Tuesday, April 7, 2026

One-Fourth of U.S. Households Plan To Cut Cable In 2021

Thu, 14 January 2021  |  spending entertainment 

American households are cutting the cord on their cable subscriptions more rapidly than previously reported, according to the second Future of TV survey of more than 2,100 U.S. consumers by The Trade Desk. The data shows 27 percent of U.S. cable TV subscribers are planning to cut their subscriptions by the end of 2021. That percentage is nearly double the 15 percent of cable subscribers who reported cutting the cord in 2020, and significantly higher than the approximate 3 percent annual decline reported by eMarketer prior to 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated consumer b... Read More

Life Insurance Growth Driven By Younger Buyers In 2020

Thu, 14 January 2021  |  life insurance 

U.S. life insurance application activity ended 2020 up +4.0, the highest annual year over year growth rate on record, according to the year-end MIB Life Index. December 2020 was up 3.7% over December 2019, the highest YOY growth rate for the month of December since 2011.

Growth in 2020 was largely driven by younger age groups with full year activity over 2019 increasing among ages 0-44 by +7.9% and +3.8% for ages 45-59. In contrast, activity for ages 60+ decreased by -1.7%. This reflects ... Read More

Over Half of Americans Used Retirement Savings During Pandemic

Thu, 14 January 2021  |  retirement spending 

Nearly 60% of Americans withdrew or borrowed money from an IRA or 401(k) during the pandemic, and nearly two-thirds (63%) used those retirement savings to cover basic living expenses, according to a new survey from Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and digital wealth management company, Personal Capital.

The national poll, which was conducted from November 4-10, 2020, also found that the amounts people withdrew or borrowed were significant. Thirty-two percent (32%) of respondents said they withdrew $75,000 or more from a retirement account, while 58% of those who took loans ... Read More

Foreclosures Drop to 16 Year Low

Thu, 14 January 2021  |  housing foreclosures 

U.S. foreclosure filings— default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 214,323 U.S. properties in 2020, down 57 percent from 2019 and down 93 percent from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010, to the lowest level since tracking began in 2005. Those 214,323 properties with foreclosure filings in 2020 represented 0.16 percent of all U.S. housing units, down from 0.36 percent in 2019 and down from a peak of 2.23 percent in 2010, , according to a ... Read More

Upgrade Launches Rewards Checking Account

Thu, 14 January 2021  |  payments banking credit fintech 

Upgrade, Inc., a neobank targeting mainstream consumers, introduced a new mobile checking account. The account comes with no fees and lets customers earn 2% cash back on common everyday expenses and recurring payments, and 1% cash back on all other debit charges. Qualifying customers also enjoy up to 20% lower rates on Upgrade loans.

The unveiling of Upgrade's no-fee Rewards Checking account comes just over a year after the launch of Upgrade Card, the company's flagship product that offers broad access to installment lending at millions of points of sale in store and online t... Read More

Winter Labor Market Getting Colder

Thu, 14 January 2021  |  unemployment 

Layoffs in the US labor market are rapidly trending upwards as the virus continues to spread. Initial unemployment claims rose by 181,000 to 965,000 in the week ended January 9th. In November, the average weekly number of claims was 740,000. Layoff rates from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey are also trending upwards, mostly due to restaurant layoffs. Layoff rates in the Accommodation and food services industries rose from 1.1 percent in October to 3.4 percent in November. And December's jobs report showed a decline for the first time since April.

The jump in initial u... Read More