This Week in Finance News: 9 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy financial industry press releases from PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2022 /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. MasterClass Announces Class on Cryptocurrency and The Blockchain
   "Cryptocurrency and the blockchain have the potential to disrupt the financial system," said David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass. "With the landscape rapidly changing every day, we're bringing together the industry's key voices to help members gain a foundational understanding of the crypto and blockchain ecosystem.
2. 44% of Americans Have a Side Hustle Amid Inflation, Most Popular with Gen Zers
   Inflation is forcing Americans to rely on the extra income, as 43% need the money from their side hustle to pay their primary expenses or bills, and 71% aren't certain they'd still be able to pay all their bills if their side hustle disappeared.
3. LendingClub Acquires $1 Billion Personal Loan Portfolio
   The portfolio consists of personal loans that were originated through LendingClub's marketplace and will support its growing revenue stream of recurring net interest income.
4. Football Star Josh Allen Partners with ForgiveCo to Wipe Out Over $10 Million of Consumer Debt Brands partner with ForgiveCo to target communities of people in need and purchase their debt in bundles using the same process debt collectors use – buying debt at cents on the dollar. Rather than collecting on the obligation, they forgive it, thus reducing financial hardship for people who need help the most.
5. BofA Data Finds Consumers Proved Resilient in 2022 and Poised to Start 2023 in Decent Financial Shape
   Despite soft retail spending in November, holiday shopping is picking up and BofA Data shows a pronounced rise in Buy Now Pay Later purchases.
6. Black Knight: 8% of 2022 Mortgaged Home Purchases Now Underwater; FHA Loans See Early-Payment Defaults Rise
   As Black Knight Data & Analytics President Ben Graboske explains, what would ordinarily be an environment ripe for steep declines in home prices has been offset somewhat by stagnant levels of for-sale inventory.
7. S&P Global acquires Shades of Green business from CICERO The global ESG debt universe has grown rapidly to reach $4.5 trillion now compared to $1.5 trillion two years ago according to the International Institute of Finance. Shades of Green provides independent, research-based second party opinions of green, sustainability, and sustainability-linked financing frameworks and climate risk assessments and impact reporting reviews grounded in climate science.
8. "Terrified": Nearly Half of Investors Check Retirement Balance 3 Times a Week This habit is more common among women than men (53% vs. 34%), even though men are slightly more likely to say they are terrified about their long-term financial futures than women (55% vs. 49%, respectively).
9. Zillow names the 10 best metros for first-time home buyers in 2023
   Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy, said, "These metros are potential hotbeds for those looking to buy their first home. Not only will shoppers find more affordable monthly mortgage costs and have an easier time qualifying for a smaller loan, but rent also is more affordable than elsewhere in the country, shortening the time it takes to save for a down payment."

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