This Week in Finance News: 12 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy financial industry press releases from PR Newswire, including the January employment report and investors' calls for ESG data.

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the finance industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. 9.3 Million More U.S. Consumers Ended 2022 Living Paycheck to Paycheck Than in 2021
   "The effects of inflation are eating into every American's wallet and as the Fed's efforts to curb inflation drive up the cost of debt, we are seeing near record numbers of Americans living paycheck to paycheck," said Anuj Nayar, financial health officer at LendingClub.
2. U.S. Companies Anticipate Increased Hiring in the First Half of 2023 While many companies are eager to hire, 9 in 10 managers said it's challenging to find skilled professionals, on par with results from Robert Half's prior State of U.S. Hiring Survey. Employers also reported it can take up to 11 weeks, on average, to hire for an open position, up from 7 weeks in 2021.
3. ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 106,000 Jobs in January; Annual Pay was Up 7.3%
   "In January, we saw the impact of weather-related disruptions on employment during our reference week," said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. "Hiring was stronger during other weeks of the month, in line with the strength we saw late last year."
4. US Consumer Confidence Declined in January "Consumers' assessment of present economic and labor market conditions improved at the start of 2023. However, the Expectations Index retreated in January reflecting their concerns about the economy over the next six months. Consumers were less upbeat about the short-term outlook for jobs. They also expect business conditions to worsen in the near term," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director, Economics at The Conference Board.
5. Love & Money Month - February Financial Wellness Campaign Launched -Data, Research, & Resources
   In February every year, the National Financial Educators Council will provide new research and data that help clarify the impact of money on our relationships; and offer resources to help people improve their relationships through financial empowerment.
6. New Online Tool Helps Older Adults Manage Their Finances
   "Many older adults live on a fixed income, which is challenging when the cost of living and inflation are on the rise. The Budget CheckUp can help them stretch their dollars every month" said Josh Hodges, NCOA's Chief Customer Officer.
7. Nuveen Survey: Investors Want More Information From Companies About ESG Issues
   More than 80% of U.S. investors say that companies need to more openly communicate the risks and opportunities that shape their standing as "responsible investments" – and 73% also say they are more likely to invest in a company that shares with investors its plans for effectively managing those factors.
8. Hamilton Lane's $2.1 Billion Flagship Direct Equity Fund Now Available for Investment on Securitize
   The new tokenized fund will significantly increase access to this historically high-performing asset class, with minimum investments reduced from an average of $5 million traditionally to $20,000.
9. Foundation announces Where It Starts, a $22M initiative to support small businesses and create career opportunities for communities of color
   "Tackling systemic, perpetual inequity starts by taking a whole-person approach. At Truist Foundation, this means partnering with organizations to look at individuals and their unique circumstances and co-creating a solution tailored to their specific need," said Truist Foundation President Lynette Bell.
10. Pre-Sale Home Renovation Startup Freemodel Raises $19.5M in Series A Funding
    Freemodel, which already covers 90% of the California real estate market, will use the newly secured investment to expand its service to additional states, starting with Texas and Florida in Q1 2023.
11. ArcLight Makes $150 Million Commitment to Elevate Renewables
    Elevate Renewables is initially focused on developing battery storage projects that are co-located with ArcLight Capital's extensive existing portfolio of power infrastructure, with total capacity of 25 gigawatts (gross).
12. Companies Take Action on Diversity and Inclusion in Bloomberg's 2023 Gender-Equality Index Bloomberg announced that 484 companies are included in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). The GEI serves as a touchstone for companies seeking to track their progress in gender inclusion and how the implementation of diversity policies shape company performance.

Read more of the latest finance-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNfinance on Twitter.

Can't-Miss Earnings

In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for ManpowerGroup, BNCCORP, and Camden National.

Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.

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