How the cost of monthly utilities, car insurance and child care is soaring

Published

2 years ago

November 30, 2023

admin

It’s not just grocery staples like eggs, milk, bread and coffee that are going through the roof — it’s also the hit from basic monthly payments like heat, electricity, car insurance and child care.

While housing costs and car payments continue to dog consumers amid stubbornly stiff interest rates, new figures from the US Energy Information Administration reveal that homeowners and renters alike are getting no relief from their associated monthly bills.

Those include electricity, which has climbed 25% since January 2020, the year before President Joe Biden took office and began touting his Bidenomics agenda.

California residents have experienced among the fastest-climbing electricity bills, which have popped a stunning 59% from the start of January through October 2023, per EIA.

Maine also experienced one of the steepest surges in electric costs, at 42%, while New Yorkers faced a roughly 38% pop in the same three-plus-year time period.

It’s part of the cold reality looming for most US voters who believe the odds of achieving the so-called “American Dream” are stacked against them.

For consumers faced with heating their homes this winter, the price of natural gas is also up 29% since January 2020, according to EIA figures that were earlier reported on by Bloomberg.

The figures contradict the latest Consumer Price Index, which reported that the energy index fell 2.5% on a monthly basis in October as gasoline tumbled 5% — figures Biden spun as good news for Bidenomics, which popped a historic $2 trillion hole in the federal budget last month.

Car insurance costs are following the same trend as Americans face monthly payments that are 33% higher than they were at the start of 2020.

The advance is faster than the previous three years, from 2016 to 2019 combined, when monthly car insurance payments ticked 21% higher, according to Bloomberg.

The cost of the car itself has also revved to a record-breaking $736 per month for a new vehicle, according to automotive company Edmunds.

In another grim all-time high, Edmunds found that 17.5% of Americans’ monthly car payment exceeds $1,000.

Healthcare plans also became more costly.

The average employer-sponsored health insurance premium for US families reached almost $24,000 this year, according to an annual KFF survey of more than 2,000 American companies — up a punishing 7% compared with a 1% increase a year earlier

Premiums for individual employer coverage rose at the same rate.

And as of 2022, the average annual cost of child care nationally was $10,853 — or roughly 10% of the average married couple’s median income — according to Bloomberg, citing data from Child Care Aware of America.

However, costs varied by region. States in the Northeast charge the most for child care, CCAoA found, running parents $30,514 for two children.

For reference, CCAoA’s annual survey found that housing costs in the area average $25,557 and the average child care professional earns an average of $28,520 per year.

In 41 states plus the District of Columbia, the average annual price of child care for two children exceeds average annual mortgage payments by anywhere from 1% to 53% — and rent payments by a staggering 100% — per the CCAoA.

Business

Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

Published

45 mins ago

September 22, 2025

admin

Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

Donald Trump has revealed that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could be part of a deal in which TikTok in the United States will come under American control.

The US president also namedropped Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, as a possible participant in the deal during an interview with Fox News, which is owned by the Murdochs.

“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

Mr Trump said that Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of software firm Oracle, was part of the same group. His involvement in the potential TikTok deal had previously been revealed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday that Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security, with Americans set to control six of the seven seats for a planned TikTok board.

This comes after Mr Trump said he and China’s Xi Jinping held a “very productive call” on Friday, discussing the final approval for the TikTok deal, much of which is still unknown.

Once confirmed, the deal should stop TikTok from being banned in the US after lawmakers decided it posed a security risk to citizens’ data.

Officials warned that the algorithm TikTok uses is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push specific content on the social media platform in a way that is difficult to detect.

Congress had ordered the app shut down for American users by January 2025 if its Chinese owner ByteDance didn’t sell its assets in the country – but the ban has been delayed four times by President Trump.

Mr Trump said on Sunday that he might be “a little prejudiced” about TikTok, after telling reporters on Friday: “I wasn’t a fan of TikTok and then I got to use it and then I became a fan and it helped me win an election in a landslide.”

After the call with Mr Xi, Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post: “We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

Mr Trump later told reporters at the White House that Xi had approved the deal, but said it still needed to be signed.

Representatives for the Murdochs, Mr Dell and Mr Ellison have not yet commented on a potential TikTok deal.

Business

Gatwick second runway given green light by government

Published

45 mins ago

September 22, 2025

admin

Gatwick second runway given green light by government

Gatwick’s second runway has been given the go-ahead by the government.

The northern runway already exists parallel to Gatwick‘s main one, but cannot be used at the same time, as it is too close.

It is currently limited to being a taxiway and is only used for take-offs and landings if the main one has to shut.

The £2.2bn expansion project will see it move 12 metres north so both can operate simultaneously, facilitating 100,000 extra flights a year, 14,000 jobs, and £1bn a year for the economy.

It would also mean the airport could process 75 million passengers a year by the late 2030s.

Gatwick is already the second busiest airport in the UK, and the busiest single runway airport in Europe.

No public money is being used for the expansion plan, which airport bosses say could see the new runway operational by 2029.

The expansion was initially rejected by the Planning Inspectorate over concerns about its provisions for noise prevention and public transport connections.

Campaigners also argued the additional air traffic will be catastrophic for the environment and the local community.

A revised plan was published by the planning authority earlier this year, which it said could be approved by the government if all conditions were met.

The government says it is now satisfied this is the case, with additions made including Gatwick being able to set its own target for passengers who travel to the airport by public transport – instead of a statutory one.

Nearby residents affected by noise will also be able to charge the airport for the cost of triple-glazed windows.

And people who live directly under the flight path who choose to sell their homes could have their stamp duty and estate agent fees paid for up to 1% of the purchase price.

CAGNE, an aviation and environmental group in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, says it still has concerns about noise, housing provision, and wastewaster treatment.

The group says it will lodge a judicial review, which will be funded by local residents and environmental organisations.

‘Disaster for the climate crisis’

Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised the second runway decision, posting on X: “Aviation expansion is a disaster for the climate crisis.

“Anyone who’s been paying any attention to this shambles of a Labour Govenrment (sic) knows they don’t care about people in poverty, don’t care about nature nor for the planet. Just big business & their own interests.”

Friends of the Earth claimed the economic case for the airport expansion has been “massively overstated”.

Head of campaigns Rosie Downes warned: “If we’re to meet our legally-binding climate targets, today’s decision also makes it much harder for the government to approve expansion at Heathrow.”

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden welcomed the decision but said it “should have been made months ago”, claiming Labour have “dithered and delayed at every turn”.

“Now that Gatwick’s second runway has been approved, it’s crucial Labour ensures this infrastructure helps drive the economic growth our country needs,” he said.

A government source told Sky News the second runway is a “no-brainer for growth”.

“The transport secretary has cleared Gatwick expansion for take-off,” they said. “It is possible that planes could be taking off from a new full runway at Gatwick before the next general election.

“Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements.”

Technology

Apple-supplier Luxshare shares pop 10% on report of OpenAI hardware deal

Published

2 hours ago

September 22, 2025

admin

Apple-supplier Luxshare shares pop 10% on report of OpenAI hardware deal

In this photo illustration, the Luxshare Precision company logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen.

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Shenzhen-listed Luxshare saw its shares jump about 10% on Monday, following a report that the Chinese device assembler had signed a deal with OpenAI to produce a consumer AI device.

The company, which is also a supplier for Apple, is already developing a prototype of the device using ChatGPT large language models, The Information reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

One source said that one of the products OpenAI has talked to suppliers about making would resemble a smart speaker without a display, which could put it in competition with Apple devices using Siri, with the company targeting late 2026 or early 2027 for its first device launches.

Luxshare’s 10% jump brought its year-to-date gains to about 50%. Most stocks on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange aren’t allowed to trade up or down more than 10% in a single day, relative to the previous day’s closing price. The company is also reportedly considering a secondary listing in Hong Kong this year.

Luxshare and OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on path to profitability: Willing to run at a loss to focus on growth

OpenAI has long been signaling a desire to push into dedicated AI devices, presenting a potential challenge to Apple and its iPhone.

As part of these plans, The Information reported that OpenAI has been poaching staff from Apple to join its hardware division, now led by ex-Apple executive Tang Tan.

Earlier this year, the AI company, headed by Sam Altman, partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive after buying his hardware startup, io Products, in a $6.4 billion deal. Ive is responsible for designing many of Apple’s most iconic products, including the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air.

An OpenAI partnership with Luxshare would bring Apple’s longtime supplier — responsible for assembling items like the AirPods and Vision Pro — into the AI comapny’s orbit.

The AI company has also approached China-based Goertek, which also assembles AirPods, HomePods and Apple Watches, to provide components, including speaker modules, for its planned devices, according to the Information report.

OpenAI has been pushing deeper into hardware, hiring the former head of Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses initiative in November to lead its robotics and consumer hardware efforts.

In the same month, OpenAI invested in robot startup Physical Intelligence, which focuses on “bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world,” according to its website.