>>Fed Skips Rate Hike
(Washington, DC) -- The Federal Reserve is leaving interest rates unchanged for now. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters yesterday that the central bank will continue to track inflation and the health of the economy. He added that there's still a long way to go to get inflation down to two-percent. It's the second time in a row the Fed held interest rates steady following eleven rate hikes, including four this year. The move keeps the fed funds' target rate at a range of five-point-two-five to five-point-five percent.
>>Toyota Announcing Raises After UAW, Detroit Three Tentative Agreements
(Detroit, MI) -- Toyota is announcing they will increase wages after the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers reached tentative agreements. Toyota says they are not releasing the details of the increases publicly. A flyer that was circulating on social media showed the company was introducing a two-percent wage increase for top-paid production workers and a quarter of a percentage increase for top-paid skilled trade workers with wages increasing around nine percent starting in January. Executive vice president of corporate resources Chris Reynolds says the value their employees and want to ensure compensation keeps them competitive in the industry.
>>SAG-AFTRA And Studios Make Progress
(Los Angeles, CA) -- Negotiators will be back at the bargaining table today to try to end the Hollywood actors strike. Talks between the actors union and the major studios continued into Wednesday night, with artificial intelligence being a major sticking point. Sources from both SAG-AFTRA and the producers alliance say talks are heading in the right direction, and that a tentative deal could be reached within a week. Actors have been on strike for over 110 days, demanding better pay, benefits, and protections against artificial intelligence.
>>Report: 6 In 10 Live Paycheck To Paycheck
(Undated) -- More than six out of every 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck. That's according to a new report from Lending Tree, which found around 63 percent of Americans were dependent on that next check to make ends meet in September, a number pretty much unchanged from a year ago. In households earning less than 50-thousand-dollars a year, nearly 80 percent reported living paycheck to paycheck.
>>More Americans Than Ever Have Side Hustles
(Undated) -- More Americans than ever have a side hustle. According to the latest survey from Pinger, 67 percent of Americans have a small business, do freelance work, or both. And 75 percent of those respondents say they work as an employee for another organization. Pinger also revealed that about 17 percent of people surveyed said they plan to start a business, a side hustle, or take on freelance work soon.
>>Starbucks To Debut Holiday Cups
(Seattle, WA) -- Move over pumpkin spice, Christmas is coming to Starbucks. The Seattle-based coffee giant will be rolling out this year's holiday cup designs today. The cup collection will have a traditional mix of holiday red and green plus magenta and some sparkle accents. This year's cups are designed by Bridget Shilling. Also on Thursday, customers can start ordering Starbucks holiday drinks, which include the Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulée Latte, Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte and Chestnut Praline Latte. This year's new drinks are the Oleato Gingerbread Oatmilk Latte and Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai.
