Personal finance weekly news roundup July 27, 2024 ~ Credit Sesame

Credit Sesame’s personal finance news roundup July 27, 2024. Stories, news, politics, and events impacting personal finance during the past week.

US economy uptick in Q2 2024

US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose at a 2.8% annual rate in the second quarter of 2024, after adjustment for inflation. That’s twice the growth rate of Q1. GDP has now grown for eight consecutive quarters. Disposable personal income grew at a faster pace than inflation during Q2. Nevertheless, the personal savings rate fell from 3.8% to 3.5% during the quarter. These figures are all from the advance GDP estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The estimate is to be updated near the end of the next two months. See GDP data at BEA.gov.

Inflation measure remains subdued in June 2024

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose by just 0.1% in June. That’s up from no change in May 2024 but slower than the pace of the past 12 months. Price changes reflected the ongoing contrast between goods and services. The price of goods declined, but services increased as labor shortages created inflationary pressure. The PCE price index is the preferred measure of inflation used by the Federal Reserve to measure its progress in calming price increases. See details at BEA.gov.

Visa stopped 80 billion fraudulent transactions in 2023

A regional risk management officer for Visa reported that the credit card company prevented 80 million fraudulent transactions last year. Those transactions would have totaled $40 billion in losses. Visa credits its investments in technology with helping to limit fraudulent transactions when cybercrime is booming. In 2025, cybercrime is expected to total $10.5 trillion worldwide. That makes cybercrime bigger than all but two national economies. See article at Reuters.com.

Half of big banks have operational vulnerabilities

In an assessment of 22 large banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found 11 had operational flaws. These are flaws that could potentially put those banks at risk. Operational risks don’t directly involve the banks’ core investment or lending business but secure the infrastructure that supports those business lines. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency supervises banks with assets of $50 billion or more. See article at MSN.com.

June 2024 mixed month for credit performance

The June 2024 Credit Industry Snapshot from TransUnion shows that credit performance varied last month, depending on the product type. New delinquencies increased for auto loans and credit cards. However, they decreased for mortgages and unsecured personal loans. Subprime long-term delinquencies acclined for credit cards, pausing a trend that has seen them steadily increase over the past few years. See details at TransUnion.com.

FTC investigates how personal data used to adjust prices

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered Mastercard, Chase, and six other companies to provide information on how they adjust prices for different customers. It is believed that the companies use a variety of customer-specific factors to set prices. These factors include demographics, location, and browsing history, among other things. Companies then use artificial intelligence and other technology to determine prices for individual customers. These tactics aren’t necessarily illegal, but the FTC seeks more information to determine whether customer privacy is violated. See article at TheHill.com.

Widespread adoption of Health Savings Accounts

A new report on Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) found that they have gained popularity across all age groups. In total, Americans own more than 37 million HSAs, amounting to $123 billion. People in their early 30s have the greatest number of HSAs, but people in their late 60’s have the largest average HSA balance, at $6,483 per account. HSAs are a way of accumulating tax-advantaged savings for health insurance deductibles and other out-of-pocket medical expenses. See report at Devenir.com. 

New home sales declined in June 2024

Newly constructed homes sold at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 617,000 in June. That’s down by 0.6% from May and 7.4% from June 2023. Year-over-year, the biggest decline in new home sales occurred in the Northeast, where sales were down by 63.6%. The South also experienced a double-digit decline, with a 12.2% drop in sales volume. In contrast, sales in the Midwest were up by 32.8% compared with last June. The West experienced a slight increase in volume, at 2.8%. See Monthly New Residential Sales report at Census.gov.

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