California lawmakers’ focus on one-time spending in the budget approved July 1 keeps the state on track for a potential rating upgrade one year out from receiving a positive outlook from S&P, but challenges remain. The state’s fiscal 2023 adopted budget “projects long-term structural balance through fiscal 2026, despite a projected multibillion dollar rise and
The winner of the Conservative party leadership contest will face huge additional costs of servicing the nation’s debt and paying social security benefits as a result of rising inflation and interest rates, according to Financial Times calculations. The estimates, which are an update to the Bank of England’s previous official inflation forecast in March, show
Believe it or not, investors do sometimes think about things that are not directly related to US interest rate policy. Of course, the debate over what the Federal Reserve does next matters. It is unquestionably the biggest issue of the moment. This week it dominated otherwise sleepy summertime market conditions yet again, thanks to data
More than 300 years of agricultural and architectural history are represented at a 135-acre property in Clarksville, Maryland. Known as Richland Farm, the spread about 25 miles outside of Baltimore has earned a spot in the National Register of Historic Places as a “farmstead which characterized rural Howard County from the late 18th century through
The federal infrastructure package will boost Illinois’ six-year transportation spending by $4 billion, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday. The state will spend an overall $24.6 billion under the six-year program for roads and bridges with $3.7 billion in spending during the current fiscal year. About $18.8 billion goes to roads with the remainder spent on
For a guy on holiday with his family, Martin Lewis looked and sounded anything but relaxed. The Money Saving Expert founder (and closest thing Britain has to a patron saint of personal finance) usually adheres to a self-imposed media embargo for two weeks every summer, but broke it following shock predictions that average energy bills
Smaller-sized cities and towns worried they won’t be able to snag a piece of the infrastructure dollars unleashed in the new federal law have until the end of the month to apply for a first-of-its-kind program aimed at boosting their chances. The “specialized training boot camps” led by the National League of Cities will help
How I Met Your Mother star, Alyson Hannigan, and her husband, fellow actor Alexis Denisof of Angel fame, are selling an architectural masterpiece home known as the Sherman Residence. At $18 million, a sale near the listing price would be more than twice the $7.95 million the couple paid for the Encino compound back in
Bitcoin (BTC) could not overcome the barrier at $25,000 on Aug. 11 even though it had two catalysts in the form of a “favorable” Consumer Price Index print and news that BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager, overseeing over $10 trillion in total assets — had launched a spot Bitcoin investment product. In comparison,
The bitcoin mining industry continues to expand as companies are obtaining more megawatts of capacity, building new facilities, and acquiring thousands of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs. On Friday, the firm Validus Power revealed it has acquired two natural gas power stations in Ontario, Canada, that will become crypto mining facilities. On the same
Exercise equipment and apparel for sale at the Peloton showroom in Dedham, Massachusetts, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday: Peloton — Shares of Peloton jumped 6% after the company told employees it was cutting about 780 jobs, raising prices
While home sellers might enjoy seeing potential buyers fight over their homes, the housing market is seeing a decline in bidding wars, leaving those buyers who are still waiting on the sidelines more options and negotiating power. Nationwide, 44.3% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition on a seasonally adjusted basis in July,
After nearly thirty years at the Securities and Exchange Commission in various roles, Lori Price has been promoted to director of the Office of Credit Ratings. She’ll begin the new role Aug. 14. The OCR is responsible for oversight of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations and conducts exams, develops and administers rules and maintains standards.
Merrick Garland had been quiet for three days about the search warrant executed on Monday by two dozen FBI agents at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. But on Thursday, when the 69-year-old attorney-general stepped in front of the cameras to break his silence on the unprecedented move against a former president, he defended the FBI’s actions,
An ascending triangle formation has driven the total crypto market capitalization toward the $1.2 trillion level. The issue with this seven-week-long setup is the diminishing volatility, which could last until late August. From there, the pattern can break either way, but Tether and futures markets data show bulls lacking enough conviction to catalyze an upside
sponsored Upland is a mobile-first blockchain metaverse that allows users to buy virtual properties based on real world addresses, build on those properties to increase their value, and sell them to increase their virtual real estate portfolio. Upland has the unique position to attract mass markets due to the fact that the economy is built
With the plan of adjustment hearing for the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority less than a week away, arguments remain over five legal objections to the plan. Insured bondholders, Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, HTA wage earners, an insurance company, and a dairy are challenging the plan. The plan of adjustment
The blockchain industry showed some surprising resilience in July, which may point to a period of greater fundamental support for the crypto space overall in the short term. In looking at a wide variety of indicators, including Bitcoin’s (BTC) price action, open interest on Ether (ETH) and activity in GameFi, there are some strong signals
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said it now requires real estate agents, brokers, and law firms to report to the Financial Intelligence Unit real estate transactions in which virtual currency is used as payment. Similarly, real estate purchases or sales where “the funds used in the transaction are derived from a virtual asset” must
Ethereum classic was trading close to its highest point since April, as the token rose by nearly 10% on Friday. Despite crypto markets being mostly in the red in today’s session, a handful of tokens managed to climb higher. Chainlink was another one of these tokens, as it hit a two-month high earlier in the