The Daily Money: Look out for falling interest rates

2024-12-24 20:55:57 source: category:Finance

Good morning! It’s Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Interest rates are expected to drop for the first time in four years this week, Medora Lee reports, but don’t expect that to be a life-changing event.

When the Federal Reserve concludes its policy meeting Wednesday, almost all economists expect the Fed will lower its benchmark, short-term federal funds rate. However, whether the cut will be a quarter- or a half-percentage point (from its 23-year high of 5.25 to 5.50%) is basically a coin toss.

Either way, consumers shouldn’t expect to see much immediate difference, analysts said.

Medora explains.

Who is the wealthiest woman in the world?

The answer: Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who recently reclaimed her title as the world's richest woman, Anthony Robledo reports.

The daughter of the late Walmart founder Sam Walton returned to the top of the Forbes "World's Wealthiest Woman" list, posted on Sept. 4, with an estimated $89.1 billion fortune.

Walton, 74, briefly lost her top spot to Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, 71, the heiress of French cosmetics company L’Oreal, according to Forbes. Bettencourt Meyers, who held the title last year, is now worth an estimated $88.4 billion.

Here's the full report.

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Higher pay requires higher commitment, and that includes showing up at the office every day, Medora Lee reports.

After looking at more than a half-million jobs posted over the past year, the jobs site Ladders found remote and hybrid jobs paying at least $250,000 annually plummeted by 95% and 60%, respectively.

Return-to-office is a rude awakening for millions of Americans who were forced to go remote or hybrid during the pandemic and discovered the benefits of work-from-home status. Ladders declared in December 2021, “Remote work is here to stay.”

Here's the full report.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.

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