Councilor Ricardo Arroyo put forward a hearing request at the body’s Wednesday meeting, where he discussed the potential for a pilot district in Roslindale Village, a shopping and dining area where parking meters will soon be added by the city.

“If we are going to create meters, which I think help move traffic along and do help, they should also take that money that comes from those meters — that are coming from folks frequenting that area or those businesses, and reinvest them into beautification projects within those areas,” Arroyo said.

If a pilot program were to be established, it could then be implemented in other districts, according to Arroyo, who represents Roslindale on the City Council and learned of the concept from Roslindale Village Main Streets representatives.

While the state authorized the use of parking benefit districts through the Municipal Modernization Act in 2016, the City of Boston has chosen not to move forward with the concept, which advocates describe as a type of parking reform that frees up high-demand curb space and benefits people paying the meter fees.

The districts have been “effectively utilized” by three other Massachusetts communities, Arlington, Brookline and Reading, “to manage parking supply and generate resources for commercial area improvements,” Arroyo said.

The bodies typically designated to manage the parking districts include main streets organizations, community planning groups and business improvement districts, he said.

“Folks in the neighborhoods who put more money into these meters should see that money directly benefit the areas in which they are placed,” Arroyo said. “The goal for this hearing is to figure out how we go about setting this up around the city, so it’s not just thrown into the … general fund and sent in different directions.”

The hearing request was largely supported by the rest of the City Council, and referred to the Committee on City Services and Innovation Technology after a brief discussion.

Councilor Gabriela Coletta, who represents East Boston, Charlestown and the North End, said her constituents often talk to her about the concept when mentioning ways to solve the “perennial issue of parking in the city.”

Councilor Liz Breadon said the districts have already been discussed as a possible parking solution in the two neighborhoods she represents, Allston and Brighton.

The matter “merits a discussion” around ways to maintain, upgrade and revitalize city streets, Breadon said, and free up curb space to ensure “someone doesn’t park their car in the main street district and leave it for the whole day.”

It almost seems like an anachronism. Taking a trip by train is like something out of the past.

Now, Amtrak is looking to double in size.

By using funds from the 2021 infrastructure bill, Amtrak is making improvements at some of its biggest and most popular hubs. Those include train stations in New York, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia.

“Amtrak is making significant investments to modernize our stations,” said EVP Laura Mason, who is overseeing the company’s internal infrastructure overhaul.

Amtrak’s budget is expected to zoom. Annual capital investments alone are slated to rise to $2.5 billion by 2025. They were $785 million as recently as 2019.

Improvements and renovations are scheduled for Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, New York’s Penn Station and Chicago’s Union Station.

Penn Station in Baltimore, which is over 100 years old, is also expected to undergo improvements and renovations. The station has not seen a refresh in almost 40 years.

The renovations could bring a whole new life to the national railroad company.

In August, Amtrak ordered 10 more Airo trainsets as part of its modernization efforts, bringing the total to 83 trainsets, which are expected to first debut in 2026.

The Amtrak Airo trainsets, which consist of both locomotive and passenger carriages, will modernize Amtrak’s fleet across the country, with greater comfort for passengers, more space for luggage and a greater focus on sustainability, producing 90% less particulate emissions than on traditional diesel trains.

______

©2023 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Why spend the time and expense to get a second opinion if your doctor recommends surgery or they diagnose a serious disease? After all, you’ve been examined, tested and evaluated by an expert with many years of training.

But the harsh reality is that misdiagnosis happens a lot — and sometimes with the gravest consequences. Each year, approximately 371,000 people in the U.S. die because of diagnostic error, according to a July 2023 study in the medical journal BMJ Quality & Safety.

A medical second opinion can increase the chances that you get the correct treatment from the start, saving money, distress and maybe your life.

“Second opinions are probably the single fastest way to address diagnostic errors today,” says Dr. David Newman-Toker, director of Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Center for Diagnostic Excellence.

Seeing the right specialist or subspecialist can make all the difference. “We know [from research] that if a patient with sarcoma is seen at a sarcoma center, their survival is longer,” says Kristen Ganjoo, a medical oncologist who teaches at Stanford University’s School of Medicine.

What is a second opinion, and why is it valuable to you?

Second opinions — whether to review a surgery recommendation or a cancer diagnosis — typically require a step-by-step reexamination of a patient’s case.

The first step is to review the existing diagnosis, according to Ganjoo. For example, patients may need a pathology review at an institution that has experts in sarcomas, she says. “We have a hundred different types of sarcoma, and they’re all treated differently. If a pathologist is not familiar with sarcomas, they may make a mistake in diagnosing patients.”

Next, Ganjoo determines whether the patient needs more tests, such as a scan or an assessment of a tissue sample for genetic mutations.

Finally, she reviews the treatment plan and makes any necessary changes to it, based on all test results and her diagnosis.

But second opinions aren’t only about coming to the correct diagnosis. They can be about “what’s the best possible treatment for this particular patient at this point in their life,” says Caitlin Donovan, a senior director at the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation, which works to educate and empower health care consumers.

“How can you incorporate quality-of-life concerns and still get the result you want?” says Donovan. “Physicians may differ on that.”

What does a second opinion cost, and does insurance cover it?

Charges for a second opinion vary widely, as does insurance coverage.

Some major medical centers offer a second opinion service at a fixed price. A virtual second opinion at the Cleveland Clinic costs $1,850. Stanford Medicine charges $700 for an online second opinion. The package of services provided — and the medical staff’s knowledge of particular specialties — vary by institution.

If you are insured by an employer or through a state or federal health insurance marketplace, contact your insurer to ask about your coverage for second opinions for people with your diagnosis.

Medicare may pay at least some of the cost of a second opinion when surgery is recommended. Medicaid offers some coverage of second opinions; call your state’s Medicaid office for details.

You may be able to pay any out-of-pocket costs of a second opinion through your health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA).

Financial assistance for second-opinion expenses for certain diagnoses may be available through a variety of organizations, including the Patient Advocate Foundation and the Sarcoma Alliance.

If you are shy about asking for a second opinion

Some patients are embarrassed to let their doctor know that they’d like to get a second opinion. But if you do encounter resistance, know that you’re pursuing a reasonable course of action.

“Any good physician is going to encourage you to explore your treatment options,” says Donovan.

“Sometimes you just have the wrong clinician,” says Newman-Toker. “They’re overconfident or they’re not interested in asking deeper questions or hearing your concerns as a patient. Then, you just need a new doctor.”

Avoiding misdiagnosis

Newman-Toker offers these tips:

• Come to your appointments prepared with a simple, printed summary of your timeline of symptoms and problems, to leave more time for discussion and questions.
• Ask hard questions, such as, “What’s the worst thing that this could be, and why is my condition not that,” says Newman-Toker. If the doctor bristles, consider going to another. “You have to rely on asking probing questions to see if your physician is committed to getting it right.”
• After treatment begins, remain vigilant, Newman-Toker says. “Don’t assume that if you don’t get a good result, your treatment needs to be adjusted, rather than your diagnosis reevaluated. Maybe it’s time for a second opinion.”

The article Getting a Second Opinion Can Help Ward Off Misdiagnosis originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Skyrocketing U.S. childcare payments are already weighing on spending and the labor market, according to Bank of America Institute, and that’s even before the expiry of a national program that could make things worse.

The average household spends more than $700 a month on childcare across the country, 32% higher than 2019, and the largest increase was for those making $100,000 to $250,000 a year, the data show. That’s already hit spending: Families with childcare payments have been spending at a slower pace than the rest of households since May and are dipping into savings at a faster rate.

There are also fewer dual-income households this year, with an average 1.34 payrolls a month versus 1.39 in 2019, indicating that some workers likely dropped out of the labor market to care for their kids, according to the institute’s report published Friday. Women are more likely to leave their jobs to take on that role, and experts warn it could increasingly happen as about 70,000 child-care programs are at risk of closing.

The report is based on analysis of anonymized Bank of America customer accounts, and was gathered even before the expiry of the Child Care Stabilization program. The end to that $24 billion program, which subsidized a portion of care and made it accessible for many “could have a meaningful impact on consumers,” economist Anna Zhou wrote in the report.

___

©2023 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a second straight time but left the door open to further rate hikes if inflation pressures should accelerate in the months ahead.

The Fed said in a statement after its latest meeting that it would keep its benchmark rate at about 5.4%, its highest level in 22 years. Since launching the most aggressive series of rate hikes in four decades in March 2022 to fight inflation, the Fed has pulled back and has now raised rates only once since May.

The central bank’s latest statement noted that the economy “expanded at a strong pace” in the July-September quarter and that job gains “remain strong.” And it reiterated that future rate hikes, if the Fed finds them necessary, remain under consideration.

But it also acknowledged that recent tumult in the financial markets has sent interest rates on 10-year Treasury notes to near 16-year highs and contributed to higher loan rates across the economy — a trend that helps serve the Fed’s goal of cooling the economy and inflation pressures.

At a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed was edging closer to the end of its rate-hiking campaign. He noted that the sharply higher longer-term rates could help lower inflation without necessarily requiring further rate hikes from the Fed. And he highlighted a steady decline in pay increases, which tends to ease inflation because companies may find it less necessary to offset their labor costs by raising prices.

The Fed chair expressed confidence that inflation, despite some signs of persistence in the most recent monthly data, is still heading lower even as the economy is still growing.

“The good news,” Powell said, “is we’re making progress. The progress is going to come in lumps and be bumpy, but we are making progress.”

The Fed chair said the central bank’s policymakers recognize that the effects of their rate hikes have yet to be fully felt in the economy and that they want to take time to assess the impact, another reason why the Fed may not feel compelled to raise rates anytime soon.

“Slowing down” the rate increases, Powell said, “is giving us a better sense of how much more we need to do, if we need to do more.”

Stock prices rose and bond yields fell as the Fed chair spoke to reporters, as investors interpreted his remarks to mean that the Fed may be done hiking rates.

“The (stock) market is convinced that the Fed is done,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “That may in fact be true, but they haven’t said that yet.”

Arone noted that hiring remains robust, that inflation remains persistently above the Fed’s 2% target and that the economy is still expanding at a healthy clip.

In his remarks, Powell cautioned that the central bank isn’t yet confident that its own key rate is high enough to reduce growth over time.

“The Fed,” Arone said, “continues to give themselves plenty of wiggle room in terms of what they’re going to do next.”

Powell himself suggested that Fed officials remain unsure about whether further rate increases might still be needed to defeat inflation. That stance marks a shift from earlier this year, when the policymakers had made clear that they leaned toward pushing rates higher.

“That’s the question we’re asking: Should we hike again?” Powell said.

Long-term Treasury yields have soared since July, the last time the Fed raised rates, swelling the costs of auto loans, credit card borrowing and many forms of business loans. Nationally, the average long-term fixed mortgage rate is nearing 8%, its highest level in 23 years.

Economists at Wall Street banks have estimated that recent losses in the stock market and higher bond yields could have a depressive effect on the economy equal to the impact of three or four quarter-point rate hikes by the Fed.

Those tighter credit conditions, though, have yet to cool the economy or slow hiring as much as the Fed had expected. Growth soared at a 4.9% annual pace in the July-September quarter, powered by robust consumer spending, and hiring in September was strong.

Consumer inflation has dropped from a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.7% last month. But recent data suggests that inflation remains persistently above the Fed’s 2% target.

Market analysts say an array of factors have combined to force up long-term Treasury yields and couple with the Fed’s short-term rate hikes to make borrowing costlier for consumers and businesses. For one thing, the government is expected to sell potentially trillions of dollars more in bonds in the coming years to finance huge budget deficits even as the Fed is shrinking its holdings of bonds. As a result, higher Treasury rates may be needed to attract more buyers.

And with the future path of rates murkier than usual, investors are demanding higher yields in return for the greater risk of holding longer-term bonds.

What’s important for the Fed is that the yield on the 10-year Treasury has continued to zoom higher even without rate hikes by the central bank. That suggests that Treasury yields may stay high even if the Fed keeps its own benchmark rate on hold, helping keep a lid on economic growth and inflation.

Other major central banks have also been dialing back their rates hikes with their inflation measures having appeared to improve. The European Central Bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged last week, and last month inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro fell to 2.9%, its lowest level in more than two years.

The Bank of England also kept its key rate unchanged in September. The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, is inching toward higher borrowing costs, as it loosens control on longer-term rates.

You’ve probably heard of “workcations” that combine work travel with leisure trips, often in desirable locations. But there’s a new twist on this trend: The “hush trip,” in which employees don’t tell their bosses they’re actually working from vacation locales. These secret getaways by remote workers while on the clock seem to be gaining in popularity and frequency, although many companies frown upon this activity.

Thinking about taking a hush trip, especially during the upcoming holiday season? Read on to learn more about the benefits and risks of this practice, what employers think of hush trips and ways to pay for your next holiday trip.

Understanding the hush trip phenomenon

A hush trip can be defined as an excursion where an employee works remotely, usually in a vacation spot, without disclosing to their boss or colleagues where they’re temporarily located, according to Vicki Salemi, a career expert with Monster.

“Hush trips are growing more popular because more workers see opportunities to work remotely in places other than their homes,” she says. Salemi cites a recent Monster poll that reveals approximately one-third of workers didn’t think their managers needed to know that they were working from somewhere other than their home. A further one-fifth of respondents didn’t think their managers would approve of a “workcation,” and 16 percent believed their managers and colleagues would have a negative view of hush trips.

Joshua Bienstock, an associate professor at New York Institute of Technology’s School of Management and a practicing employment and labor lawyer, says he understands why hush trips have become more common.

“Employees are stressed out in a 24/7 world,” he explains. “As more workplaces recognize the utility of remote work, many employees can do their work in any place. So the thinking seems to be, ‘Why not combine my work and vacation by taking a hush trip?’”

Peter Strebel, president of RateGain, a provider of SaaS solutions for the travel and hospitality industry and former chairman of Omni Hotels & Resorts, isn’t surprised by the rise of hush trips.

“Many times, they occur when workers do not have vacation time to spare or are saving vacation days for a longer trip. Hush trips are in-demand among remote workers because they allow them to do their jobs during work hours and take advantage of amenities after work or on the weekends,” says Strebel. Given that 64% of full-time workers support fully remote work schedules, according to Bankrate data, there’s clear demand for the type of flexibility that enables hush getaways.

Pros and cons of taking a hush trip during the holidays

Thinking about taking a hush trip? It’s important to weigh the pluses and minuses of this decision.

“The pros of taking a hush trip during the upcoming holiday season are to combine the best of both worlds — being able to work from an enjoyable location and get paid for it,” Salemi notes. “As soon as you log off, you can quickly toggle to vacation mode, which may make you happier and more productive.” Further, she says, more than half of those surveyed by Monster report feeling less anxious when taking hush trips because they get a change of scenery without tapping into their paid time off.

Hush trips can also enable you to travel at non-peak times, such as flying mid-week on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, when rates are often cheaper.

“This allows you to avoid the peak vacation travel time of weekends and the higher rate of business travel on Mondays and Fridays,” Stebel points out. “For example, a person planning a hush trip from Boston to New York City for the holidays could take an early flight on Tuesday morning, work from the hotel lobby until the room is ready and plan to take in Rockefeller Center after work.”

On the other hand, it’s easy to get distracted during a hush trip. “The holiday season can feel more chaotic and stressful than non-holiday times of the year. Being in a new location and trying to concentrate on work with distractions at your fingertips may be challenging and could compound your stress,” cautions Salemi.

Strebel agrees, adding that traveling anywhere during the holiday season can be complicated. “A large number of travelers are on the move at this time of year, which increases the risks of flight delays or hotel overbookings,” he continues. “A delayed flight, for example, could force a remote worker to take calls from the airport, which is not an ideal scenario.”

Likely the biggest disadvantage of engaging in a hush trip is that your company could find out. This could land you in hot water with your employer — perhaps jeopardizing your job.

What do companies think of hush trips?

Hush trip acceptance and employer policies vary from company to company. But rest assured that most employers would like to know ahead of time if you expect to work in a different location than your home.

“The issue essentially comes down to whether you can effectively do your job with a host of distractions nearby. It’s up to you to ensure your work is done well and without disruption,” Strebel says. “I believe employers should consider flexibility with hush trips, as blanket policies condemning them can hurt morale. Similarly, an employee should tread carefully when on a hush trip, as it could cause tension with coworkers.”

Andrew Lokenauth, a personal finance expert and owner of BeFluentInFinance.com, says hush trips are discouraged by most businesses. “Employers have concerns about productivity, security and liability,” he says. “But some will tolerate a hush trip if it’s done discreetly and the work is completed to satisfaction.”

Ideally, employers would encourage workcations, creating cultures in which employees don’t need to keep secrets — including where they’re working from — from them.

“But other employers may have the mindset that everyone needs to be accountable and only work in the office or from a home office where they know your technology is reliable and where you can be easily reached,” Salemi explains. “Even though you may be doing an amazing job and can work well or even better while sitting on the beach, there may be a stigma around it.”

“A hush trip can positively impact employees who plan on traveling for the holidays,” adds Salemi. “For instance, maybe the trip involves staying with relatives who bring you immense joy. Rather than having to choose between working from home or seeing your relatives, you can do both.”

Paying for a holiday hush trip

If you’re expecting to travel this holiday season and make it a hush trip, think carefully about how you’ll fund this getaway. Cash always comes in handy, but using credit cards can make it safe, convenient and simple to pay for a flight, hotel stay, food and other transactions.

Consider that the majority of credit cards provide zero-liability fraud protection for unauthorized charges, as long as you report them within 30 days. Even if your card issuer doesn’t offer zero liability, the Fair Credit Billing Act limits your liability for unauthorized charges to a maximum of $50.

Moreover, if unauthorized charges occur on your credit card, you can often address the issue before your payment is due, preventing any actual loss of funds. That’s one reason using credit cards while traveling is preferred to using a debit card: If the latter is stolen or compromised, resolving the matter can be more time-consuming, as you’ll need to wait for the funds to be restored to your bank account.

With the right credit card in your wallet during a holiday hush trip, you can also earn cash back, points or miles on your typical expenditures. When you open a new rewards credit card, you may also qualify for a welcome bonus after reaching a specific spending threshold.

To maximize credit card rewards, it’s crucial to select a card that aligns with your spending patterns. For instance, frequent travelers might prefer a travel credit card, which earns points or miles for future travel and offers perks like lounge access and credits for traveler programs like TSA PreCheck. Alternatively, a cash back card with bonus rewards on everyday spending categories such as groceries and gas stations might provide more value for others.

Additional credit card perks can significantly enhance your experience, including travel protections, no foreign transaction fees, annual statement credits for specific purchases and discounts with partner brands.

Just remember to be careful when using credit cards during a hush trip. If, for instance, you use a credit card given to you by your employer, they may be able to track where your purchases were made. This could get you in trouble if your company doesn’t know where you’re working from.

The bottom line

Think carefully about taking a hush trip between now and New Year’s, rather than telling your employer you’re going on a “workcation.” The latter may prove less risky and stressful, but still allow you to enjoy some needed leisure time in a desirable spot.

“Do your research ahead of time to ease worries and anxiety,” recommends Salemi. “Your destination should have a dedicated workspace and fast Internet speed so you won’t miss a beat. Consider time zone differences, as well. If you are going overseas and it’s six hours earlier, ensure that you are working the same six hours that you would have been if you had remained at home.”

Lokenauth agrees. “Be discreet when taking a hush trip, and don’t publicize your actions on social media,” he advises. “Try to sync your schedule with your coworkers to avoid suspicions. And limit long or frequent hush trips to avoid getting caught.”

_________

(Visit Bankrate online at bankrate.com.)

©2023 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The results — whether the men are cured or not after the one-time intravenous infusions this year — have not yet been disclosed by the San Francisco biotech company that created the technology based on Nobel Prize-winning research by UC Berkeley’s Jennifer Doudna.

But the potential treatment, called EBT-101, is safe and caused no major side effects, Excision BioTherapeutics reported at a meeting in Brussels.

Six more men will be treated, perhaps some at UC San Francisco, with higher doses. Participating in the research program is potentially risky: Participants stop their protective anti-HIV drugs for 12 weeks after gene-editing treatment to see if the virus is gone. Data will be presented at a medical conference next year, according to the company.

“We are opening the door for how this new drug will work and what potential it has for people living with HIV,” said Dr. William Kennedy, Excision senior vice president of clinical development. “Ultimately, we see this as a fundamentally new approach.”

The novel strategy could potentially treat other chronic infections where the virus hides latent, such as hepatitis and herpes, he said. It leaves human DNA intact.

“We were super excited about this, and to get the chance to be among the first to do human studies of gene editing for a cure,” said Dr. Priscilla Hsue, professor of medicine and principal investigator for the study’s clinical trial site at UCSF. “If we can permanently remove viral DNA, the thought is, people would get this infusion and then be done.”

EBT-101 is designed to find the specific viral sequences so that it doesn’t cut human DNA. The CRISPR-based therapy uses an empty virus to deliver the “guide RNA” that marks where to cut. An enzyme called Cas9 acts like scissors. The therapeutic solution is given intravenously.

It received the FDA’s “fast track” designation last July after experiments showed success in animals. A single injection safely and efficiently removed SIV, a virus related to HIV, from the genomes of rhesus monkeys. In earlier work, it removed HIV from nine of 23 mice.

But there is a big leap from promising results in mice to success in humans. In addition to UCSF, patients will be recruited at Quest Clinical Research in San Francisco, Washington University in St. Louis and Cooper University in Camden, New Jersey.

In the four decades since the AIDS virus was isolated, treatment has transformed its care. If taken every day, powerful antiretroviral drugs can suppress the virus, controlling illness. Medicine can also prevent infection.

But a cure is needed to end the pandemic. Worldwide, nearly 39 million people are living with HIV. About 77% of them are receiving treatment.

There have only been three known cases of an HIV cure so far. Two were men who received bone marrow transplants from donors who carried a mutation that blocks HIV infection. The third was a woman who received a transplant of umbilical cord blood. But all three treatments were targeting cancer, so this is not a practical option for the average HIV patient.

“The future of so many lives depends on another breakthrough,” said Mark S. King, an Atlanta-based HIV/AIDS activist and author of the book My Fabulous Disease who has lived with the virus for nearly 40 years.

“A lot of people think that this was all rectified when we got successful treatments,” he said. “But the difference between a treatment and a cure, or a vaccine, is profound.”

Excision BioTherapeutics was founded on work in the lab of Kamel Khalili, a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia and director of its Center for NeuroVirology and Gene Editing.

Its research is supported, in part, by the taxpayer-supported California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. The early results of its study were presented at the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy on Wednesday.

Scientists wondered: Could CRISPR cure HIV by cutting the virus’s DNA? Excision’s approach cuts the virus in two places, removing genes that are essential to replication.

“This is an exceptionally ambitious and important trial,” said Fyodor Urnov, professor of molecular and cell biology at UC-Berkeley and a gene editor at IGI, in an email. “It would be good to know sooner than later” if it works, he said, “including, potentially, no effect.”

Initial research in Khalili’s lab showed that CRISPR could find and destroy the HIV genes in cells.

The results were welcomed with caution by long-term survivors such as King. “Am I intrigued? Yes. Wary? Absolutely. We have been here before, many times. We’ve heard of a lot of promising developments over the years, only to have the rug pulled out from us — because of the vexing nature of how HIV operates in the body.”

The reason that HIV has been so tough to eradicate is that it hides in our cells, said Dr. Jyoti Gupta of the PACE Clinic at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, which specializes in HIV care.

“The virus is very smart,” she said. “It integrates into the host genome of our immune cells, which are supposed to protect us from infection. It just lies there, hiding.”

“As soon as someone stops the therapy, the latent virus starts replicating again, within days,” said Gupta. “Then there’s virus everywhere.”

Patients in Excision’s trials will be monitored for 15 years, said Kennedy.

Even if it just stops replication for awhile, that’s a benefit, said Gupta. “Less is more. So if a patient can come in for an infusion once a year, for instance, and the virus won’t resurface for a year, that’s reasonable.”

The hope is that Excision’s therapy could become a lifelong cure, freeing patients from daily pill-popping

“Scientists tell me that this is going to be part of a cure some day,” said Berkeley-based AIDS activist Matt Sharp, 68, who has lived with the virus for 38 years. “And I shrug my shoulders and say, ‘Here we go again.’ “

“Now we just have to get the research done,” he said.  “We’ve got to have hope, because the epidemic isn’t over.”

General Motors, Ford and Tesla have all warned of an electric vehicle slowdown because they say demand might drop.

Auto makers mainly say higher borrowing costs are the issue but some car dealerships say EVs are sitting longer than regular cars. They say consumers are concerned about the range of EVs and lack of infrastructure.

In a Cox Automotive survey, 53 percent of consumers said EVs will eventually replace internal combustion engines, but less than a third of dealers agreed. Several dealerships interviewed by CNBC said EVs were taking longer to sell and there was a supply and demand imbalance with the vehicles.

Ford said two weeks ago it would increase production on its hybrid F-150 pickup trucks because of waning demand for its all electric model.

EV advocates insist the demand is still there, but consumers are only temporarily shying away because of high interest rates that make EVs — typically more expensive than your average car — more difficult to purchase.

Q: Has enthusiasm for electric cars waned?

Phil Blair, Manpower

YES: But a momentary blip. As someone who has only bought all-electric cars for my last five purchases, they are the future of car transportation. Yes, it has hit a lull. Interest rates, concern over ample charging infrastructure and availability of lower price models are valid concerns. New houses coming with charging capabilities are a telling sign.

Gary London, London Moeder Advisors

NO: Technology breakthroughs often take decades to achieve market acceptance. Electric, and perhaps hydrogen, and other vehicle technologies are in their infancy. The issues of range anxiety, cost and even their actual contribution to reducing the overall carbon footprint, will all be solved over time. Personal perspective: I am now driving my second electric vehicle. They drive better, are simpler to manufacture and incorporate superior technology. And they are more fun to drive.

Alan Gin, University of San Diego

YES: One factor is higher interest rates, which makes buying the more expensive electric vehicles more difficult. Another is that gas prices have come down after a recent surge. But a big reason might be that early adopters of the technology may have already gone all in on EVs. Getting the next tier of customers might require a game changer such as Toyota’s solid-state battery technology, which could raise the range to 700 to 900 miles and reduce charging times to less than 10 minutes.

Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates

YES: Enthusiasm for electric vehicles has waned, though EVs are still growing in number. GM is delaying the opening of a large electric-pickup-truck factory in Michigan and Ford is considering canceling a shift of factory production on its electric F-150 Lightning pickup. Tesla’s vehicle deliveries are still growing, but at a slowing rate, despite steep price cuts. There are concerns about charging vehicles on long drives, prices, and government subsidy requirements.

James Hamilton, UC San Diego

YES: Or at least the rate of growth of sales has slowed. The first wave of buyers of EVs were higher-income households with strong concerns about the environment. Adoption may be slower for other demographic groups. Higher interest rates historically depress all vehicle sales and disproportionately discourage sales of more expensive cars like EVs. The ultimate transition is inevitable but may come a little slower than some people thought 12 months ago.

Austin Neudecker, Weave Growth

NO: As with all new technologies, at first, enthusiastic technophiles and idealists purchased EVs. Today, the economics are positive for many consumers, especially those who own single-family homes. Higher interest rates, a recent buying binge, and unfamiliarity are causing a temporary weakening in demand. Fear of the unknown — range/charging/tech — and car replacement timing have deterred others thus far. In time, additional exposure, improved range, increased competition, gas price uncertainty, and environmental awareness will drive widespread adoption.

Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health

NO: I think the desire for EVs remains but as noted, high interest rates, the lack of needed infrastructure and the vehicles’ limited range will slow sales. When range capabilities, infrastructure and charging speeds increase and costs and interest rates decrease, sales will improve. Electric hybrids will continue to bridge the gap as drivers start testing EVs.

Norm Miller, University of San Diego

NO: EVs remain relatively more expensive cars, for now, albeit cheaper to own. When budgets are subject to higher interest rates, consumers shift to lower-priced substitutes. A gas Subaru Crosstrek starts at $24,995, a Subaru Solterra EV starts at $44,995. That is a huge difference for the average consumer. With higher interest rates we have seen higher-priced choices, EVs included, become less attractive. EVs are here to stay and eventually, with less expensive batteries, will become more affordable over time. It’s all I’ve driven since 2012.

Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere

NO: Consumers are still interested in electric vehicles, and it will only grow over time as battery technology and long-distance supercharging networks improve. If cost has been a factor, car makers like Tesla have been cutting prices on some of their models recently and interest rate hikes are finally leveling out. With gas prices continuing to increase, an EV is still a good option for long-term fuel savings, lower maintenance costs, and EV tax incentives.

David Ely, San Diego State University

YES: Now that early adopters have purchased EVs, it is natural for enthusiasm to wane. Range anxiety and high interest rates are leading many shoppers to delay the switch to EVs. Sales of EVs are still rising, just at a slower pace. EV sales growth would be lower if not for significant price reductions by manufacturers. This suggests that demand is falling short of expectations and needs to be brought back into alignment with supply.

Ray Major, SANDAG

YES: Early EV adopters and tech enthusiasts are already driving EVs regardless of price. Concerns about range, accessible charging stations, charging time, cost and the lifespan of a vehicle, are some of the reasons why not everyone has jumped in. Nationally, customers in colder climates are experiencing significantly less battery life than those here in Southern California. Enthusiasm for EVs has slowed and full adoption will take decades, not years.

Caroline Freund, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy

NO: Despite waning enthusiasm for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, EVs are still hot commodities with heaps of new models becoming available. Adoption of new technologies tends to follow an S curve — slow at first, then speeds up, and eventually levels off. EV sales are no exception. Sales were pretty flat in the years through 2020, picked up in 2021, and will likely remain strong for some time before flattening.

Haney Hong, San Diego County Taxpayers Assoc.

NO: While it may be more expensive to finance a car purchase, gas prices have skyrocketed. Also, the federal and state tax incentives are hefty. I know anecdotally that plenty of people are still in the market for EVs, as there are a lot of reasons for someone to purchase one. Now if there’s any waning, it’s probably a smaller reduction than in the demand for gas-powered vehicles.

Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Institute for Economic Research

YES: Electric vehicles continue to have promising technological developments, but there are limits for potential uses that may not encompass all transportation needs. Costs and risks should not be imposed on less well-off citizens to the benefit of wealthy investors and buyers. Electric cars will continue to be a substantial endeavor for those capable and willing to take on inherent risks. Governments should not be imposing mandates or subsidizing developments that may prove counterproductive or ineffective.

Lynn Reaser, economist

YES: Several factors are slowing sales beyond early adopters. First, the limited range is of great concern. Second, the time to recharge takes a multiple of the few minutes to fuel an internal combustion-powered vehicle. Third, the limited number of charging stations is hampering sales. Fourth, the higher prices even with various subsidies are a problem. Fifth, battery inflammatory risk is cause for concern. Finally, the poorer performance in cold climates is a limiting factor.

The delayed release of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) could make it more difficult for “early decision” applicants to accurately gauge the cost of their college education.

Early decision is a binding process, usually with a November application deadline and a December admissions decision. Students may apply to only one college via early decision, and if accepted, they typically must attend or risk having to sit out of school for a year. An early decision application can boost a student’s odds of getting into their dream school, but it also means they lose the chance to compare and negotiate financial aid offers from multiple schools.

Because the 2024-25 FAFSA will be simplified — and the release delayed from Oct. 1, 2023, until sometime in December — many colleges won’t be able to provide accurate financial aid estimates or final packages alongside early decision admissions, says Connie Livingston, head of college counselors with admissions counseling group Empowerly and a former admissions counselor at Brown University.

“In years prior, you knew what your package was when you knew your decision,” Livingston explains. “Now you’re getting an estimate, which is better than nothing, but it’s not a guarantee.”

If you’re thinking about applying early decision this fall, here are six tips to help you navigate the FAFSA overhaul and your college financial aid prospects.

1. Apply to CSS Profile schools

About 250 universities use the more detailed CSS Profile alongside the FAFSA to calculate institutional aid, like scholarships and grants. The 2024-25 CSS Profile opened on Oct. 1. At CSS Profile schools, prospective early decision applicants may have better luck getting an accurate financial aid estimate before they decide to apply, says Shannon Vasconcelos, senior director of college finance for Bright Horizons College Coach, an admissions and financial aid counseling company.

However, students who apply early to FAFSA-only schools likely won’t have a reliable financial aid estimate before applying, Vasconcelos says.

The vast majority of institutions that use the CSS Profile are private, although a handful of public schools like the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan also use it.

2. Estimate your financial aid

In past years, colleges’ online net price calculators have been the best way to estimate how much your education could cost at an institution — but with a lack of clarity around the new FAFSA, many of these calculators have not yet been updated, Vasconcelos says. Early decision applications should use other calculators.

The Education Department recently released a new Federal Student Aid Estimator to help students gauge their eligibility for aid like federal student loans and the need-based Pell Grant for the 2024-25 school year. The College Board’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculator can estimate the aid you may get through the CSS Profile.

If your family has an income below a certain threshold — check the income cap with the early decision school to which you’re applying — it’s more likely that you’ll get enough aid to attend. Most early decision schools meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, but they don’t offer merit aid, Livingston says.

3. Read the fine print

Students have the option to back out of early decision agreements if they can’t afford to attend. Carefully read the agreement at your school of choice before applying.

“I think that we’re going to see more families take advantage of that fine print this year and pull out of that early decision agreement, because they didn’t understand what they were getting into financially, or they did not have an accurate estimate of financial aid eligibility upfront,” Vasconcelos says.

Backing out from an early decision acceptance is a process. For example, at Columbia University in New York, families must consult with a financial aid officer and explain their circumstances before a student can be released from an early decision agreement. The timing can also be risky: When students finally get their delayed financial aid packages for the 2024-25 school year, application deadlines at other schools may have passed.

Make sure to print out and save any financial aid estimates you’ve received from schools, Vasconcelos advises. These records can come in handy if you need to request more aid or get out of your binding admissions agreement.

4. Request your FSA ID now

Each person — including the student and parents — who fills out the 2024-25 FAFSA will need a unique FSA ID. It can take up to three days to receive an FSA ID after you request it.

Request your FSA ID ahead of time so you’ll be ready to fill out the FAFSA right away upon its December release and get your financial aid package as fast as possible.

Everyone should fill out the FAFSA, regardless of whether or not they think they’ll qualify for aid, says Livingston. Many colleges use the application to help determine eligibility for scholarships and merit aid in addition to need-based aid.

5. Consider early action or regular decision

Roughly 87% of U.S. undergraduates received financial aid in 2020-21, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. For these students, applying early action (which is nonbinding) or regular decision may be a safer bet than early decision.

If you get multiple admissions offers, you can compare financial packages and costs of each school, and even try to negotiate your aid offers.

“When you apply early action or regular decision, then you’re not making a commitment,” says Vasconcelos. “You can go back to schools and say, ‘Thanks for this nice $5,000 scholarship but this other school gave me $10,000; is there anything else you can do?’ and some schools are amenable to that.”

That type of negotiation is off the table if you apply early decision, Vasconcelos says, but you might still be able to appeal for more aid after an early decision acceptance if your financial situation changes.

6. Reach out to financial aid offices

If you need more help understanding how the FAFSA simplification and delay could affect your plans to apply early decision, reach out to the financial aid offices at your target schools.

“They are expecting a lot of questions, and maybe some confusion, so they’re ready to help students and families through this process,” says Livingston.

The article Applying to College Early Decision? 6 Tips for the FAFSA Delay originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Business is the backbone of our democracy, and neglecting the engine that drives our freedom is irresponsible. Every warning light is blinking, governor, so erase your calendar, roll up your sleeves, and get out your toolbox.

The Tax Foundation ranks Massachusetts as the 5th worst state in its Business Tax Climate Index. New Jersey, New York, California, and Connecticut rank lower — but New Hampshire is in the Top 10. That alone should worry Gov. Healey. Last time when drove north it was a quick trip.

The sad part is Healey doesn’t seem to care. Neither does Speaker Ron Mariano and state Senate President Karen Spilka. Our Democratic-run government is more adept at knocking down entrepreneurs than helping them out.

This Tax Foundation report — showing the Bay State dropping 12 spots in just the past year — should be a wake-up call. Businesses and citizens vote with their feet, and we risk losing both if the status quo remains.

A driver behind the state’s nosedive in tax competitiveness, the Tax Foundation found, is the state’s new Fair Share Amendment – or Millionaire’s Tax – which taxes incomes over $1 million an extra 4%.

“While the $1 million threshold at which the surtax kicks in is indexed to inflation, the surtax imposes a sizable marriage penalty that the Commonwealth lacked previously,” authors wrote in the report which came out last week. “This policy change represents a stark contrast from the recent reforms to reduce rates while consolidating brackets in many other states.”

Paul Craney, a spokesman for Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance and a staunch opponent of the Millionaire’s Tax, called out proponents who pledged that the surtax would strictly apply to individuals with an income of over $1 million.

“With a flip of a switch, the Legislature lowered that threshold to $500,000 for married people and the Tax Foundation is predicting a clear negative outcome from this,” Craney added.

Why should you care?

Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, told the Herald this weekend that people and businesses alike are continuing to leave Massachusetts due to taxation.

His organization represents 4,000 businesses in the state so it’s not wise to ignore his comment.

The Tax Foundation also called out a payroll tax that went into effect this year in Massachusetts’ poor ranking. The organization also found that the state dropped 33 spots from the 11th-best state for individual taxes to the sixth-worst.

Hurst said high unemployment and health insurance costs, both of which are the worst in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation, need to be fixed.

The Healey administration and Beacon Hill lawmakers can not be allowed to go unchallenged. It’s embarrassing to be near last on any list. It’s unacceptable and reflects how out of touch our lawmakers have become.

The Department of Justice contends that Google — a company whose very name is synonymous with scouring the internet — pays off tech companies to lock out rival search engines to smother competition and innovation.

According to court documents the government entered into the record last week, the payments came to more than $26 billion in 2021, a year in which operating expenses for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, were nearly $68 billion.

Google contends that it dominates the market because its search engine is better than the competition’s. “We are working very, very hard for any given query we provide the best experience,” Pichai said. “That’s always been our true north.”

Pharmacists start sick-out

Drugstore workers around the country started calling in sick Monday to highlight a lack of support from their employers, protest organizers said.

The extent and impact of the demonstration, which is planned until Wednesday, were not clear as of Monday afternoon.

Pharmacists and technicians for dozens of drugstores had called in sick as of midday, said Lannie Duong, a pharmacist who is helping to organize the protest. She said organizers estimate that “at least hundreds” of pharmacists and technicians — mostly for Walgreens and other big retailers like CVS Health — were involved.

Pharmacists say they have been dealing with difficult working conditions for years. Those problems worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when stores saw waves of people seeking tests, vaccines and treatments.

The Food and Drug Administration advisory applies to lubricating drops sold by six companies, including CVS Health, Target, Rite Aid and Cardinal Health. Consumers should stop using the products immediately and avoid purchasing any that remain on pharmacy and store shelves, the FDA said in a statement Friday.

The agency asked the companies to recall their products last week, because FDA inspectors found unsanitary conditions and bacteria at the facility producing the drops. The FDA did not disclose the location of the factory or when it was inspected.

No injuries related to the products had been reported at the time of the announcement, but the FDA encouraged doctors and patients to submit cases through the agency’s online reporting system.

Earlier this year, federal officials linked an outbreak of drug-resistant bacteria to eyedrops from two companies, EzriCare and Delsam Pharma. More than 80 people in the U.S. tested positive for eye infections from the rare bacterial strain, according to the most recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After the products were recalled in February, health inspectors visited the manufacturing plant in India that made the eyedrops and uncovered problems with how they were made and tested, including inadequate sterility measures.

Before signing the order Monday, Biden said AI is driving change at “warp speed” and carries tremendous potential as well as perils.

“AI is all around us,” Biden said. “To realize the promise of AI and avoid the risk, we need to govern this technology.”

The order is an initial step that is meant to ensure that AI is trustworthy and helpful, rather than deceptive and destructive. The order — which will likely need to be augmented by congressional action — seeks to steer how AI is developed so that companies can profit without putting public safety in jeopardy.

Using the Defense Production Act, the order requires leading AI developers to share safety test results and other information with the government. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is to create standards to ensure AI tools are safe and secure before public release.

The Commerce Department is to issue guidance to label and watermark AI-generated content to help differentiate between authentic interactions and those generated by software. The extensive order touches on matters of privacy, civil rights, consumer protections, scientific research and worker rights.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients recalled Biden giving his staff a directive when formulating the order to move with urgency.

“We can’t move at a normal government pace,” Zients said the Democratic president told him. “We have to move as fast, if not faster, than the technology itself.”

In Biden’s view, the government was late to address the risks of social media and now U.S. youth are grappling with related mental health issues. AI has the positive ability to accelerate cancer research, model the impacts of climate change, boost economic output and improve government services among other benefits. But it could also warp basic notions of truth with false images, deepen racial and social inequalities and provide a tool to scammers and criminals.

With the European Union nearing final passage of a sweeping law to rein in AI harms and Congress still in the early stages of debating safeguards, the Biden administration is “stepping up to use the levers it can control,” said digital rights advocate Alexandra Reeve Givens, president of the Center for Democracy & Technology. “That’s issuing guidance and standards to shape private sector behavior and leading by example in the federal government’s own use of AI.”

The order builds on voluntary commitments already made by technology companies. It’s part of a broader strategy that administration officials say also includes congressional legislation and international diplomacy, a sign of the disruptions already caused by the introduction of new AI tools such as ChatGPT that can generate text, images and sounds.

The guidance within the order is to be implemented and fulfilled over the range of 90 days to 365 days.

Joined by manufacturing chief Gerald Johnson at the meeting that started late Sunday, they were able to close a deal with UAW President Shawn Fain and other bargainers early Monday that should end a contentious six-week work stoppage, three people briefed on the matter said Monday.

The tentative deal capped a furious few days of agreements that still need to be ratified by 146,000 UAW members at GM, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis. Ford agreed to a new contract last week and was followed by Stellantis on Saturday, which raised the pressure on GM to settle for essentially the same terms.

All three companies agreed to raise general wages by 25% for top assembly plant workers and add cost of living adjustments that would bring their pay increases to over 30% by the time the contracts end, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly about the deal. Workers would get an immediate 11% pay raise upon ratification.

President Joe Biden, asked about the UAW deal while boarding Air Force One on Monday morning, said, “I think it’s great,” and gave a thumbs-up, according to a pool report. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said, suggesting he’ll have more to say.

Monday was the 46th day of the Detroit-based union’s walkout against GM. In addition to the Tennessee plant, workers were on strike at GM’s Wentzville midsize pickup truck and full-size commercial van plant outside St. Louis in Missouri, the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave plant in Delta Township outside Lansing and the full-size SUV plant in Arlington, Texas. Workers across the country at GM’s parts distribution centers also are on strike.

GM said last Tuesday, before workers at Arlington Assembly plant walked off the job, that the strike had cost it $800 million.

The Ford and Stellantis deals included gains more than four times what workers received in the 2019 contract, according to the union.

GM met the 25% wage increase demand before the weekend, The Detroit News previously reported. Top production pay at GM is $32.32 per hour.

Erik Gordon, a business and law professor at the University of Michigan, said the union got much of what it wanted in the deals, which will raise the companies’ costs at a critical and historic time as the industry switches from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

“The companies are trying to figure out how to transition to EVs without losing too many billions of dollars, and now face a huge bump in labor costs for the products that will finance the EV transition,” he said.

The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages remained at generational highs this week, climbing to 8.01%, up from 7.99% the previous week, according to Bankrate’s weekly national survey of large lenders.

The average rate on 30-year home loans hit its highest point since August 2000, according to Bankrate research. That was before the Sept. 11 terror attacks led the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates, and well before the Great Recession spurred the Fed to keep rates low throughout the 2010s.

The current run-up in mortgage rates reflects a variety of factors: a resilient U.S. economy, the Fed’s ongoing war on inflation and, more recently, a sharp rise in 10-year Treasury yields, which serve as an informal benchmark for 30-year mortgage rates. The 8% barrier stands as just one more unwelcome milestone in the upward trajectory of borrowing costs.

“We’ve seen a tremendous run-up in rates,” says Tom Wind, head of Consumer Lending at U.S. Bank. “It’s kind of a shock.”

What happened to mortgage rates this week

The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.33 discount and origination points.

Over the past 52 weeks, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has averaged 6.89%. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.12%. Four weeks ago, that rate was 7.55%. The 30-year fixed-rate average for this week is 1.74 percentage points higher than the 52-week low of 6.27%.

As for other loans:

—The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.23%, up from 7.19 from a week ago.

—The 5/6 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 7.38%, down from 7.39% a week ago.

—The 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage was 7.72%, unchanged from a week ago.

How mortgage rates affect home affordability

The national median family income for 2023 is $96,300, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the median price of an existing home sold in September 2023 was $394,300, according to the National Association of Realtors. Based on a 20 percent down payment and a mortgage rate of 7.99%, the monthly payment of $2,317 amounts to 29% of the typical family’s monthly income.

The sharp rise in mortgage rates has squeezed affordability and sparked a slowdown in home sales. First-time buyers are especially challenged by this market. Home prices haven’t fallen significantly, and values are unlikely to decline, given the shortage of homes for sale.

“Higher mortgage rates have a dual impact on the housing market: reducing affordability for buyers and strengthening the rate lock-in for sellers,” says Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American. “The combination of reduced affordability and increased strength of the rate lock-in effect is likely to continue to suppress home sales because you can’t buy what’s not for sale, even if you can afford it.”

Will mortgage rates go down?

The sharp run-up in rates has caught the housing industry by surprise. The Mortgage Bankers Association forecasts the 30-year fixed rate to fall to 7.2% by the end of the year — a prediction that’s nearly a full percentage point above its forecast from last month.

“The Fed’s hiking cycle is likely nearing an end, but while Fed officials have indicated that additional rate hikes might not be needed, rate cuts may not come as soon or proceed as rapidly as previously expected,” Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said last week during the group’s annual conference.

Economists expected to see mortgage rates decrease by the end of 2023, but the strength of the U.S. economy has thrown a wrinkle into those predictions. So has the jump in 10-year Treasury yields.

Many in the industry expect rates to peak at 8%. “I think they’ll touch the 8% level, and then they’ll come back down,” says Vishal Garg, CEO of lender Better.com.

Mortgage rates are also chained to inflation, a metric the Fed has been moving to control. At its September meeting, the central bank opted to keep rates unchanged. While the Fed doesn’t directly set fixed mortgage rates, it does set the tone of the interest-rate environment — and as the central bank has boosted its policy rate from zero in early 2022 to a range of 5.25% to 5.5% now, mortgage rates have followed suit.

Methodology

The Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders is conducted weekly. To conduct the National Average survey, Bankrate obtains rate information from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. In the Bankrate.com national survey, our Market Analysis team gathers rates and/or yields on banking deposits, loans and mortgages. We’ve conducted this survey in the same manner for more than 30 years, and because it’s consistently done the way it is, it gives an accurate national apples-to-apples comparison. Our rates differ from other national surveys, in particular Freddie Mac’s weekly published rates. Each week Freddie Mac surveys lenders on the rates and points based on first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80%. “Lenders surveyed each week are a mix of lender types — thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies — is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide,” according to Freddie Mac.

©2023 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have hit yet another high, with lenders offering loans above 8% for the first time since 2000. Mortgage rates have gone up rapidly this year, rising two full percentage points from lows near 6% back in February.

That’s been brutal for home buyers, who have watched their buying power erode. At a 6% interest rate, a buyer looking to spend $2,000 a month on principal and interest could afford a loan of roughly $333,500. With interest rates at 8%, that same buyer can afford only $272,500. Their target home price has dropped $61,000 as more of that monthly payment has to go toward servicing interest.

Here’s why mortgage interest rates are so high, and why they could remain elevated. Still, there are ways that home buyers can contend with such a challenging housing market.

Why mortgage rates climbed so high

A year ago, many housing economists, including in forecasts from Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association, were anticipating that today’s mortgage rates would be in the 5-6% range. Though that seems wildly off base now, at the time it looked pretty reasonable.

“Last year around this time, the Fed was in the midst of hiking interest rates very rapidly,” explains Chen Zhao, head of economic research at Redfin. “And most economic forecasters were really looking at this and saying, OK, this is most likely going to lead to a recession.”

A recession could have forced the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, with mortgage rates likely falling, too. But that recession hasn’t arrived.

“Despite what the Fed has done, hiking rates at the fastest rate ever, the economy, especially the job market, has really just remained very resilient. As a result, investors are now expecting that the economy is going to avoid a recession and remain very strong for longer,” Zhao says. “And that means that the economy can sustain higher mortgage rates for a longer amount of time.”

Where are mortgage rates headed in 2024?

Looking at last year’s predictions for 2023, it’s clear that a lot can change in just a few months. With political upheaval in the U.S. and multiple wars overseas, there’s potential for tectonic shifts in markets and in economic policy.

“I would say that right now uncertainty is unusually high,” Zhao comments. “Maybe the most plausible forecast would be to say that rates are probably going to stay in this range for the near term or at least in the foreseeable future.” But Zhao also outlines scenarios for mortgage rates going lower — an economic downturn forcing the Federal Reserve to encourage economic activity by easing interest rates — or higher, if mortgage spreads remain elevated.

The mortgage spread is the difference between the 30-year fixed mortgage rate and 10-year Treasury rate. “Historically, the spread between the 10-year Treasury and the 30-year mortgage rates is about 1 3/4%,” explains Melissa Cohn, New York-based regional vice president and mortgage banker at William Raveis Mortgage. Because of economic and geopolitical volatility, “Those spreads have grown over the course of the past couple of years, and our mortgage rates are now trading at 3% or higher above the 10-year Treasury.”

That said, it’s also worth noting that while we haven’t seen mortgage interest rates this high in 23 years, prevailing interest rates are in line with longer-term historical averages. Interest rates collected by government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac, which go back to 1971, are widely used as the yardstick for mortgage interest rates. Over that half century, the average 30-year fixed interest rate has been 7.74%.

“Looking holistically at the entire history, we’re about where the average is,” comments Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors. Lautz points out that recent history is fairly exceptional: “We don’t want to say that the interest rate of 18 is normal, but the interest rate of 2.5 is also not normal,” she says, referring to historic highs of the early 1980s and the low point of 2020. “Both of those were very unusual time periods for interest rates.”

How high rates might affect buyers’ plans

Higher interest rates have got home buyers scrambling to keep their budgets in line with costs. But buyers should also consider the wider effects that rates have on the housing market and how these could play out.

Cohn contends that those who can afford to buy now, despite high interest rates, are likely better off going ahead with a purchase, as home prices continue to rise. “Are you better off buying in the higher-rate environment today and paying hundreds of dollars more a month in a mortgage payment so that you can refinance in a year when rates are down instead of having to pay 5% more on the purchase price of that home in a year?” she asks. This argument assumes interest rates will drop, but it’s also worth noting that while today’s buyer waits for rates to fall, they’re building equity.

Lautz also leans toward acting now if you can, but for different reasons. With housing inventory limited, a drop in interest rates could bring currently priced-out buyers off the sidelines, driving up home prices. “I do think there is pent-up demand,” Lautz explains, “and so they may be facing a multiple-offer situation.” In other words, lower rates could lead to the return of bidding wars.

What home buyers can do now

If you’re in the position to buy a home despite today’s mortgage rates, there are a few steps you can take to buffer the effects of high rates.

Get all the help you can: If you’re a first-time home buyer, look into state and local programs that provide down payment and closing cost assistance. These can be no- or low-interest loans or even outright grants. You may not even have to be a true first-timer: Many programs consider you a first-time home buyer if you haven’t had an ownership interest in a home in at least three years.

Consider a variety of home types: Rather than a detached, single-family home, a condo or townhouse might better suit your budget. New construction is worth a look, as newly built homes are nearly one-third of the current market. Home builders with robust inventories are often able to provide incentives that make new homes more affordable.

Be interest-rate-aware: When you’re researching sample interest rates at various lenders, read the fine print. With rates so high, many lenders are including discount points — prepaid mortgage interest — to make their sample rates appear lower. Buying points can be a good strategy, but there’s an upfront cost, so you want to know if they’re included when trying to decide which lender has the best rates for you.

The article As Mortgage Rates Top 8%, What Home Buyers Should Know originally appeared on NerdWallet.

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers announced Monday that it reached a tentative deal with General Motors, capping a whirlwind few days in which GM, Ford and Stellantis agreed to generous terms that would end the union’s six weeks of targeted strikes, pending approval of the rank and file.

The deal UAW President Shawn Fain closed on his 55th birthday is modeled on the ones agreed to with crosstown rivals Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis, and would give workers higher raises than they’ve received in years. If approved, it would also claw back some concessions the UAW agreed to almost two decades ago, when the automakers were in desperate financial shape.

Analysts say Fain’s combative stance with the companies paid off for the workers, winning them pay and cost-of-living raises that would top 30% by the time the contracts expire in April 2028. Workers would get an immediate 11% pay bump upon ratification.

But analysts say the deals run the risk of forcing the automakers to raise prices beyond those charged by competitors with nonunion factories. And they come at a time when the auto industry is trying to fund a costly and historic shift away from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles.

“The three tentative agreements show the UAW’s power and the car companies’ weakness,” said Erik Gordon, a business and law professor at the University of Michigan. “The companies are trying to figure out how to transition to EVs without losing too many billions of dollars, and now face a huge bump in labor costs for the products that will finance the EV transition.”

Fain, the first UAW president directly elected by members in the union’s 88-year history, campaigned against the union establishment by telling workers the companies are the enemy and the UAW would be at war with them. He decried what he called corporate greed, outrageous CEO salaries and a system where the union acted as a business partner with the automakers.

“We wholeheartedly believe that our strike squeezed every last dime out of General Motors,” Fain said in a video Monday on X, formerly Twitter.

Fain said the agreements are large enough for the UAW to use them to recruit new members at nonunion factories owned by Tesla, Toyota and others.

“One of our biggest goals coming out of this historic contract victory is to organize like we’ve never organized before,” Fain said Sunday night while announcing details of the contract with Ford. “When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won’t be just with the Big Three.”

The GM pact came after the UAW added another plant to the list of those on strike against the company, ramping up the pressure to bargain on the last Detroit holdout. About 4,000 workers at GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, complex — the company’s largest — walked out Saturday night, threatening production of four vehicles and parts that supply nine other factories as far afield as Mexico.

Seeking to bring the talks to an end and facing an estimated $200 million per week in losses, GM CEO Mary Barra went to the union’s Detroit headquarters to finalize the deal.

It came during a furious few days of agreements that still need to be ratified by 146,000 UAW members at all three companies. Ford agreed to a new contract last week and was followed by Stellantis on Saturday, which raised the pressure on GM to settle for essentially the same terms.

Union members could still vote down the deals, and there is some sentiment for holding out to get more. But the contracts seem likely to bring labor peace to the domestic auto industry.

Fain, though, didn’t get everything he wanted. He started off seeking 40% raises and even asked for a 32-hour work week for 40 hours of pay.

Mike Huerta, president of a striking UAW local in Lansing, Michigan, was hesitant to celebrate the deal before seeing more information, saying “the devil’s in the details.”

“Our bargainers did their job. They’re going to present us with something and then we get to tell them it was good enough or it wasn’t,” said Huerta.

Huerta said Monday that it’s been a tough few nights on the picket lines with dropping temperatures and rain. “We were ready to continue if we needed to,” he said. “And if we do turn it down, we’ll be ready to go back again.”

Shammira Marshall, a forklift driver at GM’s parts warehouse in Van Buren Township, near Detroit, said the holidays will be a bit nicer this year thanks to the tentative deal.

“Christmas, Thanksgiving, the New Year — that’ll help,” she said of her expected raise.

President Joe Biden praised the deals to end strikes that had threatened the country’s economic growth. He joined striking workers on a picket line last month and spoke to Fain on Monday to offer congratulations. The deals, he said, marked a victory for collective bargaining: “These agreements ensure the iconic Big Three can still lead the world in quality and innovation.”

Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, said the contracts will cost the automakers billions and force them to cut costs elsewhere or raise prices. Ford said earlier that its deal with the union would raise labor costs by $850 to $900 per vehicle.

Yet with serious competition from nonunion automakers, GM, Ford and Stellantis could have trouble raising prices, Masters said.

A study this month by Moody’s Investors Service found that annual labor costs could rise by $1.1 billion for Stellantis, $1.2 billion for GM and $1.4 billion for Ford in the final year of the contract. The study assumed a 20% increase in hourly labor costs.

Wells Fargo Analyst Colin Langan estimated that the contracts would drive up the companies’ hourly total labor costs by about 30%, to $76.08 at Ford, $78.15 at GM and $75.63 at Stellantis. Analysts have said that foreign automakers with U.S. factories generally have hourly labor costs of $45 to $60, which includes what they spend on worker benefits.

With increased costs and geopolitical uncertainty, Detroit automakers face an increasingly difficult future, Masters said.

EVs may not be as profitable as combustion engine vehicles for quite a long time, making it harder for the companies to fund the transition, Masters said. “We could very well look at a situation four or five years from now in which these companies are not profitable, and they haven’t been able to make this transition as they had hoped.”

But Barra, whose company already has started to cut other costs, said Monday that the deal works for GM and “reflects the contributions of the team while enabling us to continue to invest in our future and provide good jobs in the U.S.,”

The union contends that the companies are making billions of dollars in profits and can afford to pay workers to make up for previous concessions. It says labor expenses are only 4% to 5% of a vehicle’s costs. With Stellantis yet to report third-quarter numbers, the three companies combined have posted net income in 2023 of about $24.5 billion through September.

At GM, workers would get cost-of-living pay that would bring raises to a compounded 33%, with top assembly plant workers making more than $42 per hour. Top-scale workers there now make around $32 per hour.

Starting wages for new GM hires would rise by 70% including cost-of-living adjustments, to more than $30 per hour.

Some wage tiers were eliminated, and it would take just three years for new workers to get to the top of the assembly pay scale, the union said.

The UAW began targeted strikes against all three automakers on Sept. 15 after its contracts with the companies expired. At the peak, about 46,000 UAW workers were on strike — about one-third of the union’s 146,000 members at all three companies.

____

Associated Press writers Frank Bajak in Boston, David Koenig in Dallas, Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, Zeke Miller in Washington, D.C., and Mike Householder in Van Buren Township, Michigan, contributed.

People who drive to work day in and day out have likely grown weary of hearing about the growth (and then partial reversal) of working from home. The rising costs of their commute no doubt add insult to injury.

The share of people working from home increased dramatically in 2020 and remains higher now than before the pandemic. But the overwhelming majority of U.S. employees — 77% of them — still commute. That’s 124 million workers on the road in 2022, according to recently released American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

In-person workers are less likely to be high earners. Jobs in lower-earning service and manufacturing industries can’t be done remotely like those in many tech and professional fields. Lower relative wages make increased commuting costs tough to handle.

Chipping away at your commuter expenses can feel a little like doing dishes or laundry — there will always be more. But there are a few relatively low-effort ways to ensure you’re not paying more than you need to be.

Shop around for car insurance

Auto insurance rates have skyrocketed over the past few years, but only about one-fourth of Americans shop for auto insurance on a regular basis, according to a March 2023 NerdWallet survey. Reevaluate your policy from time to time: Ask your current insurer about discounts you might be missing, and compare rates between insurers to ensure you’re not overpaying. Also, right-size your coverage to fit your needs. While you don’t want too little coverage, which risks a significant loss in the event of an accident, you likely don’t need a pricey policy if your car is paid off and on its last legs.

Fill up on gas discounts and rewards

Electric vehicle use is on the rise, but the overwhelming majority of drivers are fueling up at the pump. Because gas accounts for about half of vehicle ownership costs, according to NerdWallet’s analysis, consider using an app to ensure you’re frequenting the stations with the lowest prices. If you’re loyal to one gas station or grocery store/gas station combo, look into their loyalty programs. Exxon Mobil, for example, offers points for purchasing gas and in-store items, and the points can be redeemed for gas savings.

Use credit card reward categories

Rewards credit cards can provide cash back or points for your gasoline. Some offer bonus categories on a quarterly basis, where you can get as much as 5% cash back for fuel purchases. Others allow you, the cardholder, to choose the reward category so you can customize your own gas rewards card.

Carpool

Splitting the costs of the drive can have a dramatic impact. If you’re unsure what to charge, divide the amount you spend on gas per workweek by the number of passengers, and add a bit. After all, gas is just one of the costs of your commute. Sharing your vehicle with a friend or coworker is a tough sell for some folks, particularly those of us who use our drive time to catch up on podcasts or singing lessons. But 9% of U.S. workers carpooled in 2022, according to census data, so perhaps it’s a matter of finding the right passenger — one who can harmonize.

Jeffries, who left Abercrombie in 2014, converted the chain from an struggling retailer of hunting apparel to a seller of must-have teen clothing. But he faced criticism for the company’s sexualized marketing, including billboards and beefy models that alienated potential customers who didn’t fit into its image.

The lawsuit comes after a BBC report earlier this month raised similar allegations against Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith.

The lawsuit, filed by David Bradberry in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges Jeffries had modeling scouts scouring the internet and elsewhere to identify attractive young men seeking to be the next face of Abercrombie. Often these prospective models became sex-trafficking victims, sent to New York and abroad and abused by Jeffries and other men, all under the guise that they were being recruited to become the next Abercrombie model, the lawsuit contends.

“Jeffries was so important to the profitability of the brand that he was given complete autonomy to perform his role as CEO however he saw fit, including through the use of blatant international sex-trafficking and abuse of prospective Abercrombie models,” the suit alleges.

The lawsuit names Jeffries, Smith, and the Jeffries Family Office LLC. It seeks class-action status and estimates that over a hundred young models, in addition to Bradberry, were victims.

A&F, based in New Albany, Ohio, declined to comment Friday. Earlier this month, the retailer said that it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the issues raised by the BBC. It said the company’s current leaders and board of directors were not aware of the allegations of Jeffries’ sexual misconduct.

Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said in a statement that Jeffries “will not comment in the press on this new lawsuit, as he has likewise chosen not to regarding litigation in the past. ”

“The courtroom is where we will deal with this matter,” Bieber added.

Fans flocked to movie theaters across the country to see the scary video game adaptation on the big screen, which made $78 million to top the North American box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal Pictures bet on a day-and-date release on the weekend before Halloween, sending it to 3,675 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, while also making it available for Peacock subscribers, the subscription streaming service owned by NBCUniversal. The movie also opened in 64 markets internationally, where it’s expected to gross $52.6 million, giving the film a $130.6 million global launch – the biggest of any horror released this year.

“It was an extraordinary debut,” said Jim Orr, the president of domestic distribution for Universal, who praised Blumhouse, the filmmakers and the studio’s marketing department for the targeted campaign.

“Our marketing department continues to be one of the great superpowers we have at Universal,” he said.

Blumhouse, the company behind “Paranormal Activity,” “Get Out” and recent horror hits like “M3GAN” and “The Black Phone,” produced “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” which was directed by Emma Tammi and stars Josh Hutcherson, Mary Stuart Masterson and Matthew Lillard. The popular video game series, in which a security guard has to fend off murderous animatronic characters at a run down family pizza restaurant, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, was created by Scott Cawthon and first released in 2014.

While the game’s fanbase was strong, and passionate, the movie took many years to make.

Producer Jason Blum said in an interview with IGN earlier this year that he was made fun of for pursuing an adaptation.

“Everyone said we could never get the movie done, including, by the way, internally in my company,” Blum said. They made the film with a reported $20 million production budget.

And it paid off: “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is his company’s biggest opening of all time, surpassing “Halloween’s” domestic and global debut. It’s also Blumhouse’s 19th No. 1 debut, which Orr noted is an “amazing accomplishment.”

The opening weekend audience was predominately male (58%) and overwhelmingly young, with an estimated 80% under the age of 25 and 38% between the ages of 13 and 17.While the numbers aren’t surprising for anyone who knows the game’s audience, it is still notable for a generation not known for making theatrical moviegoing a priority.

“It’s great to get that kind of audience in theaters,” Orr said.

Audiences gave the film an A- CinemaScore, which could be promising for future weekends too.

“It’s a very young demographic,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “It won’t be lost on any of the other studios or video game manufacturers. This door has been kicked wide open.”

It’s also notable that so many chose theaters even though it was also available to watch at home.

“In some cases streaming can be additive and complimentary to theatrical,” Dergarabedian said.

“Clearly audiences wanted that communal experience.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” did not score well with critics, however. It currently has a dismal 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. AP’s Mark Kennedy wrote that it “has to go down as one of the poorest films in any genre this year.” But like many other horror movies, it appears to be critic-proof.

In second place, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is expected to cross $200 million in global grosses by the end of Sunday, having added $14.7 million domestically and $6.7 million internationally this weekend. The concert film, distributed by AMC Theatres, is in its third weekend in theaters where it is only playing from Thursday through Sunday, though there will be “special Halloween showtimes” on Tuesday at a discounted price of $13.13.

Third place went to Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which added $9 million in its second weekend, bringing its total domestic earnings to $40.7 million, according to Paramount. With an additional $14.1 million from international showings, the film’s global total now stands at over $88 million.

Angel Studios’ “After Death,” a Christian documentary film about people who have had near death experiences, opened in fourth place to $5.1 million from 2,645 locations.

And “The Exorcist: Believer” rounded out the top five with $3.1 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic earnings to just shy of $60 million.

Several of the fall’s high-profile films also launched in very limited release this weekend, including Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” and Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla.” Both opened exclusively in New York and Los Angeles and will expand in the coming weeks.

Focus Features’ “The Holdovers,” starring Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly ancient history teacher at a New England prep school, debuted in six theaters where it earned an estimated $200,000.

Coppola’s “Priscilla,” about Priscilla Presley’s life with Elvis, also opened on four screens in New York and Los Angeles, where it averaged $33,035 per screen. With a cumulative gross of $132,139, the A24 release starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi expands nationwide next weekend.

“It was an eclectic and exciting weekend for moviegoers,” Dergarabedian said. “If you couldn’t find a film to your liking, you’re not looking hard enough.”

The recalled pressure cookers, sold under the brand Insignia, have incorrect volume markings on their inner pots that can cause consumers to overfill them. As a result, hot food and liquids can be ejected from the device when it’s vented or opened, according to a notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The 930,000 Insignia Multi-Function Pressure Cookers and inner pots — which were sold separately as replacements — under recall were sold at Best Buy stores nationwide, as well as online on Best Buy’s website and Amazon from October 2017 through June of this year.

Biden gets behind office conversions

The Biden administration is launching a multi-agency effort to encourage states and cities to convert more empty office buildings into housing units, with billions of federal dollars available to help spur such transitions.

The new initiative involves the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation, along with the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget in a multi-pronged effort to address both the national shortage of affordable housing and the post-pandemic surplus of vacant office buildings.

“This presents an area of opportunity to both increase housing supply while revitalizing main streets. It’s a win-win,” said Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council. “We’re utilizing resources from across the government.”

Boston Mayor Michell Wu has already launched a downtown office space conversion program in the city. That program has just started taking applications.

The escalated walkout began Saturday evening at a Spring Hill, Tennessee plant, GM’s largest in North America, just hours after the Stellantic deal was reached. Its nearly 4,000 workers join about 18,000 already striking at GM factories in Texas, Michigan and Missouri and Tennessee.

The UAW did not immediately explain what prompted the new action after 44 days of targeted strikes. The added pressure on GM is substantial as Spring Hill makes engines for other plants in addition to big-ticket vehicles including the electric Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Acadia and Cadillac crossover SUVs.

“The Spring Hill walkout affects so much of GM’s production that the company is likely to settle quickly or close down most production,” said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor. The union wants to wrap negotiations with all three automakers so “Ford and Stellantis workers don’t vote down (their) tentative agreements because they want to see what GM workers get.”

The Stellantis deal mirrors one reached last week with Ford, and saves jobs at a factory in Belvidere, Illinois, that Stellantis had planned to close, the UAW said.

GM said it was disappointed with the additional strike at the Spring Hill plant, which has 11 million square feet of building space, “in light of the progress we have made.” It said in a statement that it has bargained in good faith and wants a deal as soon as possible.

In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain lamented what he called “GM’s unnecessary and irresponsible refusal to come to a fair agreement.”

“Everybody’s really fired up and excited,” Spring Hill assembly line worker Larry Montgomery said by phone on Sunday. He said workers were taken by surprise by the strike call. “We thought it was going to happen earlier.”

UAW Local 1853 President John Rutherford in Spring Hill didn’t immediately return a telephone message.

Fain said in a video appearance Saturday night that 43,000 members at Stellantis would have to vote on the deal — just as Ford workers must. About 14,000 UAW workers had been on strike at two Stellantis assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio, and several parts distribution centers across the country. The company makes Jeep and Ram vehicles.

The pact includes 25% in general wage increases over the next 4 1/2 years for top assembly plant workers, with 11% coming once the deal is ratified. Workers also will get cost-of-living pay that would bring the raises to a compounded 33%, with top assembly plant workers making more than $42 per hour. At Stellantis, top-scale workers now make around $31 per hour.

Like the Ford contract, the Stellantis deal would run through April 30, 2028.

Under the deal, the union said it saved jobs in Belvidere as well at an engine plant in Trenton, Michigan, and a machining factory in Toledo, Ohio.

“We have reopened an assembly plant that was closed,” Fain said. The deal includes a commitment by Stellantis to build a new midsize combustion-engine truck at the Belvidere factory that was slated to be closed. About 1,200 workers will be hired back, plus another 1,000 workers will be added for a new electric vehicle battery plant, the union said.

Vice President Rich Boyer, who led the Stellantis talks, said the workforce will be doubled at the Toledo, Ohio, machining plant. The union, he said, won $19 billion worth of investment across the U.S.

Fain said Stellantis had proposed cutting 5,000 U.S. jobs, but the union’s strike changed that to adding 5,000 jobs by the end of the contract.

Gordon, the University of Michigan professor, said the Stellantis deal “shows that the car companies feel they are at the mercy of the UAW, that the UAW is not going to give any mercy, and that companies will be co-governed by their boards and the UAW.”

He said competing companies with non-unionized workforces, which include Toyota and Tesla,  “couldn’t have gotten a better year-end gift.”

Under the Stellantis contract, a top-scale assembly plant worker’s base wage will exceed all increases in the past 22 years. Starting wages for new hires will rise 67% including cost-of-living adjustments to over $30 per hour, it said in a statement. Temporary workers will get raises of more than 165%, while workers at parts centers will get an immediate 76% increase if the contract is ratified.

Like the Ford agreement, it will take just three years for new workers to get to the top of the assembly pay scale, the union said.

The union also won the right to strike over plant closures at Stellantis, and can strike if the company doesn’t meet product and investment commitments, Fain said.

Bruce Baumhower, president of the local union at a large Stellantis Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio, that has been on strike since September, said he expects workers will vote to approve the deal because of the pay raises above 30% and a large 11% raise immediately. “It’s a historic agreement as far as I’m concerned.”

Some union members had complained that Fain promised 40% raises to match what he said was given to company CEOs, but Baumhower said that was merely an opening bid.

“Ultimately, the numbers they did come to agree with is what the UAW wanted,” said Jermaine Antwine, a 48-year-old Stellantis worker who had been picketing the automaker’s Sterling Heights, Michigan, plant Saturday. A team leader in materials at the plant, the Pontiac, Michigan man has has 24 years with the automaker.

Negotiations between the UAW and Stellantis had intensified Thursday, the day after the Ford deal was announced.

The union began targeted strikes against all three automakers on Sept. 15 after its contracts with the companies expired. At the peak, about 46,000 workers were on strike against all three companies,about one-third of the union’s 146,000 members at the Detroit three.

With the Ford deal, which set a template for the other two companies, workers with pensions will see small increases when they retire, and those hired after 2007 with 401(k) plans will get large increases.

Other union leaders who followed aggressive bargaining strategies in recent months have also secured pay hikes and other benefits for their members. Last month, the union representing Hollywood writers called off a nearly five-month strike after scoring some wins in compensation, length of employment and other areas.

Massachusetts had the steepest fall from last year in the nation, dropping 12 spots to 46th for overall taxation in the 2023 State Business Tax Climate Index, a ranking published by the Tax Foundation that compares state tax systems.

“That means we are overtaxing our employers and our residents, both,” said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. “To be in the bottom five states, it’s not a good sign to either our tax-paying families or to employers, current or prospective. We’ve got to work on this.”

A driver behind the nosedive in tax competitiveness, the Tax Foundation found, is the state’s new Fair Share Amendment – or Millionaire’s Tax – which taxes incomes over $1 million an extra 4%.

“While the $1 million threshold at which the surtax kicks in is indexed to inflation, the surtax imposes a sizable marriage penalty that the Commonwealth lacked previously,” authors wrote in the report which came out last week. “This policy change represents a stark contrast from the recent reforms to reduce rates while consolidating brackets in many other states.”

The crumbling tax system should not be a surprise, said Paul Craney, a spokesman for Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a staunch opponent of the Millionaire’s Tax. He called out proponents who pledged that the surtax would strictly apply to individuals with an income of over $1 million.

“With a flip of a switch, the legislature lowered that threshold to $500,000 for married people and the Tax Foundation is predicting a clear negative outcome from this,” Craney said in a statement.

Hurst, whose organization represents 4,000 businesses in the state, told the Herald on Friday that people and businesses alike are continuing to leave Massachusetts due to taxation.

Massachusetts is the fourth worst state in the country when it comes to out-migration, behind only California, New York and Illinois, according to data gathered earlier this year by Pioneer Institute, an economic policy think tank.

The Millionaire’s Tax has exacerbated the years-long problem, and former Celtics player Grant Williams used it as motivation to sign a four-year, $54-million contract with the Dallas Mavericks over the summer. If he stayed in Boston, the surtax would’ve reduced that amount to $48 million over the four years, he told The Athletic.

The Tax Foundation also called out a payroll tax that went into effect this year in Massachusetts’ poor ranking. The organization also found that the state dropped 33 spots from the 11th best state for individual taxes to the sixth worst.

Two glaring challenges facing small businesses across the Bay State, Hurst said, are its high unemployment and health insurance costs, both of which are the worst in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation.

Hurst is calling on state lawmakers to create more flexibility for small businesses on health insurance instead of imposing mandates and restrictions so they can be competitive with “big, self-insured businesses.”

Gov. Maura Healey signed a $1 billion-a-year tax relief bill earlier this month that Hurst believes will only go so far.

The package cuts the short-term capital gains tax from 12% to 8.5%, a business-backed move that has riled progressives who argue it gives a break to the wealthy. The compromise will cost the state $561 million in fiscal year 2023 and $1 billion a year starting in fiscal year 2027.

It also includes boosts to the rental deduction cap, a tax credit for a dependent child, disabled adult, or senior, and the statewide cap for a housing production program. The bill excludes estates valued up to $2 million from the estate tax by allowing for a uniform credit of $99,600.

“It’s going to help,” Hurst said, “but frankly, I think it’s a down payment on more action that has to come to make Massachusetts welcoming to investment, welcoming to entrepreneurs and to make sure that small businesses and consumers alike can be prosperous in the Commonwealth.”

A. When I worked in recruiting, I made a lot of valuable connections with candidates. Some weren’t a fit and were clearly unprepared; others were savvy and prepared ahead of time. Since so much of job searching occurs online, you may find an advantage with less people there than you anticipate. Yes, I recommend going. Sport an interview suit or professional attire and hard copies of your resume.

Research the companies that will be in attendance and look at their sites to see if there are interesting job openings. Have an elevator pitch prepared — you need to be succinct and articulate when meeting employers. Lastly, enjoy it! If you’re nervous or fidgety, that will come across. Be confident, relaxed and look at this as an opportunity to connect — if there aren’t job openings available now, then for the future.

Q. My boss is going to put me on a performance improvement plan. It sounds like she has her mind made up that I’m on the way out and this is one way to “document” everything before giving me the boot. But, it’s all made up! It’s not legit. My performance has been amazing — they made it sound in this document like I’m a slacker. I like the company and my job. Is it worth fighting and if so, how?

A. Sorry to hear this, but that’s great you like your job and the company. The question is though: do you really want to stay somewhere that’s doing this to you? That’s just some food for thought.

Back to your question: you may want to speak to an employment attorney. Ask if you can object to it if it’s not accurate nor factual and how to go about doing it such as looping in HR and putting everything in HR, but again — legal counsel will be able to hopefully help you. Before doing anything, including signing the PIP, I would speak to an attorney to guide you, how to push back, read the paperwork, hear your side of the story and specifically guide you for next steps.

Vicki Salemi is a career expert, former corporate recruiter, author, consultant, speaker, and career coach. Send your questions to hello@vickisalemi.com. For more information and to subscribe to Vicki’s newsletter, visit www.vickisalemi.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @vickisalemi.

Tribune News Service

Tucked away in a quiet enclave just off Brattle Street, this chic residence is cocooned by a lush paradise. The meticulously landscaped grounds feature rich green lawns, majestic trees, a state-of-the-art outdoor kitchen, a spacious deck, and an inviting patio. All of this is wrapped in privacy, secured by the latest app-controlled security systems.

Spanning approximately 7,500 square feet spread across three magnificent floors, this home offers an abundance of spaces designed for living, entertaining, creating, and unwinding. At the heart of the home, a stunning sculptural staircase, a marvel of design, anchors the living space.

Influences of contemporary design from around the world are evident throughout the home, drawing inspiration from Japanese, Scandinavian, Italian, and French styles. The ultimate chef’s kitchen, a culinary marvel, showcases custom Italian walnut cabinets, Calacatta Gold marble countertops, a substantial island, two sinks, two dishwashers, and a Gaggenau 400 Series double oven and a 78” Gaggenau 400 Series cooktop configuration.

Upstairs, a lavish primary suite awaits with spacious custom closets by Scavolini of Italy and a spa-like en-suite bath boasting a soaking tub and a curbless open shower. Additionally, there are more bedrooms with artisan bathrooms, a custom glass-enclosed office, and a family room with a striking floating gas fireplace.

Elegantly designed living and lounging spaces are thoughtfully distributed throughout the first floor and lower level, providing intimate areas for both guests and family members. The lower level is a haven of entertainment, featuring an exquisite wet bar, a home cinema, a gym, and a guest suite..

An added convenience is the two-car garage with a heated driveway.

The sale of the property, on the market for $18,500,000, is represented by Ed Feijo with Gail Roberts, Ed Feijo & Team at Coldwell Banker Realty – Cambridge, 617-780-4354.

The top executive of the nation’s largest bank will sell 1 million shares starting next year, according to a regulatory filing this week.

JPMorgan sought to reassure investors that the stock sale is not a matter of concern.

“Mr. Dimon continues to believe the company’s prospects are very strong and his stake in the company will remain very significant,” the filing said.

Dimon and his family currently hold about 8.6 million shares of the bank.

Wall Street falls

Stocks stumbled on Wall Street, bringing the S&P 500 10% below the peak it reached in July and putting the benchmark index into what’s called a “correction.”

The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, or 19.86 points, to close at 4,117.37 Friday and is now 10.3% below its July 31 high of 4,588.96. That marks its 10th loss in the last 12 days.

Stocks have fallen the past three months as investors face the reality of higher interest rates, with Federal Reserve officials talking about keeping rates “higher for longer” and the yield on the 10-year Treasury reaching levels not seen since 2007. Analysts say investors are also concerned near-term about an escalation of tensions in the Middle East and the strength of company earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 366.71 points, or 1.1%, to 32,417.59. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks slipped 20.07 points, or 1.2% to 1,636.94, its lowest level in about four years.

As someone who cares about my environmental impact and spending as little money as possible, life is full of fraught decisions.

Should I buy organic milk even though it’s twice as expensive? Or choose an electric car for $40,000 rather than a friend’s run-down Corolla for $3,000?

Should I make eye contact with the person on the street raising money to fight climate change or awkwardly pretend to be on a phone call?

The point is that my aversion to spending money often means I’m cutting corners environmentally. Yet when it comes to air travel, these preferences aren’t in conflict. In fact, reducing one’s travel carbon footprint can actually mean spending less on airfare.

The only downside: It means flying with airlines that pack you in (and treat you) like sardines.

The high cost of legroom

Flying burns a lot of fossil fuels — there’s no way around that fact. If the entire commercial aviation industry were a country, it would rank sixth (between Japan and Germany) in total emissions, according to an October 2019 report from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

But not all means of traveling by air have the same impact. More expensive seats, such as premium economy, business class and first class, burn more fuel per passenger than the sardine-like conditions at the back of the plane.

How much more? A lot.

Flying in first class on a widebody jet creates a carbon footprint nine times larger than flying in economy, according to a report from the World Bank’s Environment and Energy Team, Development Research Group.

That’s the first bit of good news for cheap, environmentally conscious travelers like me. You can save money and shrink your carbon footprint at the same time by choosing economy fares.

And that’s not all. Because not only does what cabin you fly in matter, but so does the plane’s layout.

Enter budget airlines

Imagine two types of bus: One that carries 50 passengers and one that carries 25. Assuming the fuel consumption is roughly similar for both, which bus would be more efficient in terms of gas burned per passenger mile?

Obviously, the more packed bus is more efficient.

Yet we often overlook the parallel with air travel. Some Boeing 737s, operated by low-cost airlines, carry far more passengers than the same 737s operated by airlines with first- and business–class seats, simply because they lack a first-class cabin.

That’s why budget airlines Frontier and Spirit ranked best regarding carbon dioxide emissions per seat mile (in grams) in a 2022 analysis by IBA, an aviation consulting firm.

In fact, the report specifically cites the high density (i.e., sardine-like) seating of Frontier’s aircraft as a major reason why the airline ranked so well.

Another reason budget airlines are dark-horse climate winners: They offer several nonstop flights.

For example, the new low-cost airline Zipair offers four routes from the U.S. directly to Tokyo. Flying direct in this way reduces emissions simply because it covers less distance and burns less fuel.

Flying direct often means paying more, but these low-cost airlines have turned that logic upside down. That means you can spend less, emit less and spend less time in the air.

So what’s the catch?

No such thing as a free soda

Low-cost airlines might be more environmentally friendly on the whole, and their fares can be cheaper on the surface, but actually saving money with them can be challenging. That’s because they generate much of their revenue through add-on fees on top of the base fare.

Expect to pay for everything from a can of soda to the opportunity to select your own seat. In fact, the cost of a flight with an airline like Spirit can quickly balloon past the cost of the same flight with a traditional carrier if you’re not careful.

That’s where stoicism comes in. Yeah, you’re paying and emitting less, but only because you’re giving up on “frills” like legroom and free drinks. That might be fine for a two-hour flight, but it will test even the steeliest nerves for a trans-Pacific one.

The trick is to pay for only the frills you actually care about. Budget airlines will try to push countless add-ons during checkout, from bundles to trip cancellation protection.

Some of these might be important to you, others less so. Being ruthless in turning down the latter is the only way to keep these costs low, and keep budget airline travel something you will want to continue doing in the future.

I like to treat this add-on fee system like a game that I’m winning by refusing to bite on needless add-ons. The fact that I’m reducing my carbon footprint while saving money is just the cherry on top.

The article Ask a Travel Nerd: Environmentally Friendly Air Travel for Cheap Stoics originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Prospective homebuyers across the U.S. are feeling the squeeze amid high home prices and steep mortgage rates. Up against these challenging conditions, many homeowners are disinclined to sell, further restricting the already-short supply of homes on the market.

“The unintended consequence of the so-called lock-in effect has limited the supply of homes for sale, because most owners have relatively low mortgage rates and don’t want to move,” explains Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst.

As a result, today’s housing market looks different than it has in past years. “Buyers and sellers both typically take a step back in the fall, but mortgage rates now near 8% are cooling the market faster than normal,” says Jeff Tucker, a senior economist at Zillow. “A lack of competition from other buyers is offering opportunities to those still in the market, as many listings are lingering after the summer shopping season.” Read on to learn all about the current state of the U.S. housing market.

Key factors driving the U.S. housing market

—Home prices are sky-high. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the country’s median existing-home price topped $400,000 three times this year — in June, July and August — coming within just a few thousand dollars of its highest median ever on record ($413,800, in June 2022). September was the year’s third consecutive month of year-over-year median home price increases.

—Housing inventory is too low to meet demand, resulting in a nationwide housing shortage that has been tough to dent. September saw just a 3.4-month supply of homes for sale, per NAR data, which is well short of the 5 or 6 months required for a healthy, more balanced market.

—The pace of new construction has not yet been able to meaningfully ease the shortage. Both new building permits and housing starts, a metric that measures the beginning of construction on a new residential home, saw year-over-year declines of more than 7% in September, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

—Mortgage interest rates continued climbing, topping 8% in mid-October for the first time in 23 years. Just two years ago, in October 2021, rates were below 3.5%. This challenge alone puts buying a home out of reach for many Americans for the time being.

Local markets have their own dynamics

Local market conditions can vary widely by region, state or even individual city. The disparities mean that your money can go much further in some markets than in others.

The unique Florida housing market is a perfect example. The Sunshine State led the country in net migration last year, according to a study by NAR — meaning it topped all other states in terms of new residents moving there — despite being in the throes of a home-insurance crisis that has made some properties uninsurable. Perhaps that’s why its home prices remain right on par with the national median, even with outsize buyer demand.

On the other hand, median home prices in notoriously expensive San Francisco remain far above $1 million ($1.33 million as of September 2023), according to Redfin data. This despite a 5.4% year-over-year drop and the state of California actually losing residents last year, rather than gaining them.

In Austin, Texas, meanwhile, prices have been on a roller coaster influenced by a boom of tech companies and remote workers. According to Redfin, the median home price started 2021 at $465,000, then skyrocketed to a high of $670,000 by mid-2022 before dropping back down to $525,000 and then jumping past $600,000 again in 2023. Even with these fluctuations, Austin was named the best place in the country to start your career in a recent Bankrate study.

Navigating the current housing market

Thinking of buying or selling a home soon? Your experience will vary based on a wide variety of factors, including mortgage rates and home prices, both of which are at historically high levels.

While experts predict that the market will cool down eventually, they’re confident that there will not be a housing market crash akin to the Great Recession in the early 2000s. Inventory is still too low, and demand too high, for a crash — plus, mortgage lending standards today are much stricter than they were back then.

On the whole, sellers still have the upper hand — but as illustrated above, that could range wildly from one geographic location to another. “Depending on the market, location and price point, sellers could find either multiple offers or the need to be flexible on price,” says Hamrick.

And buyers who are willing to brave the market should stay on their toes. “Buyers should be aware that attractive listings still sell quickly,” says Tucker.

Should I buy a house now or wait?

Is now a good time to buy a house? Whether to buy now or wait is a big decision that depends a lot on your personal circumstances. Yes, mortgage rates are currently high, but days-on-market figures are up too, giving you more time to make an informed decision. And there’s no guarantee things will improve if you hold off.

If you’re ready to buy, remember that you don’t have to go for your dream home right away. Look for what you can afford now. “Prospective buyers might need to dial down their aspirations for what they’re willing to buy,” says Hamrick. If you have a strong credit score and enough saved up for a down payment, buying now will allow you to start building equity immediately — you can always refinance if rates go down later.

Should I sell a house now or wait?

Low inventory levels mean sellers have the upper hand in most of the U.S. But with mortgage rates and prices remaining elevated, buyers are wary — which makes selling more challenging.

With that in mind, deciding whether now is a good time to sell your house can be tricky. Again, it depends on a number of personal factors. Selling may be a good idea if you’re ready to downsize or retire, or if you need to relocate. But if you need to then buy a new house, the tables will be turned and you’ll be facing the same headwinds buyers currently are. Before you list your home, make sure you have a good understanding of how much it’s worth, so you’ll know what kind of profit you stand to make and if it will be worth it.

Next steps

If you think you’re ready to start your homebuying journey, it’s important to keep saving as much as possible and working on your credit. A bigger down payment can save you thousands in mortgage principal and interest in the long run, and a higher credit score will help you snag a more competitive rate, which will also result in a more affordable monthly payment.

And be sure to team up with an experienced local real estate agent who can help you navigate your local market successfully. A knowledgeable agent can help sellers price and market their home competitively, and help buyers negotiate a good deal on a home that meets their needs — or at least comes as close as possible. Ask friends and family for recommendations and try to interview at least three candidates before settling on the right agent for you.

FAQs

—Are home prices dropping or rising in the U.S.?

They are rising. According to information from the National Association of Realtors, the median home price in the U.S. rose 2.8% between September 2022 and September 2023 and currently stands at just below $400,000. The median sale prices for July, August and September were all record highs for that month.

—Is the U.S. housing market going to crash?

The U.S. housing market has cooled, but experts agree that it will not crash. This is largely due to the fact that there is not enough housing inventory to meet demand — meaning more people want to buy a house than there are houses on the market to buy. Other reasons include strict lending standards and relatively low foreclosure rates.

(Visit Bankrate online at bankrate.com.)

©2023 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Forget the ghouls and ghosts — inflation is spooky enough. And it’s coming for your Halloween candies.

Candy and gum prices rose 7.5% between September 2022 and September 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For context, the broader category of grocery prices increased 3.7% over that time frame.

Why is candy so expensive?

Beyond overall inflation, which rose 3.7% year over year since September 2023, there are a few more reasons why candy is so expensive right now. The cost of raw sugar reached an 11-year high in April, per CNBC, due to the effects of extreme weather on the crop, as well as rising demand.

And a U.S. agricultural policy that requires 85% of sugar purchases to come from domestic processors is further tightening an already strained supply, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Consumers are taking notice. In a survey of 1,000 U.S. households that celebrate Halloween, 41% of respondents said that inflation has impacted how much they plan to spend on Halloween candy this year, according to Advantage Solutions, an e-commerce analytics firm.

Go for this cheap Halloween candy in 2023

Thankfully, there are some candies whose prices actually fell year over year, according to a new report from Pattern, an e-commerce analytics firm. So you can still indulge in some sweet treats without exceeding your budget.

Pattern tracked the price changes of more than 30 types of candy on Amazon every day for one year. First, Pattern data scientists calculated a baseline price for specific candies — such as Twix, Milky Way or Skittles — by taking the average of the 10 most popular versions of those candies.

For example, Milky Way’s 10 most popular products may include a two-pack of candy bars, a 36-pack of candy bars and a bag of Milky Way “Fun Size” minis. Those prices, as well as the prices of the seven other most popular products, would then be averaged. That average would represent the Milky Way baseline price.

Then, Pattern compared that initial baseline cost from October 2022 with each candy’s baseline price one year later.

By measuring how each candy’s baseline price changes over time, a picture emerges of how each candy’s price rose or fell over a given time period — regardless of product.

In the 12 months leading up to Oct. 9, 2023, the analysis found that prices fell on Amazon for these candies:

• Hot Tamales (-44.90%).
• Mounds (-13.23%).
• Heath (-10.24%).
• Rolos (-9.83%).
• Milk Duds (-7.58%).
• Whoppers (-6.9%).
• Reeses (-5.13%).
• Milky Way (-4.28%).
• Nerds (-2.96%).
• Kit Kat (-1.63%).

Those percentages translate to significant real-world savings. Last year, Hot Tamales’ baseline cost on Amazon was $45.69 on Amazon. Today, that figure is 44.9% less, at $25.32, per Pattern. Even Milky Way’s much smaller percentage change of -4.28% means the candy’s average price dropped from $21.70 in 2022 to $19.01 in 2023.

To avoid inflation’s hardest-hit treats, stay away from these candies, whose prices rose the most dramatically over that time period: Airheads (+26.34%), Baby Ruth (+13.51%), candy corn (+13.24%), PayDay (+12.0%) and Tootsie Rolls (+11.36%). Airheads’ average cost was $10.15 in 2022; today, that figure is $15.32.

How to save money on Halloween

With expensive winter holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah just around the corner, here’s how to spend less on Halloween, beyond avoiding the priciest treats.

Avoid buying your favorite candy. Seems counterintuitive, right? But, as Fortera Credit Union notes, you’re more likely to munch on your favorite treats before Halloween, leaving you in a pinch on the big night. Stock up on sweets you won’t be tempted to eat.

Make your own costume. You can also ask friends if they want to trade costumes, recommends Farmers Trust & Savings Bank. If you’re responsible for kids’ costumes, reach out to other families in your social circle and see if any parents would be interested in a costume swap.

Trade home and yard decor with friends and family. For decorations, buy art supplies from a dollar store, per Advisors Management Group, an investment firm in Wisconsin.

The article Candy Prices Are Up. Here’s Why, and How to Save on Halloween originally appeared on NerdWallet.

In fact, penthouse unit 7 — one of only nine top floor residences in the full-service building — has much more to offer. To wit, it’s changing hands for the first time in more than 30 years.

Still, it’s fair to gush about the view, which stretches across the Charles to the Esplanade treeline, the gilded dome of the State House, and Beacon Hill’s picturesque brownstones. With two private outdoor decks, there’s plenty of room to air out and catch a sunset in style. When the temperatures have dipped, the view can be enjoyed from the warmth of the living room via floor-to-ceiling glass sliders.

At just over 1,900 square feet, with a formal dining room, two bedrooms, and a flexible den space, the penthouse is roomy without being cavernous, and offers warm spaces for entertaining. After all, who wouldn’t want to share this view? The galley-style kitchen even has a passthrough to the dining room for easy hosting.

And you know what makes hosting even easier? Five dedicated garage parking spaces.

Open house hours are Sunday, Oct. 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On the market for $2,700,000, the sale of the penthouse is represented by Paul Campano with Keller Williams Realty Boston Northwest, 617-304-3686.

Home Showcase:

Address: 10 Rogers Street PH7, Cambridge, MA 02142

Bedrooms: 2

List Price: $ 2,700,000

Square feet: 1,906

Price per square foot: $1,417

Annual taxes: $12,060 in 2023.

Location: Close to Kendall Square and Charles River Esplanade.

Built in: 1990

The Appraisal:

Pros:

Location

Epic views

Cons:

May want aesthetic updates