Here’s a quick look at the most significant economic indicators of the day and what they tell us. CoreLogic Home Price Index The average cost to buy a single-family home in the U.S. rose 3.3% in March, the most for any March in the 46 years of data used by CoreLogic’s home price index. (The historical average for March is a 0.6% increase.) Since March 2021, prices have jumped 20....

Homeowners cashed out $49.6 billion in equity from their homes in the first quarter of 2021, more than at any time since 2007, according to data from Freddie Mac. A chart of total home equity taken out by quarter shows the pandemic-era cash-out refinancing fad in full swing as homeowners feasted on delectable mortgage rates. (In a cash-out refinance, homeowners borrow more than they currently owe on their mortgage and take the difference in cash....

Can any country join? Yes, as long as it controls its own trade policies. The country applying for membership is called an Observer. It can remain an observer for five years. That gives it time to learn more about the WTO. An observing country can participate in WTO meetings and receive technical assistance. In return, it must contribute to the WTO. The Six-Step Process A country has to go through a six-step process before becoming a WTO member....

Buyers Can Cancel the Short Sale Contract Quite often, it’s not the seller who cancels the short sale contract. It’s the buyer. On the whole, most short sale listing agents don’t care which buyer gets the home as long as the buyer is qualified and willing to wait through the short sale process. Here are the reasons why a buyer may cancel the short sale contract by withdrawing the offer:...

Compare to Other Loans Standard loans like 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and 5-year auto loans are fully amortizing loans. With those loans, you pay down the loan balance slowly over the entire term of the loan. With each monthly payment, a portion of the payment covers your interest costs, and the remainder goes toward reducing your loan balance. Your interest costs are at their highest in the early years, and most of the loan balance gets paid off in later years....

Sincerely, Brianna Dear Brianna, It’s never easy to think about the death of a loved one, but it’s a reality of life. And the better prepared we are, the better things will be, so it’s great that you want to have these conversations with your mom now before she becomes unable to participate, or worse yet, dies without a plan in place at all. You haven’t indicated that you worry your mother will pass away soon, so I think it would be best if you prepared to be her financial caregiver while she is still alive, but also help do some estate planning to prepare for her death....

Measuring the U.S. Economy The best way to estimate the size of the U.S. economy is with gross domestic product, or GDP. GDP measures everything produced in the United States, regardless of whether it was made by U.S. citizens and companies or by foreigners. Components of GDP There are four components of GDP. Government spending is the second-largest component, driving approximately 18% of GDP. This includes national defense spending, Social Security benefits, and health care....

The short answer is: until you decide to lift it. A credit freeze is one way to protect your credit against potential fraud. If you’re concerned about identity theft, data breaches, or someone getting access to your credit reports without your permission, here’s what you need to know about the timing of credit freezes versus other measures you can take. The Timing of a Credit Freeze A credit freeze, sometimes known as a security freeze, stays in place until you contact the credit bureau that issued the freeze and ask for it to be lifted....

The process involves a lot of steps, all of them necessary to transfer ownership of assets from the deceased and on to a beneficiary (or beneficiaries). The decedent’s taxes and outstanding debts must be paid before this transfer can happen, of course, and that takes time, too. All this occurs under the supervision of the court, and this can further slow things down. The process can stall entirely for days or weeks when complications arise....

Trade According to Your Trading Plan Trade exactly how your trading plan tells you to trade–whether that is how long you hold trades or how often you trade. That simple advice will serve you well once you have a trading plan, but if you’re just starting, and don’t have a plan yet, that advice won’t help you much. The following guidelines will help you formulate a plan for how long you will trade, based on the type of trader you want to be and your natural inclinations....

Unpaid medical bills can affect your credit report, but that doesn’t happen right away. Learn what to do when you receive a medical bill, and how to act if medical debt is lowering your credit score. How Medical Bills Affect Your Credit Report If you ignore a bill that you cannot pay, it will go on your credit report. Medical bills usually aren’t placed on your credit report until they’ve been sent to a collection agency for further payment....

For those who haven’t invested anything before, the sheer number of investment choices is overwhelming. The impulse to delay decisions and keep your money in cash is understandable, but strive to overcome it. Let’s assume you have $10,000 you can set aside. What should you do with that money? Well, it partially depends on how long you plan on letting that money grow. Here are some popular investment options, broken down by the time you should expect to leave the money alone....

courtneyk / Getty Images What Is a Dwelling in Insurance? A dwelling, in the context of homeowners insurance, refers to the structure of your house and any other structure attached to it, such as a garage, chimney, or deck. A dwelling includes permanently installed fixtures such as heating and air conditioning systems, electrical wiring, flooring, countertops, ceilings, cabinets, vanities, and plumbing. What Does Dwelling Insurance Cover? Dwelling insurance covers all parts of the dwelling in case they’re damaged due to a covered peril or cause....

Let’s look at how much equity you need to qualify for a home equity loan, how to calculate your own home equity, and how you can increase your home’s equity. Minimum Equity Requirements for Home Equity Loans Your home equity represents your ownership interest in the home. It’s the home’s appraised value minus the principal balance remaining on the current mortgage. Therefore, if your home is worth $500,000 and your principal balance is $300,000, your home’s equity would be $200,000....

When you contribute to a Roth IRA, you’re contributing money that has already been taxed as income. Then, your money grows tax-free and you pay no tax when you withdraw the money in retirement. Here, you’ll learn how a Roth IRA differs from a traditional IRA and how much money you need to open a Roth IRA account. You’ll also learn how to save for retirement and how to fund a Roth IRA....

Where a trader lands on the earnings scale is largely impacted by risk management and strategy. Once you implement a solid trading strategy, take steps to manage your risk and refine your efforts, you can learn to pursue day-trading profits more effectively. Risk Management Professional day traders—those who do it for a living—typically keep the risk on each trade very small, at usually less than 1% of their trading capital....

Pros And Cons PLR advantages include: Time Savings. Instead of coming up with an idea and creating from scratch, PLR gives you the idea, the outline, and foundation from which to work.Cost efficient. Compared to hiring a writer, videographer, etc, PLR content is very affordable.Flexibility. You can change the content. Not only can you change the content, but you must change it. While you can post PRL content as is, it’s much better to rewrite it....

Weigh the services that your broker provides to agents, as well as the expected number of prospect leads and their quality. If you’re receiving a large number of quality leads, then a smaller commission split percentage will still lead to more income for you. The Traditional Broker/Agent Commission Split The vast majority of real estate agents are compensated by a broker via sharing the gross commission amount that the broker collects....

Authors of the bill say it aims to tackle inflation by lowering costs for families and that it promises to reduce the federal deficit by about $300 billion over the next 10 years. Republicans say it will drive up prices and increase taxes. Here are the major provisions and how they could affect your pocketbook. Rebates and Tax Credits for Households Investing in Clean Energy One of the top priorities in the bill is to fight climate change....

While all employers want their staff to work efficiently and effectively, there are some work environments, such as startups and news organizations, that historically are more fast-paced than others. On the other hand, there are work environments, such as rehab centers, that are traditionally slow-paced. What the Interviewer Wants to Know Your potential employer wants to know what to expect from you in terms of work productivity and how you’ll fit in with the company culture....