On Our Radar

American Banker, December 2nd, 2024, Banks cautiously optimistic about Bessent pick for Treasury The banking industry has largely applauded President Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent — a hedge fund veteran and former George Soros associate — to lead the Treasury Department, but whether he is able to wield influence in an administration with a markedly […]

USA Today, June 3, 2024, Fearless Fund Blocked From Giving Grants Only To Black Women In Victory For DEI Critics In a closely watched civil rights case, a panel on the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals blocked Fearless Fund from awarding $20,000 grants to businesses owned by Black women while the case is litigated, siding with conservative activist

Bloomberg, June 3, 2024, NYC Gets 150,000 Applications In 12 Hours For Affordable Housing More than 150,000 households filed applications in a span of 12 hours for a chance to join New York City’s waiting list for a federal program that subsidizes rent for low-income families. While roughly 100,000 New York City households currently use the voucher

The New York Times, June 1, 2024, They’re Asian. They’re American. But, They Wonder, Are They Asian American? When Dinesh Nepal first arrived in the United States in 2010, he had never heard of the term “Asian American.” He knew that he was of Asian descent. He grew up in a refugee camp in Nepal

The New York Times, May 31, 2024, Alzheimer’s Takes A Financial Toll Long Before Diagnosis, Study Finds Long before people develop dementia, they often begin falling behind on mortgage payments, credit card bills and other financial obligations, new research shows. A team of economists and medical experts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

CNN, June 4, 2024, CEOs Are Making Almost 200 Times What Workers Are CEOs are raking in fat pay packages as the US stock market booms. Bosses have always made more money than workers. But the gap between CEOs and employees is growing. The median CEO in the S&P 500 was paid 196 times as much as

Axios, June 5, 2024, Health Insurers Take On The Affordability Crisis — In Housing Health insurers are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into building new affordable housing units. Why it matters: The housing affordability crisis is a major health care concern, since housing instability is tied to poorer health. Insurers say their investments will translate to healthier

KFF Health News, May 29, 2024, Tennessee Gives This Hospital Monopoly An A Grade — Even When It Reports Failure A Tennessee agency that is supposed to hold accountable and grade the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly awards full credit on dozens of quality-of-care measurements as long as it reports any value — regardless of

abc News, June 11, 2024, In Sweeping Change, Biden Administration To Ban Medical Debt From Credit Reports In a sweeping change that could improve millions of Americans’ ability to own a home or buy a car, the Biden administration on Tuesday proposed a rule to ban medical debt from credit reports. The rule, announced by

Urban Institute, April 19, 2024, The Wealth Gap Between Homeowners And Renters Has Reached A Historic High Homes are often families’ largest assets and one of the most effective ways to build wealth, but countless news stories and studies detail just how out of reach homeownership has become. What does that mean for the wealth gap

The New York Times, May 31, 2024, What Is Fair Housing? A federal fair-housing law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, ethnicity, religion and other factors, like gender identity and disability. That applies to any number of scenarios, in which such discrimination has occurred: a homeowner refusing to negotiate a sale; a landlord failing

CNN, May 30, 2024, Zero-Down Mortgages Are Making A Comeback Many Americans would love to buy a home, but they don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to cover a down payment. That massive roadblock is being removed by a new zero-percent down mortgage program launched two weeks ago by one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders.

The New York Times, May 31, 2024, She Made an Offer On A Condo. Then The Seller Learned She Was Black. Perched on a hill with a view of the Atlantic Ocean, the condo in Virginia Beach was just what Dr. Raven Baxter wanted. It had a marble fireplace, a private foyer and details like

AP News, May 10, 2024, Woman Was Living Inside Rooftop Grocery Store Sign With Computer And Coffee Maker For A Year Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: A 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer