Saturday,
September 30, 2023
Top Story
• The week started with local Fed indexes. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell in September, while the Dallas Fed Manufacturing index, which measures the overall performance of manufacturing in Texas, showed that general business conditions worsened.
• The UAW is expanding its strikes against two of the Big Three automakers, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (STLA), to 38 facilities across 20 states. The union said it had made progress in negotiations with Ford (F), including wage tiers and profit sharing.
• The Federal Trade Commission and 17 U.S. states are suing Amazon (AMZN), alleging the e-commerce giant exploits its monopolistic dominance to hike prices and sideline rivals using anti-discount strategies and the pricing of its fulfillment services. Amazon shares closed down 4% on the news.
• The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits increased to 204,000 in the week ending September 23. However, the figure was still below expectations and remains just above its seven-month low. Continuing benefit claims, which measure continuous filings for at least two weeks in a row, are hovering near an eight-month low.
For more economic news, visit On the Money — SoFi’s one-stop-shop for news, trends, and tips!
Credit cards allow you to purchase goods and services and pay for your charges at the end of your statement period. But there are advantages to keeping your credit card usage low. One way of doing so without compromising on the convenience of using your credit card, is paying off your statement using the 15/3 method.
This means you make two payments each month – the first one halfway through the cycle, or about 15 days before your statement date, and the second one three days before your card statement is due. Making credit card payments bi-monthly means that your credit utilization ratio never goes over 30%, which is the percentage generally recommended.
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