Select a category

A researcher and her boyfriend sealed their love for each other with a ‘bl%od oath.

The duo were seen to have done a blood covenant to seal their relationship, as they shared the picture of their pierced fingers.

Continue reading on Instablog

President Joe Biden has tested positive for Covid-19, according to the president and CEO of UnidosUS Janet Murguía.

The announcement came minutes after the head of a Latino union said Biden had called to apologise that he could no longer address its members because he had been diagnosed. It also comes as Biden is under growing pressure to drop his re-election bid against former President Donald Trump after a disastrous debate performance sparked concerns about his age and health.

According to CNN, Biden was expected to speak at the group’s conference in Las Vegas Wednesday night. “I was just on the phone with President Biden. And he shared his deep disappointment at not being able to join us this afternoon. The president has been at many events as we all know and he just tested positive for Covid,” Murguía told attendees.

Biden, 81, had been scheduled to take the stage an hour and a half prior. Confirming the development, The White House revealed the President is experiencing mild symptoms.

“Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is vaccinated and boosted, and he is experiencing mild symptoms. He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Biden’s doctor was suffering from a runny nose and a “non-productive cough” along with “general malaise,” the White House said in an accompanying note. He was now receiving the Covid drug Paxlovid, it added. “His symptoms remain mild, his respiratory rate is normal at 16, his temperature is normal at 97.8 and his pulse oximetry is normal at 97 percent,” it added.

Continue reading on Instablog

Online spending at U.S. retailers hit $7.2 billion as Amazon's (AMZN) Prime Day kicked off Tuesday, according to an analysis by Adobe Analytics.

That made it the largest e-commerce day of 2024, marking a nearly 12% jump from last year's first day, Adobe Analytics said in a statement.

Prime Day drove $12.7 billion in online shopping across the two-day event last year, Adobe projected earlier this week that the 2024 event would break last year's record by generating an estimated $14 billion in sales.

“Steep discounting has been the story of e-commerce so far this year, as consumers look to get the most value out of their dollar,” Adobe Digital Insights lead analyst Vivek Pandya said. “It is driving up demand for major categories like electronics and apparel, which have seen more modest growth in recent months, while also capturing back-to-school shoppers at just the right moment.”

The analysis also found that "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) programs are growing in popularity, as purchases made Tuesday using a BNPL option made up $540 million in sales, 17% higher than the same time last year. Adobe expects total BNPL purchases to be about $1.1 billion of the projected $14 billion in sales over the two-day period.

Amazon shares finished Wednesday down 2.6% as a broader sell-off affected a number of tech-related stocks.

Read more on Investopedia

If you're applying for credit right now, you may be more likely to be rejected—but there are steps you can take to improve your odds.

Loan officers have reported toughening their lending standards for more than a year. Amid high prices and high interest rates designed to fight inflation, lenders have been skeptical borrowers won't be able to pay loans back. Consequently, they've made it harder for individuals and businesses to borrow money by requiring better credit or offering more unfavorable terms.

While fewer people are applying for credit for the same reasons, a recent survey from the New York Federal Reserve Bank found lenders rejected applications across all types of credit at a rate of 21.4% in June, compared to 18.7% in February.

Even though lenders have become more picky about which borrowers they extend credit to, there may be ways to get the credit you need. And if you do get rejected, you can still find out the reason and work toward fixing the issue.

A good credit score can go a long way in improving your odds of getting credit.

The latest data from FICO shows the average credit score declined one point, from 718 in July 2023 to 717 in October 2023, which is likely due to missed payments as a consequence of higher prices and inflation weighing on consumers.

According to the New York Fed survey, those with subprime credit scores, or scores below 680, were more likely to be rejected when applying for credit, with a rejection rate of nearly 52%. Applicants with a credit score between 681 and 759 had a significantly lower rejection rate of 11.5% while those with a score above 760 only had a rejection rate of 3.7%. 

Just by knowing your credit score, you can get a better idea of which types of credit or credit cards you'd be eligible for, experts said. For example, those with subprime credit scores are more likely to be approved for a secured credit card than a rewards credit card.

Applying for the right loans for your credit can help you avoid filling out too many credit applications that result in a credit check. Remember, when you apply for multiple lines of credit in a short period, those credit inquiries can pull down your score. It can also negatively impact your credit if you receive multiple new loans at the same time since the average age of loans is also an important factor when calculating your score.

If you don't have a great credit score, there's still hope. You can start by making sure your credit report is error-free and does not contain any incorrect late payments or information about your identity.

If you want to improve your credit score, your primary focus should be on making payments on time and in full, said Barbara Ginty, host of the Future Rich podcast and CFP.

Another factor that affects your credit score is your credit utilization ratio or the portion of the available credit you use. You may see some improvement in your credit score by bringing down your balances.

Avoid closing credit cards or lines of credit frequently, as keeping them open can also help boost your credit score.

However, if you do apply for a line of credit and get rejected, it may be a learning opportunity.

Because of a federal law, known as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, lenders are required to inform consumers of the reason why they were rejected for a loan or line of credit, said credit expert John Ulzheimer. If they don't inform you of why you were rejected, you have the right to ask.

A lender may reject you for a variety of reasons such as your debt-to-income ratio being too high or your credit history being too short.

If you're unable to improve your credit score or qualify for a new line, you can try asking for a credit limit increase—however, according to the Fed survey, 37% of those who applied for more credit on existing accounts were rejected.

Read more on Investopedia

Refinancing surged last week as many homeowners took advantage of a drop in mortgage rates to pay less interest on their existing home loans.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.87% last week, its lowest rate since March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). That drove refinancing to its highest level since August 2022, according to the MBA's weekly mortgage application index.

High interest rates have stymmied the housing market over the past two years. Potential buyers have been pushed to the sidelines by high monthly payments. Sellers have hesitated to list their homes for sale and trade in the ultra-low mortgage rates of years past.

However, mortgage rates could be on the downtrend as a Federal Reserve rate cut is in sight.

There are two major influencing factors on mortgage rates—10-year Treasury bond yields and the fed funds rate. As the Federal Reserve moves closer to cutting its fed funds rate, traders are more attracted to longer-term bonds, pushing up prices on the 10-year bond and pushing down mortgage rates. (Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.)

When the Federal Reserve cuts its influential rate, mortgage interest could fall even further. Market participants are convinced that the Fed will start cutting rates by September.

Much of the increased refinancing activity last week came from government-sponsored loans such as Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Administration (VA) loans, which typically have lower-than-average rates.

“While FHA and VA refinance applications accounted for a significant share of the increase, these are likely recently originated loans with even higher than current offered rates,” said Joel Kan, MBA vice president and deputy chief economist.

While refinancing surged, home purchase applications continued to lag, down 3% compared with the prior week, and lower by 14% from the same week last year.

Read more on Investopedia

Intel (INTC) and GlobalFoundries (GFS) shares rose Wednesday, while Nvidia (NVDA) and other chip stocks tumbled, amid concerns about tightening trade restrictions and rising geopolitical tensions affecting the chip industry.

GlobalFoundries led gains on the Nasdaq with shares up more than 6% around 2 p.m. ET Wednesday. Intel climbed close to 2%. Meanwhile, chip manufacturing equipment maker ASML (ASML) led losses on the Nasdaq, falling nearly 12%. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Qualcomm (QCOM), and others were also lower, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) down 6%.

Taiwan-based chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) is a key player in the space, supplying fabless companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm, AMD, and others with the hardware necessary to make their products. American depositary receipts (ADRs) of TSMC also dropped Wednesday.

Intel and GlobalFoundries have manufacturing capabilities in the U.S., and could stand to benefit from support for domestic chip manufacturing as geopolitical tensions rise.

The Biden administration is reportedly considering implementing stricter trade restrictions on exports to China, which could hurt sales for ASML and many other chip-related companies, according to .

Imposing the foreign direct product rule (FDPR) would allow the U.S. to curb exports of goods made in other countries that use American tech. That could for example hold back revenue for the Netherlands’ ASML, which makes lithography technology essential in mass-producing semiconductors, since China represents the company's largest market.

Separately, former President Donald Trump said in an interview with that Taiwan, where chips for many of the biggest tech giants in the U.S. are manufactured, should pay the U.S. for defense, adding to geopolitical worries.

The Biden administration's CHIPS and Science Act has invested billions of dollars to support chip manufacturing in the U.S. and reduce reliance on other countries.

Read more on Investopedia