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Wednesday
Jan082014

In the News: Top Stories in Business and Finance - December 2013

Factor King offers this quick monthly rollup of important stories related to business and finance. We also track leading economic indicators each month giving you a quick snapshot of the status of the economy.

Top Business & Finance Stories for December 2013

 

  • Target Credit Card Breach: Target suffered a major security breach during their busiest shopping season when an estimated 40 million credit cards may have been compromised due to fraud. Time offers a full report in the article, ”The Target Credit Card Breach: What You Should Know.”
  • Google Private Buses: Google’s new private buses caused tension in the community as they were seen as symbols of San Francisco’s economic segregation. [Source NPR]

 

Leading Economic Indicators for December 2013

 

  • Real Estate:  As the year comes to a close, December typically marks a slowdown in home sales, and December 2013 is no different. However, the housing market did stabilize over the course of the past year as tight supply resulted in a 12% price increase overall.  [Source CNN]
  • Employment: Long-term unemployment benefits expired for 1.3 million Americans in December, due to a failure of Congress to pass an extension. Reinstatement is expected this month. Also in December, US manufacturing growth reached an 11 month high resulting in job growth for that sector. Unemployment rate for December 2013 = estimated to be around 7%  [Source CNN and Financial Express]
  • Stocks, Bonds, and Interest Rates: Stocks rose for the fourth month in a row, up almost 3% overall. Bonds did not fare as well, marking 2013 as the first time in a nearly a decade that investors have taken more money out of bond funds than put in. Mortgage rates continue to rise and are expected to hit 5% in 2014 partly due to several fee increases announced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  [Source Bankrate and CNN]

 

Opportunities for Career & Personal Growth

 


Any other important business or financial news to report?  Please share by leaving a comment below.

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