>>Mortgage Rates Down For Ninth Straight Week
(Washington, DC) -- Mortgage rates are down for the ninth straight week. The news comes as the Federal Reserve signals it could cut interest rates next year. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to six-point-six-one percent, according to new data from Freddie Mac. The company' chief economist said in a statement that ""Heading into the new year, the economy remains on firm ground with solid growth, a tight labor market, decelerating inflation, and a nascent rebound in the housing market."
>>Study: Social Media Companies Made 11-Billion Dollars In Ad Revenue From Minors
(Undated) -- Researchers are revealing how much social media giants profit from child and teen users. A study led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that social media companies made about 11-billion-dollars in ad revenue from U.S.-based minors last year. YouTube led in revenue gained from users aged 12 or younger at 959-million-dollars, and Instagram and TikTok led in ad revenue derived from teens aged 13 to 17. Researchers said they are concerned about the amount of data collected for targeted ads, and called for greater data transparency as well as government regulations.
>>Report: Google Settles $5-Billion Consumer Privacy Lawsuit
(Undated) -- Google reportedly has agreed to settle a five-billion dollar consumer privacy lawsuit. Reuters reported on Thursday that the tech giant agreed to settle the suit that claimed Google secretly tracked millions of people who thought they were browsing the internet privately. The suit argued that Google's analytics, cookies, and apps tracked their activity even when they set the company's Chrome browser to "Incognito" mode and other browsers to "private" browsing status. That, the plaintiffs claimed, turned Google into what the suit called an "unaccountable trove of information" to learn about their friends, shopping habits and "potentially embarrassing things" they sought online. Terms of the settlement weren't announced but lawyers said they expect to present a formal settlement offer for court approval by February 24th.
>>Minimum Wage Going Up In 22 States
(Undated) -- Pay raises are coming for many in the new year. The minimum wage is going up in 22 states, where nearly 10 million people will see their wages go up. On top of that, January 1st will also over three dozen cities and counties upping their minimum wages above state levels. Workers in California, New York and Hawaii account for 51 percent of those slated to get a bump in pay.
>>Senators Call For Tesla Recall After Reuters Probe
(Washington, DC) -- Two U.S. senators are calling for a Tesla recall after a Reuters investigation found failures in suspension and steering parts. Democrats Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have sent a letter to CEO Elon Musk saying they are extremely concerned about a report published earlier this month that claims Tesla concealed safety flaws in its vehicles from federal authorities. The senators are calling on Musk to correct "misleading representations" and to swiftly recall any defective parts. Tesla has not responded to the letter, but has called the Reuters report "riddled" with incorrect information.
>>L'Oreal Heir Becomes 1st Woman With $100-Billion+ Fortune
(Undated) -- The heir to the L'Oreal [[ LOR-ee-al ]] beauty empire is now the first woman to amass a fortune of more than 100-billion dollars. According to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, 70-year-old Francoise Bettencourt Meyers' fortune surged above 100-billion as L'Oreal's stock hit a record high on Thursday. That pushed Meyers' net worth to 100-point-one billion dollars. She is also the richest woman in the world.
