This Week in Finance News: 13 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy financial industry press releases from PR Newswire, including updates on emergency expenses and America's fiscal foundation.

NEW YORK, June 30, 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. Mixed Data Complicates Economic Forecast, though Recession Remains Likely
   While inflation has moderated partly due to slowing domestic and global economic growth, the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group Group believes continued robustness in the labor market risks an entrenchment of some core inflationary pressures.
2. Consumer Emergency Expenses Rise 16% Year-Over-Year to $1,700, Far Exceeding The $400 Benchmark
   Alia Dudum, LendingClub's Money Expert, said, "Despite their best efforts to live within their means, consumers face unexpected expenses regularly that stress their budgets and impact their ability to meet their financial obligations causing the financial health of many to remain fragile."
3. JustPaid, AI-Powered Finance Company, Launches Tools for Small Businesses
   JustPaid specializes in providing SMBs with automated bill payment, contract validation, and real-time AI financial auditing solutions, gaining the support and interest of tech figures and reputable funds.
4. Divvy Homes reports: Many Americans Feel They'll Only Ever Own a Home If they Win the Lotto, Inherit Money, or Marry Rich
   Overall, the average American thinks it would take them between three and four years to afford a home - and a third believe it would take them five years or more. Another 20% expect that they'll never be able to afford to buy a home.
5. Americans Can't Declare Independence from Credit Cards - Because They're Too Dependent on Debt
   A new Debt.com credit card survey shows just over half (51%) of Americans say inflation has forced them to "carry a larger monthly credit card balance" than before prices started skyrocketing. Even worse, 55% said "price increases from inflation made me use my credit cards to make ends meet" – and 31% maxed out their credit cards over the past two years.
6. BofA Data Finds Men's Average 401(k) Account Balance Exceeds Women's by 50%
   "The gender savings gap is an issue we can and must address. It carries personal implications for many, as well as macroeconomic implications for us all," said Lorna Sabbia, Head of Retirement and Personal Wealth Solutions at Bank of America.
7. Home Affordability Worsens Across U.S. During Second Quarter of 2023 as Home Prices Tick Upwards
   The worsening picture facing home buyers reflects the second shift in the U.S. housing market in the past year, coming as the median single-family home price has shot up to a new record following three quarters of declines. Those declines strongly suggested an end to a decade-long boom period lasting from 2012 into the middle of 2022.
8. Latest Long-Term Budget Outlook from the Congressional Budget Office Demonstrates Cracks in America's Fiscal Foundation
   The Concord Coalition today said new long-term projections released today by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reveal deep structural problems underlying the federal budget and the economy that will keep the debt on an unsustainable path and diminish the opportunities and choices of future generations unless serious reforms are enacted soon.
9. Guides Launched for Financial Aid and Registrar Leaders to Grow Competency-Based Education
   Later this year, Enrollment Management & Competency-Based Education: Registrar Edition will be released. Developed in partnership with AACRAO, the guide supports registrars to ensure student records reflect mastery of competencies, track data aligned with satisfactory academic progress, and contribute to new learning and employment records that are digital and competency-based.
10. As Earned Wage Access (EWA) Continues Rapid Growth More Transparency, Oversight Needed
    The rapid adoption of Earned Wage Access (EWA) programs holds both potential risks and benefits for the financial well-being of tens of millions of lower wage workers, with higher levels of transparency and greater regulatory oversight the key to supporting further growth, according to a new study out today from Marshall Lux and Cherie Chung of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
11. The Most Powerful Black Social Impact Network That You've Never Heard of Just Turned 10 and Is Changing Minds on Equity
    In 2013, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation spun off BMe Community, an innovative Black leadership network. Since then, its members have created hundreds of award-winning social impact programs, achieved extraordinary policy breakthroughs, and are leading a paradigm shift in philanthropy's approach to equity.
12. U.S. Housing Survey Finds Home Envy Rampant Among Young People
    A large majority of young Americans (66%) say they "routinely" go online to check the value of homes belonging to friends and acquaintances, according to a survey of 1,386 people aged 46 years old or younger across the U.S. representing a broad spectrum of income levels, from lower to upper middle income.
13. J.P. Morgan Asset Management Launches Future Path 529 Plan
    "It's our latest solution in the education savings space and the next step in our firmwide initiative to deliver best-in-class insights and solutions needed to achieve this important life goal," said George Gatch, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

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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