Net demand for allocating to hedge funds is at 28%, the highest in the past 3 years, according to Bloomberg. Currently, there are over $3 trillion in hedge funds. To put that in perspective, only four countries, including the U.S., have a GDP higher than that. Furthermore, the median yearly earning for a hedge fund manager is now just under $350,000, but there are many who are billionaires.
So it makes sense that people pay attention to what hedge fund managers are buying, selling and holding. We want to replicate their success. Hedge funds’ quarterly public disclosures, mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, give us a window into their recent activity.
Hunger, poverty and homelessness affect every nation — even the richest and most powerful.
According to Feeding America, food insecurity plagues every U.S. county, with 40 million individuals lacking access to adequate food. 12.3 percent of the U.S. population lives in poverty. And in the absence of more affordable housing or accommodations provided by relatives or friends, many must take to the streets or shelters. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, shows that nearly 554,000 people — many of them children — had been homeless at one point in January 2017.
High school seniors face a laundry list of tasks when getting ready for college. Between standardized tests, essays and financial-aid applications, the final months before orientation can be difficult. One of the most important steps in the process is the campus visit, which often includes a tour of the city or town that will serve as the student’s home for the next several years. Experts have argued that a school’s geographical location is just as important as a strong curriculum and supportive school environment to a student’s academic success and personal development. As student living expenses can reach up to $26,200 for a 12-month period, students should try to find the most bang for their buck.
To help prospective college students narrow down their school choices and to follow up our report on 2019’s College & University Rankings, WalletHub compared more than 400 U.S. cities of varying sizes based on 30 key indicators of academic, social and economic opportunities for students. Our data set ranges from cost of living to quality of higher education to crime rate. Below are our findings, additional expert commentary and a full description of our methodology.
Credit card debt statistics speak to the financial health of American households. They can also foreshadow over-borrowing bubbles, changes to lending standards, and other trends with the potential to impact our wallets. That’s important because the latest news may seem encouraging, but the complete picture is not pretty.
Americans repaid $40.8 billion in credit card debt during Q1 2018 – the second-largest quarterly payoff ever. But we added almost $38 billion back to our tab in Q3 and Q2 2018. We also began the year owing more than $1 trillion in credit card debt for the first time ever, after adding $87.3 billion to our tab in 2017.
Times Square might be the most hashtag-worthy spot for ringing in the new year, but it's certainly not the best if you're a frugal partier seeking an equally grand experience.
Local businesses are notorious for hiking up their prices when big crowds are in town for a major event. The cheapest hotel rates in New Orleans and Atlantic City, for instance, can rise in excess of 300 and 500 percent, respectively, on New Year’s Eve compared with their normal prices. The last thing you want to do in the final hours of 2018 is ruin your finances over one night of entertainment.
Things are looking good for job seekers in California. This past September, the Golden State added 339,600 new jobs, the third largest increase among thirty-seven states that saw their employment numbers go up. And the state’s come a long way since the financial crisis. California’s unemployment rate peaked at 12.2 percent — the highest point in nearly seven decades and far exceeding the national average of 9.7 percent at the time — but has declined to a healthy 4.1 percent today.
Since that precarious time in its history, California has experienced much growth in the technology sector and other high-wage industries. Altogether, the state boasts a $2.6 trillion economy which is larger than the individual economies of all but five countries.
Wallet Fitness is about turning one of Americans’ top stressors, money, into one of your biggest strengths. It means building an excellent credit score and never again overpaying for financial products. It means minimizing debt and protecting yourself with adequate insurance coverage. Most importantly, it means spending modestly while saving aggressively for retirement and emergencies.
But Wallet Fitness levels vary widely across the U.S. As we prepare to make resolutions for self-improvement, it’s fair to wonder who’s best positioned for financial success and who has the most work to do. To find out, we compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 32 key indicators of Wallet Fitness. You can find the results below, followed by WalletHub’s 6 Tips for Reaching Top Wallet Fitness and a Q&A with a panel of money-management experts.
The best hotel rewards programs provide a wide range of free perks. Members receive special amenities such as free Wi-Fi, late check out and bar credits. But that’s just the beginning. Most importantly, the top hotel rewards programs let you quickly earn free nights, redeem them with ease, and go about your business without worrying about fine-print restrictions.
Every major hotel chain has its own loyalty rewards program, you see, which anyone can join for free. But these hotel rewards programs are not equally rewarding for everyone. They all have different rules, earning rates and point values, plus a variety of other perks. And much ultimately depends on where you travel, how often you stay in hotels, and how much you’re comfortable spending per night.
Abuse happens every day and takes many forms. But vulnerable older Americans are among the easiest targets for this misconduct, especially those who are women, have disabilities and rely on others for care. By one estimate, elder abuse affects as many as 5 million people per year, and more than 95 percent of all cases go unreported.
Unless states take action to prevent further abuse, the problem will grow as America becomes an increasingly aging nation. The U.S. Census Bureau expects the population aged 65 and older to nearly double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 83.7 million in 2050, much to the credit of aging Baby Boomers who began turning 65 in 2011. And by just 2030, 1 in 5 U.S. residents will be retirement age.
The Verdict: A name like Chase Freedom Unlimited® (Chase is a WalletHub partner) puts a lot of pressure on a credit card, hinting at boundless spending power and invaluable perks while building high expectations that are hard to live up to. But the only limitless aspect of the Chase Freedom Unlimited® Credit Card is your ability to earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. There’s no cap on how much you can earn, and those earnings won’t expire until account closing.
The rest of the offer is pretty strong, if not completely free or flexible. You have to spend $500 within three months of account opening to qualify for Freedom Unlimited’s $150 initial bonus. There’s a 15-month clock on the card’s 0% introductory rates, which apply to both new purchases and balance transfers. And if you transfer a balance, carry a balance from month to month after the 15-month mark or spend money abroad, you’re going to pay big.
The Verdict: The Chase Freedom® (Chase is a WalletHub partner) brand name connotes fun, excitement and independence – primarily the financial variety. But instead of freeing you from budgetary concerns, this card requires hands-on account maintenance to live up to its potential and, even then, would provide less value than numerous other available credit cards for people with excellent credit.
The card’s 5% maximum earning rate on rewards applies only to purchases made in select bonus categories, which rotate on a quarterly basis and users must sign up for each time they change. What’s more, only the first $1,500 you spend across these bonus categories each quarter will accrue rewards at a 5% clip. So, if you are a relatively heavy spender or you forget to sign up for the bonus categories or these categories don’t happen to complement your spending habits, you’ll be stuck earning just the market average of 1% on most of your transactions.
People encounter hazards every day, some serious, others rare and innocuous. But we fear certain kinds more than others. According to Gallup, four in 10 Americans “fear being a victim of a mass shooting,” while 24 percent of U.S. adults are concerned about terrorism. Many also worry about falling victim to hate crimes or sexual assault. The list goes on, and these sentiments often are expressed in response to recent headlines.
But people can feel unsafe in other ways, too. Besides the types of hazards that can cause bodily injury or other physical harm, taking out an unaffordable second mortgage, forgoing health insurance or even visiting unsecured websites are also ways people run into danger. At the top of the list of worries is cybercrime, which 71 percent of Americans worry about.
To say that Americans love sports is an understatement. It’s in our blood. We value sports as much for their personal and social benefits as for the thrill and drama of the game. In the U.S., nearly three quarters of all adults claim to be sports fans. In 2017, 86 of the top 100 telecasts watched live or the same day were sports events.
But Americans also cheer on their favorite teams with their wallets. The North American sports industry is expected to rake in about $69.3 billion from ticket and merchandise sales, media rights and sponsorship fees, according to the latest sports outlook from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The firm estimates that figure to reach upwards of $78 billion by 2021. That’s not mentioning the lucrative fantasy-sports market in North America with 59.3 million players, each spending an average of $653 per year, or nearly $39 billion collectively. And eSports, or competitive video games, was a $655 million market in 2017 and is projected to reach around $900 million in 2018.
USAA (a WalletHub partner) offers nearly 30 different credit cards to current and former members of the military, as well as their immediate family. That means determining whether you meet the organization’s membership requirements is only step one. After that, you’ll still need to identify the right credit card for your needs from the many available offers.
To help make the process as painless as possible, we compared all of USAA’s cards to find the best offers for the most common consumer needs. You can find our selections below, along with the best alternative from other issuers for each usage scenario. If you would like a personalized credit card recommendation or to check your latest credit score, just sign up for a free WalletHub account.
’Tis the season for giving. And the latest World Giving Index shows that Americans are among the world’s most generous people, ranking No. 4 out of 140 countries. U.S. donors in 2017 gave more than $410 billion to charity, with 70 percent of the funds coming directly from individuals, according to the National Philanthropic Trust.
But Americans do more than reach in their pockets to help others. They also contribute their time — and plenty of it. Nearly 63 million people volunteer in the U.S., serving a combined total of 7.9 billion hours per year, the equivalent of $184 billion of service.
Las Vegas isn’t the only “Sin City” in America. In other cities, bad things happen and stay there, too. From beer-loving Milwaukee to hedonistic New Orleans, the U.S. is filled with people behaving illicitly. No place is innocent. We all have demons.
But at some point, we all have to pay for our vices. Gambling addiction, for instance, leads to $100 billion in losses for U.S. consumers every year. In 2017, identity theft and fraud took a toll of $16 billion. And every year, smoking burns a $300 billion hole in Uncle Sam’s wallet.
You have to be at least 18 years old to get a credit card account. But there is no minimum age requirement for authorized users to have a credit card from most major banks. So an adult could even add a baby as an authorized user on a credit card, giving the baby a card with his or her name on it and the ability to begin building credit before learning how to walk to the store to make a purchase. But while there’s no legal minimum age for authorized users, individual issuers may add their own restrictions.
The Verdict: The Deserve® Classic Mastercard is a starter credit card designed for people with limited or no credit history. Deserve Classic will help you build credit if you pay your bill on time every month, but it doesn’t bring much else to the table, save for the opportunity to earn refer-a-friend bonuses. You get $30 for every person you refer who is approved for an account. And if 10 referrals are approved, you get an extra $200, for $500 total. That’s it, though.
You won’t earn points, miles or cash back with each purchase you make. Instead, you’ll be the one doing the paying. If you don’t pay your bill in full every month, you’ll have to pay interest at a pretty high rate: 24.99% (V).
The Verdict: The Deserve® Pro Mastercard has a work hard, play hard vibe, catering to people with good credit or better who like to travel, dine out and generally have a good time. You get 3% cash back on travel and entertainment, plus 2% cash back at restaurants. That’s a pretty good deal, but it only applies to the first $500 you spend in those bonus categories each month. All other purchases yield just 1% back. So you might want to consider using Deserve Pro solely for bonus-category spending. There’s no annual fee, which means you don’t have to spend a certain amount for it to pay off. And 1% back is just average for a cash rewards card.
The Deserve Pro Credit Card certainly isn’t perfect. It doesn’t offer either an initial rewards bonus or a 0% introductory APR on new purchases. Its regular APR is likely to be well above average. And it doesn’t even allow balance transfers or cash advances. But that just means it’s not for everyone.
Credit card debt statistics speak to the financial health of American households. They can also foreshadow over-borrowing bubbles, changes to lending standards, and other trends with the potential to impact our wallets. That’s important because the latest news may seem encouraging, but the complete picture is not pretty.
The best hotel rewards programs provide a wide range of free perks. Members receive special amenities such as free Wi-Fi, late check out and bar credits. But that’s just the beginning. Most importantly, the top hotel rewards programs let you quickly earn free nights, redeem them with ease, and go about your business without worrying about fine-print restrictions.
