Delta Air Lines earned $2 billion in the fourth quarter, posted record full-year revenue, and says it is buying more planes to boost its international flying.

The airline’s shares fell 9% Friday, however, as the company pulled back on its profit forecast for 2024.

Delta said full-year earnings will be $6 to $7 a share — down from an earlier prediction of more than $7 a share. Analysts had already trimmed their expectations to $6.50 a year, but the update from Delta was enough to spook investors.

Delta is the first U.S. airline to post fourth-quarter results, and its report sent shares of American, United, Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue down between 4% and 11%.

Delta said Friday that it will buy 20 Airbus A350s and take options to buy 20 more of the long-range jetliners. Delta expects to get the first ones in 2026.

The A350s will have more premium seating than the planes they replace, which will play into Delta’s strategy of pursuing high-end travelers who are more insulated from ups and downs in the economy.

Airlines were helped in 2023 by strong demand for travel from people who had spent most of the pandemic cooped up at home. Delta passengers flew 19% more miles last year than they did in 2022.

CEO Ed Bastian said he expects that trend to continue.

“We actually saw the highest cash sales day in our history on Tuesday,” Bastian said in an interview. “So our consumer is healthy (financially), our consumer wants to travel. That tells us it’s going to be a very good year, 2024.”

Bastian said, however, he was concerned about higher maintenance costs, which he blamed on supply-chain disruptions, and an inability to receive new planes on schedule because of disruptions at engine and aircraft makers.

Delta posted fourth-quarter net income of $2.04 billion, more than doubling the profit of $828 million in the same period the year before.

Excluding special items, its adjusted earnings were $1.28 per share. That beat analysts’ average forecast of $1.16 per share, according to a survey by FactSet.

Revenue rose 6% to $14.22 billion. Passenger revenue increased 12%, and spending on premium services — like sitting in business class instead of the main cabin — surged 15%.

However, Delta’s refinery in Pennsylvania brought in $579 million less revenue than a year earlier, a 51% drop.

On the cost side, spending for labor soared 23% — a reflection of higher wages, especially from a contract that union pilots ratified in March of last year.

For the full year, Delta’s revenue rose 15% to more than $58 billion. Net income more than tripled, to $4.61 billion, up from $1.32 billion in 2022.

The full-year profit fell short of pre-pandemic 2019, when Atlanta-based Delta earned $4.77 billion, but it was enough to buy more planes.

Delta has a mix of Airbus and Boeing planes in its fleet of more than 900 planes, not counting its regional affiliates. It already had 28 A350s at the end of September with commitments to buy another 16. Friday’s order could push the total of A350s to more than 80 if the options are used.

The A350 competes with Boeing’s 787. Both have fuselages and wings made of carbon-fiber-reinforced composites. Delta doesn’t use the 787, although it has other Boeing jets.

Bastian said Boeing’s current problems, including a government investigation into parts on its 737 Max 9 jet, were not a factor in Friday’s order. He said the company wanted continuity with the A350.

Delta doesn’t have any Max jets, but it has committed to buy 100 of the larger Boeing 737 Max 10, a plane that has not yet been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“We need Boeing to do well,” he said. “It’s a great company. It’s an important company to our country and our industry.”

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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Hilton executives and shareholders and leaders from the Georgia World Congress Center Authority came together to celebrate the grand opening of the Signia by Hilton Atlanta hotel in downtown on Thursday afternoon, the largest ground-up hotel development the city has seen in four decades.

Lauded for its close proximity to signature Atlanta landmarks like State Farm Arena, Centennial Olympic Park and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the 976-room, 40-story hotel features eight food and beverage establishments, over 100,000 square feet of event space and the largest hotel ballroom in the entire state, while standing as the tallest building on the city’s westside.

“Today, our championship campus is a beacon of inspiration, showcasing what can be achieved when visionary leadership, dedicated teams and supportive communities come together,” said Brian Daniel, chair of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority’s Board of Governors. “We didn’t just build something. We’ve shaped the future of hosting events and economic development on the west side of Atlanta.”

Construction of the Signia began in May of 2021, after the GWCCA officially selected Hilton as the hotel’s operator in 2020. Although, the project’s earliest stages trace back to over a decade ago, under the governance of Kemp’s predecessor, Nathan Deal, who was also present for Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting.

Gov. Kemp, in his remarks, thanked the former governor for his approval and backing of the hotel since its inception, stating that the current condition of Georgia’s economy and the state’s national status are direct results of his leadership.

“(Deal) certainly laid the groundwork for this unprecedented position that we’re in today,” Kemp said. “This project was first conceived during his time in office, and he supported it knowing this facility would be an essential part of attracting visitors and businesses to our state.”

The ceremony’s speakers reiterated that Georgia is defined by both its capacity for tourism and its ability to attract economic opportunity on a national scale. Daniel said that Georgia has been recognized as the best state in America to do business for 10 consecutive years and that the tourism industry stands as the state’s second-largest economy.

Atlanta specifically stands as Hilton’s largest international market. Kemp said the city is home to 136 Hilton hotels belonging to 13 brands and that an additional 40 hotels in the area are currently in development. Chris Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton, also identified Atlanta as the company’s “most important market”, with the Signia serving as the first newly-built hotel of its kind in the world.

“We (operate in) 130 countries around the world, but very few (properties), if any, are as important as this and have the kind of impact that this has,” Nassetta said. “This is one of the best properties we have in the world amongst any of our 22 brands.”

Nassetta also said that the hotel brings approximately 800 permanent jobs to Atlanta, many of which are already filled by employees entirely new to the hospitality industry.

“It really is wonderful to be here to celebrate,” Nassetta said. “I think (the Signia’s completion) is a milestone for Atlanta and a milestone for the state of Georgia.”

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Interest rates for mortgages, which reached their highest point in more than two decades this past October, have experienced a downward trend for the past several weeks, a promising sign for aspiring homebuyers looking to purchase early this year.

Despite mortgage rates and prices for homes last month lingering above values measured at the end of 2022, analysts expect the decline will motivate more buyers to enter the housing market in 2024.

According to the government-sponsored mortgage financing company Freddie Mac, the rate to acquire a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage in the country averaged at 6.61% on Thursday, December 28, a 0.06 percent decrease from the previous week and a decrease of just over half a percentage point compared to four weeks prior.

The year ended with the 30-year mortgage rate nearly two tenths of a percentage point higher than the rate calculated at the end of 2022. However, the rate adjusted by its smallest margin in six weeks, with the weekly average not having seen a change of 0.06% since the week of Nov. 9 to Nov. 16.

“The rapid descent of mortgage rates over the last two months stabilized a bit this week, but rates continue to trend down,” said chief economist at Freddie Mac Sam Khater about the Dec. 28 averages. “Heading into the new year, the economy remains on firm ground with solid growth, a tight labor market, decelerating inflation and a nascent rebound in the housing market.”

Prospective buyers appear to have responded to the fall in mortgage rates positively.

A December report from real estate company Redfin states that the number of submitted mortgage applications has increased 19% since the beginning of November, when the total had reached its lowest point in roughly 30 years. The report also suggests that interest rates are likely to remain below 7% as the new year progresses.

“The last week of economic news and data makes it more likely than not that mortgage rates have peaked,” said economic research lead at Redfin, Chen Zhao, about the report. “Buyers will return from the holidays with more homes to choose from, and they should still see rates in the mid-6% range.”

Still, mortgage rates could rise again this year. Although unlikely, Zhao said the Federal Reserve may choose to reverse the direction of interest rates as a cautionary measure at some point in 2024, depending on the state of inflation in the country.

The 30-year rate increased slightly to 6.62% this week, per Freddie Mac, bringing a halt to consistent downward progress in the first week of the new year.

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New York (CNN) — Harvard President Claudine Gay announced Tuesday she is stepping down amid a firestorm of controversy at the university.

“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,” Gay wrote in a letter to the Harvard community. “After consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.”

Gay did not say when she plans to formally step down but she described the decision as “difficult beyond words.”

“Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor — two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am — and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus,” Gay wrote.

She is resigning just six months into her presidency. The first Black president in Harvard’s nearly 400-year history and the second woman, Gay acknowledged how short her tenure was.

“When my brief presidency is remembered, I hope it will be seen as a moment of reawakening to the importance of striving to find our common humanity — and of not allowing rancor and vituperation to undermine the vital process of education,” Gay said.

She was undone in part by her responses at a congressional hearing last month, as well as an ongoing plagiarism scandal.

At the House hearing, Gay was criticized for a lack of direct answer about policies and procedures to combat bullying and harassment of Jewish students.

Alan M. Garber, who currently serves as provost and chief academic officer at Harvard, will step in as interim president until the school finds a new leader, the Harvard Corporation announced in a letter on Tuesday.

The Corporation said the search for a new president would “begin in due course,” but did not specify an exact timeline.

Gay said in her letter she would return to a faculty position “and to the scholarship and teaching that are the lifeblood of what we do.”

A spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.

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New York (CNN) — Many feared 2023 would be the year of recession. It turned out to be the year of remarkable resilience.

The US economy appears to be enjoying the soft landing many argued was nearly impossible.

Inflation has cooled dramatically, unemployment remains low and the Federal Reserve could deliver rate cuts as soon as March.

“The big story of 2023 is we stuck the landing,” Justin Wolfers, professor at the University of Michigan, told CNN.

Wolfers noted the economy didn’t just bounce back from the fastest recession ever, but it overcame the war in Ukraine, oil price shocks, political dysfunction and countless other issues.

“It’s the little engine that could,” Wolfers said of the economy. “Given how bad the shocks were, this could have been so much worse.”

The US economy still faces real risks and challenges, from the Israel-Hamas war to the least affordable housing market in a generation. And yet there are tangible reasons to be optimistic about the economy in 2024, forces that are easier to see than they were a year ago.

‘Remarkable’ inflation cool-down

Many on Wall Street and in Washington expected inflation would cool after hitting four-decade highs in June 2022.

But few anticipated just how fast it would happen. Consumer prices increased by 3.1% year-over-year in November, down sharply from 9.1% in June 2022.

The speed of the inflation cool-down is “remarkable,” economist Ian Shepherdson recently wrote in a report.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told CNN he expects inflation will be back near the Federal Reserve’s 2% target by the end of 2024.

After spiking above $5 a gallon in 2022, gas prices eased significantly in 2023. GasBuddy projects the yearly average for US gas prices will fall again in 2024, allowing consumers to spend $32 billion less on fuel than they did in 2023.

Declaring victory over inflation

Inflation has cooled so much the Fed has halted the monster-sized rate hikes that threatened to derail the economy and freaked out investors.

Fed officials are now even penciling in rate cuts for 2024, an outcome which would represent declaring victory in the war on inflation.

Zandi said he suspects the Fed will cut rates four times in 2024, likely beginning in May. Goldman Sachs is betting the Fed could start delivering rate cuts in March.

Rate cuts would bring relief to Main Street, lowering the cost to get a mortgage, get a car loan and carry a credit card balance. Mortgage rates have already plunged from nearly 8% in October to 6.6% at the end of the year.

Blockbuster year for stocks

Cooling inflation, fading recession fears and looming rate cuts fired up Wall Street.

US stocks ended the year with a bang as the S&P 500 rallied nine weeks to end the year – the longest win streak since 2004. The Nasdaq spiked 43%, narrowly missing its best year in two decades.

It’s true the stock market is not the economy. At times, what’s good for Wall Street is not good for Main Street, and vice versa.

But in this case, the stock market rally largely reflected optimism about the economy, inflation and confidence in a soft landing, which is good news, for Wall Street and Main Street.

‘Extraordinarily low’ layoffs

Despite the Fed’s rate hikes, the unemployment rate is sitting at just 3.7%, near a half-century low.

Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, remain historically low at just 218,000, a sign many employers are reluctant to let go of the workers they have.

“Claims are extraordinarily low,” Zandi said. “For alarm bells to go off, claims would have to be closer to 300,000. We are a long, long way away from that.”

If this trend lasts, it should support consumer spending — the main driver of the US economy.

“As long as layoffs remain relatively low, the economy should be fine,” said Zandi. “We are in this kind of virtuous economic cycle.”

Paychecks over prices

For much of the economic recovery from Covid-19, prices have increased faster than paychecks, which means real wages, adjusted for inflation, shrank.

However, the trend has started to shift recently, with paychecks catching up to inflation.

Both Zandi and Wolfers expressed optimism real wage growth will gather momentum in 2024.

“As time goes on here and inflation remains low, incomes will catch up and pass inflation,” Zandi said. “People will start feeling better about things.”

‘A million things’ could go wrong

Of course, the past few years have shown reminded everyone how unexpected developments like the Covid-19 pandemic or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can wreck the most optimistic forecasts.

It’s possible other black swan events emerge, darkening the economic picture for 2024.

“There are a million things that could go wrong, as we know,” said Wolfers. “Recessions do happen.”

Zandi said his list of worries is topped by the risk of further stress in the financial system like the bank failures in early 2023.

Another concern keeping Zandi awake: the 2024 presidential election.

The race for the White House will surely be influenced by the economy. (It’s the top issue for voters). But the opposite could also be true.

Zandi predicted a very close contest and warned a contested election may trigger uncertainty or even social unrest.

“If that’s the case, that could be very damaging to the stock market and the broader economy,” he said.

Still, Wolfers is hoping for a dose of normalcy after a wild few years for the US economy.

“Every economist’s secret dream is we hope the economy is boring. I want a 2024 in which you never want to call me because most of your viewers have jobs, feel comfortable about their income and nothing bad has happened,” he said. “That hasn’t been the story, because of the pandemic, but it might be the story for the next year.”

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Whether you’re just entering the workforce or plan to stop working in a few years, it’s never too early – or too late – to save for retirement.

Ideally, retirement planning and saving should start as soon as you get your first paycheck, but it’s easy to focus on more pressing expenses in your 20s, 30s and 40s, like paying for a house or raising children. By your 50s or 60s, however, you might feel you haven’t saved enough to avoid worrying about financial security in retirement. 

There’s always time to make changes. Consider these options to protect your assets, build credit, and maintain and grow your investments for a financially worry-free future.

Start with the basics

No matter your age or current financial status, the following steps are the foundation of most retirement plans. 

• Begin with a 401(k). If available, join your employer’s retirement plan, like a 401(k). You can set up automatic deposits each pay period, and many employers will match your financial contributions, giving you more funds for the future.

• Consider opening an IRA. Find out if you’re eligible for an individual retirement account (IRA) and contribute what you can. You can have an IRA in addition to an employer-based plan. 

• Put your money to work. Open a general investment account to potentially grow your savings even more.

Play catch up

Understanding your current financial picture and planning for benefits, like Social Security and pensions, are important steps to figuring out how much income you may have in retirement.

If you’re nearing your projected retirement date and you don’t think you have enough saved to maintain your current or desired lifestyle, here are a few considerations to help get you in a better position.

• Make catch-up contributions. Many tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts, like IRAs and 401(k)s, allow catch-up contributions for people 50 and over. That means you can contribute more than the government-set maximum each year, up to a certain amount, to make up for what you didn’t contribute in the past.

• Make sure you have adequate insurance. In addition to making sure your life insurance is current, look into long-term care and disability insurance before you retire to save money on future health care costs. 

• Consider your home equity as part of the equation. If you plan to remain in your home, a home equity line of credit may be another option to fund certain expenses in retirement. If you choose to downsize to a smaller home, it may free up cash in your home’s equity for you to use.

• Tap other sources of income and equity. Do you have taxable brokerage accounts or other general savings? Include these funding sources, if you have them, when projecting how much you’ll have in retirement.

• Keep working. A growing number of people are working in semi-retirement and developing portfolios that produce passive income. Some might continue working full-time for longer than planned to build more savings. If you can generate enough income and are able to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security, it may allow you to maximize benefits over your lifetime. 

Make a plan

No matter your current financial situation, set aside some time to review your options. There are many helpful tools, including articles, calculators and financial advice from professionals, to help you craft a roadmap to transition to your years in retirement. 

Planning for your unique situation may help you get closer to where you want to be in retirement, even if you don’t feel that you’re there yet. 

For more information and online retirement articles, tools and calculators, visit chase.com/retirement.

Content sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney Experiences, formerly Disney Parks, hosted nearly 100 Black small business owners from the Atlanta-based Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida early this week, organizing an experience designed to equip emerging business leaders with the skills needed to generate a positive economic impact within their communities.

Attendants were lodged inside Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts for the duration of the trip, spending a majority of their afternoons and evenings alongside RICE leadership, stakeholders and members of Disney’s supply chain accelerator planning team. Each pupil “graduated” from the program on Wednesday, receiving a certificate of completion and a round of congratulations from Mickey Mouse himself.

As the lead financial sponsor of RICE’s Supply Chain Accelerator Program, Disney presented a slew of educational sessions and workshops for the team, one of which was developed and hosted by the company’s exterior training arm, Disney Institute, giving Black business owners first-hand experience in adopting the mindset needed to operate successful ventures.

Leaders from Disney Institute introduced a service-oriented approach to entrepreneurship through its teachings, emphasizing that great service is necessary to properly run a business, regardless of size or revenue. Cast members at Disney brought this notion of exemplary service to life through their kind and courteous treatment of RICE entrepreneurs and stakeholders over the course of the trip.

Disney Institute also invited the group to tour exclusive parts of Magic Kingdom Park on Tuesday afternoon, where attendees identified real-life examples of the managerial concepts taught during the institute’s training session.

Additionally, RICE-backed business owners heard from local Black vendors contracted with Disney on Wednesday, listening in on a panel about expanding business practices, working with big retailers and embracing authenticity when developing a brand—another popular takeaway from the seminar.

“That’s the power of storytelling,” said Lisa Williams, founder of multi-cultural doll company

World of EPI, about authenticity during the discussion. “Because we get to see who we are…”

While many of this year’s participating entrepreneurs returned from last year’s event, some business owners joined RICE leadership in Florida for the first time this week. 

Chantel Powell, stakeholder at RICE and founder and CEO of natural kids deodorant brand Play Pits, said that RICE’s trip to Orlando marked her first visit to Disney World since she was about 10 years old, giving her a chance to observe the parks from a new and refreshing perspective as both an adult and an entrepreneur.

“I remember nothing (about my last time at Disney),” Powell said. “So, to see it with these experienced, entrepreneurial eyes—oh, my God, it’s incredible. It’s truly magical.”

Powell also said that she’s previously worked jobs in customer service before switching gears to start her own business, so Disney’s lessons on providing excellent service to clients and consumers particularly resonated with her.

“I was an executive assistant. I worked as a wardrobe stylist and assistant costumer in film and TV,” Powell said. “So, I’m used to being of service to people…”

A select few attendees even visited the parks at Walt Disney World for the very first time. 

Chisom Eke, founder and CEO of skin-sensitive skincare company Overlooked Beauty, said she had preconceived notions before traveling to Disney World, but her first experience navigating Magic Kingdom and EPCOT completely exceeded her expectations.

“I thought it was going to be like your typical amusement park,” Eke said. “But (after) coming here and after going through some of the info sessions we went through earlier (today), I’m like, ‘This place is absolutely amazing.’”

Intentionality was a central theme from Tuesday’s session with Disney Institute, with instructors from the institute stating that business owners should lead both intentionally and professionally in order to sustain financial success and encourage loyalty from their consumers.

Eke said that the intentionality behind Disney World’s operations was evident throughout Tuesday’s tour and that she plans to incorporate many of the lessons she’s learned on this trip into running her own small business.

“I think it made the experience so much better, because I know that… (Disney) did everything with care and with the customer in mind,” Eke said. “That helps me with even my business.”

The Russell Center and Disney plan to partner to host the event again next year.

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Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens took his place behind a podium under a red, white, green, and gold balloon trellis inside the new West Cascade Park Friday afternoon. The mayor was there to officially cut the ribbon to the park and as he thanked the people in attendance he paused. Children were already playing on the park’s small playground by the time the ceremony started.

“I love that in the background you hear children laughing and playing,” Dickens said. “That’s what we have this here for.”

The last of the city’s neighborhood planning units (NPU) to get a park was officially scratched off the list this afternoon. West Cascade Park, one of the most historic and affluent mostly-Black neighborhoods in the city, now has a park to call its own. The 12-acre park is located on Danforth Road and includes a nearly one-mile-long walking trail that cuts through the park and near a creek.

The construction was handled by Black-owned Coweta County-based firm, Asque’s Construction & Home Improvement, and began in late 2020 following the demolition of a home that was in the center of the property. During the Bottoms administration there were plans to bring green space to the West Cascade Park neighborhood where Bottoms and her husband bought their first home in 1995 and has lived ever since. As a city councilmember she said she fought to get that done, but had more power to actually make the project happen when she elected as the city’s 60th mayor in 2017. Bottoms recalled seeing the for sale sign on the property and immediately getting in touch within the proper channels about buying the house and beginning the project.

Dickens said green spaces have a direct effect on a community’s health – both mental and physical- and “this one will ensure an exceptional experience for all visitors.”

The mayor credited Overstreet for spearheading the project after he took over at City Hall. Overstreet, an Atlanta native, said she handpicked the playground equipment and said the playground at Westside Park was her inspiration.

“The West Cascade Park project is a legacy project,” said Overstreet. She added that having this green space open is “addresses a significant gap in this neighborhood.”

The total construction budget was $3 million with more than two-thirds of the park being flood proof.

“This literally is a game-changer for our community,” Bottoms said.

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Black net worths are on the rise — for now. A recent report from the Federal Reserve found that in the last three years, between 2019 and 2022, Black wealth rose by 61%. It’s the largest growth of any other racial group. Despite this increase, it does not reflect the broader reality of the persisting racial wealth gap.

“That 61% increase seems so large because the actual wealth that Black families had in 2019 was so small compared to white households,” Michelle Holder, associate professor of economics at John Jay College in the City University of New York (CUNY), says. “When you’re starting with a smaller base, increases can get magnified.”

Median Black wealth was around $28,000 in 2019 and moved closer to $45,000 in 2022. At the same time, white wealth increased by 31%, growing from $218,000 to $285,000. Holder says this comparison should not take away from the progress, but looking at the percentage alone can be “a little misleading.”

“I’d say the numbers are a kind of mask,” she tells Word in Black. “The Black community didn’t really experience true wealth building that the numbers might suggest it did. I think what they experienced was a rise in the value of an asset that almost half of Black families have compared to about 75% of white families.”

What’s Driving Black Net Worth Growth

One of the most significant contributors to wealth growth for Black households was increases in homeownership and housing equity or the home’s value. In the second quarter of 2020, Black homeownership hit 47%, a rate the community has not reached since the 2008 housing market crash. By the end of 2022, it dipped slightly to around 45%, similar to what it was in 2011.

The rate is far below that of other groups but still higher than in the last 10 years. 

A subfactor was home values, which, for Black homeowners specifically, increased by 60% for a net value of $123,000. But Black families were not alone in this. The Federal Reserve found that “amid rising house prices, home equity for homeowners moved up sharply for families of all races and ethnicities.”

RELATED: Houses Cost More Than Ever, But Black Folks Still Plan to Buy

Business ownership was also a wealth-building tool. 11% of Black people are now business owners, and an estimated 3 million Black-owned businesses are in the United States. A report from the Urban Institute on what pushes Black women into entrepreneurship points to discrimination in the workplace, including racism and sexism. 

The increase in business ownership is impressive, but their value has significantly declined across racial groups.

“We saw a rise in businesses, but they were not of the variety that generated large amounts of employees, revenue, and wealth overall,” Andre M. Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Metro, says. “It remains to be seen if those businesses will ultimately scale, increase their size, and increase their number of employees so their overall value will increase as well.”

Perry adds that in the future, there may be a decline in the number of businesses if owners cannot grow and sustain themselves. As a result, business values will also decline.

Moving the Needle on the Racial Wealth Gap

There are differences of opinion on exactly how many years it will take to close the racial wealth gap, but all agree it will take several centuries to do so. With the goalpost moving every year, it will take significant changes to move closer to closure.

“Wealth begets wealth,” Perry says. “The more you have, the more you accrue.”

Investments in the stock market largely grew white wealth in the last three years. Fortunately, Black stock ownership rose over the previous 15 years, but not at the same levels as other groups with higher stock values. 

With most Black wealth residing in homeownership, Holder and Perry believe a more diversified investment portfolio would be more impactful for the Black community. But it can’t stop there. Black people need more growth in their wages and salaries, an area they saw the least movement in because they were unchanged, according to the Federal Reserve.

“The sad thing is that even with gains like this, the racial wealth gap in this country pretty much remains the same by all of the different metrics,” Holder says. “I think that’s really unfortunate.”

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Minneapolis (CNN) — The US economy added 199,000 jobs in November, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% from 3.9% the month before.

Economists were expecting net job gains of 180,000 for the month and for the unemployment rate to hold steady.

The largest employment gains last month came in health care and government, which added an estimated 93,200 and 49,000 jobs, respectively.

November’s job growth was stronger than October’s unrevised tally of 150,000 jobs added. September’s job gains were revised down to 262,000 from 297,000, according to the BLS.

The continued strength in the labor market has helped fuel consumer spending and economic growth, but Federal Reserve officials believe slower demand will help bring down inflation.

Through November, the economy has added an average of 232,000 jobs per month — far more moderate growth than 2022 and 2021, when an estimated 399,000 and 606,000 jobs were added every month, respectively.

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