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 a surge in first time homeownership and fears of Social Security benefits drying up.

NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 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. Majority of U.S. adults believe Social Security benefits will dry up in their lifetime
   In addition to analyzing the 10-year trends among adults age 50+, this year's survey also reveals how younger generations think about Social Security's future. The study found that about two-fifths or more of Gen Z (45%) and millennials (39%) believe they will not get a dime of the Social Security benefits they have earned.
2. Teamshares Raises $245 Million in Venture Capital to Scale Small Business Employee Ownership The company buys traditional small businesses from retiring owners to make them 80% employee-owned within 20 years, and provides the companies with new leadership, financial education, equity management software, and financial products. The companies will be permanently owned by employee shareholders and Teamshares, and never need to be sold again.
3. Dizzion, IBM, and VMware aim to Accelerate Innovation of Managed Digital Workspaces for Financial Services Institutions
   With IBM's built-in security and compliance capabilities, third-party partners, institutions, and vendors can protect sensitive systems and data and unlock the modern workforce to create flexibility in how and where they engage hybrid, distributed, and third and fourth-party teams.
4. First-time homeownership surges: Half of all home buyers are making their first purchase
   Zillow's 2023 Consumer Housing Trends Report finds that first-time buyers now make up 50% of all home buyers, up from 45% last year and a meaningful jump from 37% in 2021. The share of first-time buyers likely hasn't been this high since around 2010, when there was a first-time home buyer tax credit.
5. Solana Pay Integrates with Shopify as New Payment Option to Transform Commerce
   "Solana Pay on Shopify opens up millions of merchants to a more dynamic and efficient payment choice, while consumers get the convenience and increased utility of being able to pay for goods and services with digital dollar currencies from the vast network of merchants using Shopify," said Josh Fried, Head of Commerce Business Development, Solana Foundation.
6. IT MSP, Integris, Reveals Top IT Trends in New Report, "Understanding U.S. Banks' Annual IT Spend"
   Among the many findings, the report reveals that more than one-third of respondents at U.S. banks are not confident in their current IT budget, with the majority (86%) indicating room for improvement. Additionally, bank executives rank Fear of a Cyber Breach as a top driver for future IT spend, followed by Customer Expectations and Competitive Pressures.
7. Ramp Announces $300 Million in New Funding to Accelerate Expansion in New Categories
   As businesses look for modern finance tools that help them operate more efficiently and profitably, Ramp has seen increasing demand for its spend management platform along with its other products, such as accounts payable automation and procurement.
8. Invest in Others Announces 2023 Charitable Champions List
   The Invest in Others Charitable Foundation announced that it has selected 10 financial advisory firms for its annual Charitable Champions List, which recognizes companies that give back to their communities and successfully promote a culture of philanthropy within their organizations.
9. CNO Financial Group and Bankers Life Support the Alzheimer's Association with more than $407,000 in Donations in its 21st Annual Fundraising Campaign
   The 2023 CNO and Bankers Life contribution includes a $200,000 corporate donation and $187,800 in public donations raised during the 21st annual Forget Me Not Days® fundraising campaign. The company's corporate Walk to End Alzheimer's teams have also already raised $19,400 in support of six fall events.
10. What would a minimum 8-12% reduction in technology and contingency labor spending mean for your company?
    Green Cabbage's market intelligence and negotiation services will assist mid-market companies to accelerate savings in their indirect tech spend and labor costs by utilizing the company's "One Workspace" platform that manages over $500B in spend spanning 13,000 suppliers.
11. Unprecedented Audit Volume Anticipated as IRS Cracks Down on Employee Retention Tax Credits
    After rebounding from problem after problem since the onset of COVID-19, small businesses across the nation are in for a shockwave that may be bigger than all those that have come before it.
12. Transamerica and MIT AgeLab Survey Provides Insights for Employers, Financial Professionals to Help Workers Prepare for Longer More Fulfilling Lives
    The opportunity is particularly attractive for those engaging with America's middle market, which is relatively underserved by the financial services industry, in need of tools and education to improve financial literacy, and at approximately 68 million households represents the largest segment of the population.

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.

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