>>Weekly Jobless Claims Down
(Washington, DC) -- Fewer Americans are filing first time unemployment requests. Today's report from the Labor Department shows 222-thousand claims received in the week ending July 6th. That's a drop of 17-thousand from the previous week's revised total. It's also less than the 236-thousand most analysts had been expecting.
>>CPI Shows Consumer Prices Continue To Slow
(Washington, DC) -- The consumer price index report, a key inflation gauge, came in lower for June than most analysts had expected. Today's numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the CPI declined zero-point-one percent over the previous month and increased just three-percent year over year. The results could be seen as welcome news for Federal Reserve officials looking for further evidence that they're making progress in getting rapid inflation under control.
>>Powell Delivers Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report To House Cmte
(Washington, DC) -- Fed Chair Jerome Powell brought the Central Bank's Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report to the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday on his second and final day of Congressional testimony. As he did while testifying before a Senate Committee Tuesday, Powell said the risks to the economy have become better balanced, allowing him to broaden his focus beyond just getting inflation down. When it comes to interest rates however, he said despite progress on inflation he doesn't expect to see them return to the near-zero territory they were in before the COVID-19 pandemic.
>>Costco Increasing Fees
(Issaquah, WA) -- Costco members will have to pay more starting this fall. The company has announced it's increasing the annual membership fee between five and ten dollars. The cost of the Gold Star membership will go from 60 to 65 dollars annually, while the premium Executive membership will increase from 120 to 130 dollars. It's the first fee increase for Costco members in seven years and will take effect September 1st. The price of Costco stock rose two percent after the announcement. Over the last year-and-a-half, Costco shares have nearly doubled in value.
>>Meta To Allow Kids To Use VR Chat
(Menlo Park, CA) -- Meta will soon allow kids to chat in virtual reality. The company revealed the move Wednesday and noted it's only for those between the ages of ten and 12-years-old, and they must have their parents approval. The tech giant also notes that parents have the final say when their child is looking to add a contact to their profile. This comes after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg appeared before a Senate hearing earlier this year in regards to potential harmful affects social media has on teenagers. It's unclear when the new feature will be available.
>>$500 Million Severance Case Against Elon Musk Dismissed
(San Francisco, CA) -- A five hundred million dollar severance lawsuit brought by former Twitter employees against Elon Musk has been dismissed. A U.S. District Court Judge in San Francisco ruled that she lacked jurisdiction because the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act governing benefit plans did not cover the former employees' claims. The suit alleged that Musk owed fired workers millions of dollars in severance. It is unclear if the claimants will amend their suit or bring it to a higher court on appeal.
>>Most Job Scam Victims Lose Two-Thousand Dollars On Average To Criminals
(New York, NY) -- Employment scams are on the rise and criminals are using artificial intelligence to steel personal information and money from unsuspecting job seekers. According to the Federal Trade Commission, job scams are up 118-percent from a year ago. Thieves post fake job listings on reputable websites like LinkedIn to lure applicants, they then steal valuable information during the "interview" process. The main danger is divulging personal information like Social Security numbers, driver licenses or bank account details. Consumers reported losing over 300-million-dollars to job scams in 2022. Experts say to be wary of something that sounds too good to be true and remember only limited personal information is required during an application process.
