Monday, April 6, 2026

American Consumers Turn to Stock Market amid Pandemic Restrictions and Stimulus

Tue, 09 February 2021  |  investing 

Record-high stock valuations—and fewer things to spend on as COVID-19 restrictions enter a second year—are enticing more US consumers to invest discretionary funds in the stock market. In Q4 2020, 20% of consumers surveyed invested in shares of stocks or mutual funds, up from 16% in Q2. By contrast, record-low interest rates have resulted in just 43% of consumers putting money into savings in Q4—down from 49% in Q2.

These findings and more are detailed in US Consumer Dynamics Report: Q4 2020. It is the first in a new quarterly series drawn from The Conference Board® Globa... Read More

Texting Is the Best Way for Businesses to Reach Consumers Quickly

Tue, 09 February 2021  |  communication 

New research shows that one of the permanent changes to come out of COVID-19 is the way consumers and businesses communicate. Zipwhip, the leading business-texting platform in the U.S., surveyed 2,000 consumers and businesses for its 2021 State of Texting report and found that 70% of businesses are texting their customers today.

Business texting has gained traction in the past five years as channels like email have become more crowded, and the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated adoption. Out of all businesses that started texting in 2020, 34% did so as a direct result of... Read More

Pandemic Brings Surge of New Retail Investors

Fri, 05 February 2021  |  investing 

In a year when a pandemic gripped the world, beginning and experienced retail investors flocked to the stock market using taxable, non-retirement investment accounts, according to new research by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation (FINRA Foundation) and NORC at the University of Chicago.

The study, Investing 2020: New Accounts and the People Who Opened Them, found that market dips that made stocks cheaper to buy and the ability to invest with small amounts were among the top reasons younger and inexperienced investors reported entering the stock market. For respondents who op... Read More

Affordability Surprises First-Time Homebuyers

Wed, 03 February 2021  |  housing economy 

A new survey from realtor.com® found that more than two-thirds (68%) of shoppers were surprised by what they could actually afford for their first home. Forty-seven percent were surprised because their budget was larger than they thought, and 21% were surprised because it was less.

"The dramatic decline of mortgage rates in 2020 was a pleasant surprise for many buyers," said realtor.com® Senior Economist George Ratiu. "For first-time buyers, especially, the drop in the 30-year mortgage rate from 3.65 percent in March 2020 to a record-low of 2.65 percent in January has provided... Read More

2021 Housing Market Shaping Up to be Even Hotter than 2020

Wed, 03 February 2021  |  housing economy 

The extreme pandemic-driven seller's market is intensifying and will likely last through the first half of the year, according to a new report from Redfin. In the week ending January 24, home-sale prices soared 18% and pending sales grew 28% from the same period last year. Fifty-five percent of homes that went under contract that week found a buyer in 14 days or less—the largest share to sell that quickly in at least nine years (Redfin data on this measure goes back through 2012).

"The main thing going on is scarcity of homes for sale. There's nothing there, so people want ... Read More

Private Sector Employment Increased by 174,000 Jobs in January

Wed, 03 February 2021  |  economy employment 

Private sector employment increased by 174,000 jobs from December to January according to the January ADP® National Employment Report™. Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Moody's Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP's actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Total U.S. Nonfarm Private Employm... Read More