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The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that it officially saw a net negative income of $114.3 billion in 2023, a record loss tied to expenses related to managing the central bank’s short-term interest rate target. The loss last year follows $58.8 billion in net income in 2022, the Fed said. The numbers released were an audited tally following preliminary numbers reported earlier this year. The Fed has stressed repeatedly that net negative income does not impede its ability to operate or conduct monetary policy. By law, the Fed hands over any profits after covering operational expenses to the Treasury.

Among the many trends the pandemic accelerated, one of the least noted has been the increase in so-called cashless toll roads—highways where electronic fee-collection systems have replaced human toll collectors. Now, as traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels, another trend is plaguing these new systems: fare evasion. Around the country, turnpike authorities and bridge and tunnel operators are logging hundreds of millions of dollars in losses as scofflaws find increasingly inventive ways to outfox the systems. Though advocates say that the losses represent a small portion of total revenues, some officials are contemplating raising tolls to account for the shortfalls—in the...

The number of open jobs in the economy decreased to 9.6 million in March, down from 9.9 million on the last day in February, as concerns about a recession later this year hung over the economy, according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department. The 9.6 million open jobs in the economy are the lowest number since April, 2021. The February Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report was in line with the economists’ expectations and left the ratio of available jobs to job seekers unchanged from February to March at about 1.7— conditions that are still beneficial to...

Energy customers, many of whom say they are being crushed by gas and electricity bills that have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled in the last few months – accepted the Colorado Public Utility Commission’s invitation to comment on skyrocketing energy prices, and it wasn’t pretty. Dawn Fetzko, a customer, said she learned about the public meeting while watching the news. “We're working trying to earn a living and now trying to earn a living to pay our utility bill,” she said. “I know my utility bill went from $150 to a shocking $365 in one month.” “It's no secret that...

22,000 people lost control of temperatures in their homes for hours Tuesday.. DENVER — During the dog days of summer, it's important to keep your home cool. But when thousands of Xcel customers in Colorado tried adjusting their thermostats Tuesday, they learned they had no control over the temperatures in their own homes. ... Xcel confirmed to Contact Denver7 that 22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday. "It's a voluntary program. Let's remember that this is something that customers choose to be a part...

The Fed statement and economic projections saw the central bank double the pace of its asset purchase tapering to USD 30bln per month (consisting of USD 20bln Treasuries, USD 10bln MBS – this will be doubled again in January, with similar reductions likely be appropriate each month thereafter), which puts it on course to conclude asset purchases by March, from the prior landing zone of around June, although this could be adjusted if warranted.Its updated projections now see three rate hikes in 2022, revising up its view from one hike pencilled in at the September FOMC (recall that September, the...

If the Public Utilities Commission OK's Xcel’s largest ever rate increase, electric bills for Colorado customers will have increased 20% since the start of the year.. Xcel Energy has proposed a massive transmission project to help move power from rural areas to the urban Front Range. Xcel Energy is pushing for a record $344 million rate increase it says it needs to build a smarter, greener electric grid. But consumer advocates and state regulators are pushing back over the price tag. A major concern is that along with an earlier rate increase and other pending requests since the start of...

DENVER — Xcel Energy customers could see higher bills in 2022. The company submitted a proposal to raise rates to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. They say the increase will help fund “next-generation technology investments that expand and strengthen the reliability of the electric grid for customers, advance Colorado’s clean energy policies, and increase capacity to meet growing customer needs and expectations.” Xcel said that since 2019 and through 2022, it will spend for $4 billion on the investments. How much will my bill increase? Residential customers would see their bills increase by an average of $9.46 a month, or...

The Federal Reserve surprised the market Wednesday with projections that future interest rate hikes will come a bit sooner than expected. Gold bugs in particular were disappointed. The price of gold fell 4% Wednesday and was lower again Thursday, falling below $1,800 an ounce for the first time since early May. While it's true that gold often rises along with inflation fears, Wall Street may have already priced in this scenario. Investors appear to be selling gold now due to expectations that the Fed is taking the threat of inflation more seriously and may move more aggressively to tamp it...

U.S. housing sales, a key pillar of economic growth in recent years, are looking weaker again. Existing home sales declined for much of 2018. In December, according to the National Association of Realtors, sales of single-family homes, condos, and co-ops fell a larger-than-expected 6.4% from the previous month. A Reuters survey of economists projected home sales to decline by a modest 1% in December.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell moved markets on Tuesday in his first appearance before lawmakers on Capitol Hill since his confirmation. In response to questions from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Powell hinted that more aggressive action on raising interest rates from the Fed could be warranted this year. “At the December meeting, the median [FOMC] participant called for three rate increases in 2018,” Powell said. “Now since then, what we’ve seen is incoming data that suggests a strengthening in the economy.” Following this comment, stocks — which had been higher as Powell began speaking and answering questions — moved lower...

Director of insurance says to stabilize the market and reduce rates, Congress should repeal and replace Obamacare! Health care insurers in Idaho have requested premium rate hikes as high as 81 percent for next year, according to the state's Department of Insurance. The five insurers serving the individual market in Idaho are Blue Cross of Idaho Health Service, Mountain Health Co-Op, PacificSource Health Plans, Regence BlueShield of Idaho, and SelectHealth. For all plans, insurers requested rates ranging from a low of 25 percent to a high of 51 percent for a combined average statewide rate increase of 38 percent. For...

Need help from my Freeper friends with business and legal expertise. Have recently had my all of my insurance policies with State Farm go up with no explanation.

Stop whining, cheapos. As you probably know, Ezekiel Emanuel served as a health care policy adviser during Obama’s first term and was instrumental in the creation of ObamaCare. He’s also the creepy gentleman who thinks 75 is the proper age to die. As Obama’s “signature legislation” endures an easily-envisioned and oft-predicted implosion, Emanuel’s been making the rounds playing defense. He wants to make sure you know a few things. 1. The massive rate hikes caused by the law are not that big. You’re just imagining things. Sure, you can rattle off a list of states where the increases are anywhere...

MADISON, Wisconsin — President Obama’s climate change crusade is expected to hit the Badger State’s manufacturing base and electricity ratepayers particularly hard. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has scheduled a field hearing Friday in Stevens Point to shine a light on the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules, which could kill segments of the manufacturing sector. “The Impact of Federal Regulations: A Case Study of Recently Issued Rules,” begins at 1 p.m. in the University of Wisconsin-Steven Point’s Dreyfus University Center, 230 Laird Room, 1015 Reserve St., in Stevens Point. Among the expected witnesses: Delanie M. Breuer, Wisconsin assistant deputy attorney...

Affordable! ObamaCare rate hikes range from 30-to-50 percent in 2016If you don’t recognize there’s something inherently cockeyed about the federal government passing a law that presumes to make a product or service “affordable,” then you don’t understand how market forces work. I’ll oversimplify it for the purpose of brevity: Providers have to price a product or service in a way that reflects the cost of providing it, as well as the level of demand for it, because if they don’t they will soon find themselves incapable of meeting the demand. The premium rates announced when ObamaCare went into effect were...

Dozens of health insurers say higher-than-expected care costs and other expenses blindsided them this year, and they’re going to have to hike premiums for individual policies well-beyond 10 percent for 2016. The proposed double-digit hikes would apply to plans sold on the health insurance exchanges created under President Barack Obama’s law, as well as individual coverage sold through brokers and agents. Insurers point to costs from customers they gained under the health care overhaul’s coverage expansion and the rising expense of prescription drugs among other reasons for their planned increases, according to preliminary rate information released Monday on the federal...

Duke Energy seeks nearly $2 million in Florida electricity rate hikes to pay for a new power plant made necessary by environmental restrictions. The electricity rate hikes became necessary as environmental restrictions force the closing of two coal power plants providing Floridians with inexpensive electricity. ... Aided by $10 million in campaign spending by billionaire liberal activist Tom Steyer, the Charlie Crist campaign is hammering Gov. Rick Scott for not imposing still more stringent power plant restrictions, above and beyond those imposed by the federal government. Steyer and Crist say Florida should impose state-specific power plant restrictions that would close...

Thousands of Anthem Blue Cross individual customers with older insurance policies untouched by Obamacare are getting some jarring news: Their premiums are going up as much as 25%. These increases, 16% on average, are slated to go into effect April 1 for up to 306,000 people — unless California regulators persuade the state's largest for-profit health insurer to back down. Amid the fury last fall over canceled health policies, consumer advocates and state officials warned people that holding onto grandfathered policies purchased before the federal healthcare law was enacted in 2010 wouldn't shield them from significant rate hikes.

The U.S. Postal Service announced plans to hike postage rates on several different types of mail in April, but the cost of sending Mother's Day cards in May will stay the same. The postal service said the cost of a stamp for a basic letter will remain 44 cents, but the price to send larger envelopes, periodicals, parcels, international mail, advertisements and postcards will go up on April 17. "While changing prices is always a difficult decision, we have made every effort to keep the impact minimal for consumers and customers doing business with us at retail lobbies," Postmaster General...