Young Americans are far outpacing older adults in regards to wealth growth

Young Americans far outpaced older generations in wealth growth since the pandemic, thanks in part to the boom in stocks, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York research.

For adults under 40, aggregated wealth jumped by 80% since 2019, compared with 10% for those who ages 40-54 and 30% for those over 55, New York Fed economists wrote in a blogpost.

The youngest generations, by far the poorest, received much of the COVID19-era fiscal stimulus, giving them extra savings to invest in equities, the researchers found.

Stocks boomed during the period — but they also are risky assets that could quickly reverse wealth growth if markets tank.

Overall, the collective wealth of young adults remains a fraction of what older people are able to accumulate over the decades. As of 2019, individuals under 40 held just 5.7% of total U.S. wealth while comprising of 37% of the population, the New York Fed economists wrote.

That also helps explain the outsize wealth growth in percentage terms, compared with older generations.

Treasury secretary warns of nonbank mortgage lender failure

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said U.S. regulators are monitoring risks stemming from nonbank mortgage lenders and cautioned that a failure of one of them is possible in the case of market strains.

“FSOC is very focused on that because nonbank mortgage companies lack access to deposits, which banks have,” Yellen said Thursday at the Senate Banking Committee, referring to the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Nonbanks have become a major presence in the mortgage market but rely on short-term funding instruments to fund their operations. They also aren't allowed to access the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility, known as the discount window.

“They're reliant on short-term financing that may be a lot less stable than deposits, and in stressful times, their credit lines can be pulled,” said Yellen, responding to questions from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. “There is concern that in stressful market conditions we could

see the failure of one of these.”

ESPN, Fox and Discovery team up on sports superstreamer

Three of the biggest sports broadcasters are uniting to create a superplatform that will house their sports assets under a single streaming roof, a seismic and onceunthinkable move as the industry rapidly transitions away from linear television to streaming services.

Disney's ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN's parent company) announced Tuesday that they will launch the new service in the fall.

The service, which each company will own one-third of, will offer consumers access to a host of sporting events, including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and FIFA World Cup games. It also will feature NASCAR races, UFC matches and PGA Tour golf tournaments.

The companies did not specify how much a subscription to the forthcoming sports platform will cost or what it will be named. Additional information is expected to be announced closer to launch.

Fed official says rate cuts not coming for a `few more months'

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said officials would like to see “a few more months” of inflation data before cutting interest rates, adding that he thinks two to three cuts likely will be appropriate for 2024.

“We're not looking for better inflation data; we're just looking for additional inflation data that is also at around this 2% level,” Kashkari said Wednesday on CNBC. “If we get to see a few more months of that data, I think that will give us a lot of confidence.”

He also said the labor market will dictate the speed at which the Fed lowers interest rates, noting if the jobs market remains strong, it will give the central bank the flexibility to move slowly.

Kashkari's projection of two to three rate cuts is slightly more hawkish than December's median estimate among policymakers for three quarter-point reductions, though markets are pricing in as many as five cuts.