, the index remained in the same narrow range as in the past two years. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved by 11.5% in October. Expectations for the near future rose by 7.6%. See details at Conference-Board.org.

Employment barely continues winning streak

The U.S. job market stretched its streak of job increases to 46 consecutive months, though October’s total was barely positive. The economy added a net total of 12,000 jobs last month, well below the average monthly gain of 194,000 over the prior twelve months. One thing that held job creation back was a 46,000 decline in manufacturing jobs, almost all reflecting workers going out on strike. Together with substantial downward revisions to August and September’s employment estimates, the new report raises concerns about the strength of the job market. This bolsters the case for further rate cuts with next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. See employment report at BLS.gov.

Mastercard pushes pay-over-time options

Mastercard has announced that it is expanding its offerings in instalment payment programs in the U.S. The program’s latest version will allow merchants to offer Mastercard customers pay-over-time options when they make purchases. Instead of simply adding the purchase to the customers’ credit card balances, this program provides a schedule of instalment payments and fees. Some credit card companies are rolling out instalment payment programs in response to the popularity of Buy Now Pay Later options. See press release at Mastercard.com.

Key inflation measure rose faster in September 2024

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose slightly faster in September. The PCE has special significance because it is the measure the Federal Reserve refers to when setting and monitoring inflation targets. The PCE price index rose by 0.2% in September, up from 0.1% in August. The core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy, rose by 0.3%, up from 0.2% the prior month. Over the past year, the overall PCE price index has increased by 2.1%, while the core PCE price index has risen by 2.7%. If September’s pace of increase continued, both figures would rise in the months ahead. See details at BEA.gov.

New legislation threatens free checking

The CEO of consumer and community banking at JP Morgan Chase has said that if the government caps overdraft and late payment fees, the bank would have to make up the lost revenue by charging fees on checking accounts. She added that many other major banks are in a similar predicament and, therefore, would likely do the same. Overdrafts and late payments cost banks money. If they can’t charge the customers creating those costs, they will pass them along to their customer bases in general. See article at MSN.com.

U.S. economy in 10th quarter of economic growth

The U.S. economy grew at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024. This was similar to the second quarter’s growth rate of 3.0%. Increases in consumer spending, exports and government spending are credited with driving the increase. The 2.8% figure is an advance estimate. This is the first of three scheduled GDP estimates made at monthly intervals each quarter. See details at BEA.gov.

Chase sues customers who used TikTok-fueled scam

Chase has started suing customers who capitalized on what was promoted on TikTok as the “infinite money glitch.” A systems flaw gave customers access to money before deposited checks cleared. Some customers took advantage of this by depositing fraudulent checks and withdrawing money before the check bounced. Regardless of whether the bank’s system allowed these transactions, the practice is still fraud. So far, the bank has filed lawsuits over such withdrawals in at least three different federal courts. One case involves a man who withdrew over $290,000 after a fake check was deposited. See article at CNBC.com.

Mortgage rates climb for fifth week in a row

30-year mortgage rates rose by 0.18% last week. This was the fifth consecutive weekly increase, for a total rise of 0.64%. This has brought those rates up to 6.72%, their highest level since the beginning of August 2024. It also brought 30-year rates above 6.61%, above where they were when this year began. 15-year rates have seen an even steeper climb. 15-year mortgage rates have now risen 6 weeks in a row, for a total increase of 0.84%. This has left 15-year rates at 5.99%. See rate details at FreddieMac.com.

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