In the latest installment of our monthly financial services update, we take a look at the upcoming launch of the Federal Reserve's instant payment system, banking results for the first quarter and disruption in the reinsurance sector. FedNow set to modernize nation’s payment system The Federal ... READ MORE >
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5 things to know in life sciences: Week of June 5, 2023
This week we highlight a shortage of prescription medication in the United States. In addition, we discuss a Food and Drug Administration committee’s recommendation to approve a new RSV vaccine, comments on the Inflation Reduction Act impact, as well as a major acquisition in the diabetes space. Lastly, ... READ MORE >
As physicians are strained by surging demand, AI may provide relief
Physicians are facing a growing challenge as they face a surge in demand for their services. Visits per physician office this year have grown by a staggering 30%, far higher than the rate in 2019, before the pandemic, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But health ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims spike to highest since 2021
New filings for jobless benefits spiked by 28,000 last week, another sign of a softening labor market. Total new filings rose to 261,000, the highest since October 2021, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. There were no distortions to the report like the fraudulent claims in ... READ MORE >
Interest rate outlook: Debt ceiling standoff raised the cost of doing business
One cost of the debt ceiling crisis that is lost among most political actors and the public is that the U.S. Treasury will need to refill its coffers. That need to sell debt—$1.1 trillion of it—along with a strong probability of another Federal Reserve rate hike or two during the third ... READ MORE >
The wealth effect and the Great Resignation
Three years after the pandemic upended the American economy, U.S. household balance sheets in general are in good shape. Assets far outstrip liabilities, with household net assets surging over the past decade to nearly $150 trillion last year. Underneath this strength, though, there is a ... READ MORE >
5 things to know in life sciences: Week of May 29, 2023
This week, we explore the rise in Alzheimer's clinical trials despite recruitment hurdles, as well as the use of artificial intelligence in understanding gene interactions. In addition, we discuss SNIPR Biome's advances in CRISPR-based antibiotics and Tempus' launch of a data-access AI assistant for ... READ MORE >
Economy added 339,000 jobs in blowout May employment report
The labor market and the economy it supports will just not go gently into that good night despite policy efforts to cool both. Historic inflation and interest rate shocks have not yet derailed a robust labor market that has averaged an increase of 283,000 jobs over the past three months. ... READ MORE >
Risk of losing tax-exempt status could be disruption for many nonprofit hospitals
The tax-exempt status of nonprofit hospitals faces legislative scrutiny as members of Congress discuss the tax-exemption benefit and whether it equates to the value these organizations provide to their local communities. In April, the House Committee on Ways and Means addressed the matter with a ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims inch up, yet labor market remains tight
Initial jobless claims inched up by 2,000 last week to 232,000, slightly below expectations, according to the Labor Department on Thursday. The data pointed to more softening in the labor market based on our preferred metric of the long-term trend—the 13-week moving average. But the upward ... READ MORE >