California Allows Highest Home Insurance Hike in Years

A firefighter prepares to spray a home during the Edgehill Fire on August 5 in San Bernardino, California.

(Outlet: Newsweek) The California Department of Insurance gave Allstate permission to increase its homeowners insurance premiums by an average 34.1 percent, the largest rate hike of any major insurer approved by the agency in the past three years. The decision is expected to affect more than 350,000 policyholders across the state, with homeowners in Fresno, Madera and Mariposa counties seeing the highest increases.Read More

The higher unemployment rate may not be a bad thing this time

Five people sit cross legged holding papers and laptops.

(Outlet: Marketplace) The dust is starting to settle from the global stock market sell-off Monday. One development that helped spark fear among investors was the increase in the U.S. unemployment rate, which ticked up to 4.3% in July from 4.1% in June. A rising jobless rate is not, on the face of it, usually a good thing. But this time, the reasons might not be so bad.Read More