Unusual Whales

7 hurt, 2 missing after natural gas explosion tears facade off bank in downtown Youngstown

A natural gas explosion in Youngstown, Ohio, blew open the facade of a downtown bank building Tuesday afternoon, injuring seven people and leaving at least two individuals missing. The front of the Realty building on East Federal Street was heavily damaged, with images showing that the facade was completely destroyed.

46% of middle-class Americans said they've dialed back or completely paused saving for the future

For a long time, the negative sentiment surrounding financial stability has been prevalent, but it appears to have intensified sharply in recent years. A survey from Northwestern Mutual found that financial anxiety had reached a record high. In a Primerica survey conducted in March of middle-class households, half of the

About 58% of outstanding US home loans had interest rates below 4% at the end of last year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency

About 58% of outstanding US home loans had interest rates below 4% at the end of last year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Households expect mortgage rates to rise to 8.7% a year from now and increase to 9.7% in three years’ time. U.S. households

The US economy and stock market are on a clear path to recession, Paul Dietrich has said

The US economy and stock market are on a clear path to recession, Paul Dietrich has said. Dietrich, a Wall Street veteran known for predicting the 2008 recession, has been warning for months about an impending downturn in the U.S. economy. In a recent note, he highlighted several warning

Thousands of North Koreans stole Americans’ identities and took remote-work tech jobs at Fortune 500 companies

Thousands of North Koreans stole Americans’ identities and took remote-work tech jobs at Fortune 500 companies. The Justice Department announced the arrests of three individuals on Thursday in connection with a sophisticated stolen identity scheme that officials say generates significant proceeds for the North Korean government, including its weapons program.

The percentage of credit card balances in serious delinquency (90 days or more late) climbed to its highest level since 2012

The percentage of credit card balances in serious delinquency (90 days or more late) climbed to its highest level since 2012, per the NYFed. The economy has been resilient, the job market healthy, and consumers keep spending, but more Americans are becoming financially overextended, particularly on their credit cards. New

Fast food restaurants have had the sharpest price hikes during the Biden administration, higher than grocery bills & gas prices

Fast food restaurants have had the sharpest price hikes during the Biden administration, higher than grocery bills & gas prices, per Axios. The average price of has outpaced wage gains for workers since before the pandemic. Prices are up 31%, average hourly earnings up 25%. Zoom in: The average price

The national debt has reached $34.55 trillion, equating to $103,671 per person, $262,886 per household, and $477,731 per child

The national debt has reached $34.55 trillion, equating to $103,671 per person, $262,886 per household, and $477,731 per child. The U.S. national debt is climbing rapidly and shows no signs of slowing down, despite increasing criticism of massive government spending. As of Wednesday afternoon, the

Elon Musk recently told investors that his artificial intelligence startup xAI is planning to build a supercomputer to power the next version of its AI chatbot Grok, with nearly 100,000 Nvidia, $NVDA, H100 chips

Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has raised $6 billion in Series B funding, achieving a post-money valuation of $24 billion as investors place substantial bets on challengers to companies like OpenAI in the intensifying AI race. According to a blog post by the company on Sunday, the funding

Donald Trump has just said: “I will ensure that the future of crypto and Bitcoin is shaped in the USA. I will support the right to self-custody for the nation's fifty million crypto holder

Donald Trump has just said: “I will ensure that the future of crypto and Bitcoin is shaped in the USA. I will support the right to self-custody for the nation's fifty million crypto holder Former U.S. President Donald Trump has shared his views on the cryptocurrency industry.

"Welcome to the white-collar recession. The more you earn, the harder it is to find a job right now,"

Per BI: "Among Vanguard's lowest earners—those making less than $55,000—the hiring rate remains strong at 1.5%, still above pre-pandemic levels. However, for those earning over $96,000, the picture is bleak. Hiring has plummeted to a mere 0.5%, less than half of

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond. Three sources familiar with discussions within Putin'

McDonald’s, $MCD, $5 value meal is coming in June — and staying for just a month

he promotion will feature four items for $5: a McChicken or McDouble, four-piece chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. This deal will run for about a month starting on June 25, according to a source familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. “We know how

82% or recent home buyers had regrets about their purchase

82% or recent home buyers had regrets about their purchase. per Clever Real Estate. A report released this week by St. Louis-based Clever Real Estate found that recent homebuyers and those planning to buy within the next year face numerous challenges. Last month, Clever surveyed 920 Americans about their views

Amazon, $AMZN, plans to charge Alexa users a monthly fee when it rolls out an AI-infused version of the voice assistant later this year

Amazon, $AMZN, plans to charge Alexa users a monthly fee when it rolls out an AI-infused version of the voice assistant later this year. The Seattle-based tech and retail giant will launch a more conversational version of Alexa later this year, potentially positioning it to better compete with new generative

JPMorgan's, $JPM, Dimon says he can't rule out hard landing for U.S. economy

JPMorgan Chase's chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, says a “hard landing” for the U.S. cannot be ruled out. When asked by CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah about the prospect of a hard landing, Dimon replied: “Could we actually see one? Of course, how could anyone who reads history

Child care is more expensive than rent for the average American family

Child care is more expensive than rent for the average American family. According to a new report from the nonprofit Child Care Aware of America, the cost of two children in child care exceeds average rent payments by at least 25% nationwide and is more than double in eight states

Americans need to earn 80% more than they did before the pandemic to comfortably afford a home

A new Zillow report found that the typical household needs to make over $106,000 a year to afford a home, assuming a 10% down payment and 30% of their income going toward housing costs. This represents an 80% increase from January 2020, when the typical household needed to earn

Households expect mortgage rates to rise to 8.7% a year from now and increase to 9.7% in three years’ time

Households expect mortgage rates to rise to 8.7% a year from now and increase to 9.7% in three years’ time. U.S. households expect home prices to increase 5.1% over the next 12 months, up from an expected 2.6% increase at the same time last year,

Microsoft’s, $MSFT, AI chatbot will have ‘photographic memory’ of everything you do on a PC

Microsoft’s, $MSFT, AI chatbot will have ‘photographic memory’ of everything you do on a PC, per MW. The software giant revealed a new class of AI-imbued personal computers on Monday as it faces intensified competition from Big Tech rivals in promoting generative AI technology that can compose documents, create

Canada's standard of living on track for worst decline in 40 years

Canada's standard of living on track for worst decline in 40 years. When a country experiences a population surge like Canada has, economists argue that measuring GDP per person provides a better picture of its standard of living. According to a new study by the Fraser Institute, this

Middle-class earners are the most targeted group for IRS audits

Middle-class earners are the most targeted group for IRS audits, per Moneywise. In fact, 63% of new audits as of Summer 2023 targeted taxpayers with incomes of less than $200,000, according to figures compiled by The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, which dubbed the $200,000 earner the

Scarlett Johansson says that OpenAI asked her to be the voice behind ChatGPT — but that when she declined, the company went ahead and created a voice that sounded just like her

OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman is facing an unexpected adversary, Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, who has become embroiled in a dispute over the voice used for the ChatGPT text-to-speech product. According to reports from the New York Times, Johansson revealed that Altman had approached her in September to lend her voice

JPMorgan, $JPM, CEO Jamie Dimon has suggested he may retire early

JPMorgan, $JPM, CEO Jamie Dimon has suggested he may retire early. During JPMorgan Chase's annual investor day, CEO Jamie Dimon indicated to analysts and investors that he's likely to step down from his role within the next five years as the company's succession plan

Millennial net worth is at an all time high

Millennial net worth is at an all time high, per BI. A recent study by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, examined changes in wealth across various age groups between 2019 and 2023 using data from the Federal Reserve's Distributional Financial Accounts. The report delivered