Social Security recipients are on pace to receive the biggest raise in more than 40 years for 2023, although cooling inflation has brought the projection down slightly from prior estimates. The projected cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2023 is 9.6%, according to the Senior Citizens League. That bump would raise the average retiree benefit of $1,656 by $158.98, according to the organization. The Social Security Administration will announce the actual adjustment for 2023 in October, based on a calculation that compares the average consumer-price index from the third quarter of 2022 with data from the same period last year. Wednesday’s estimate factored in consumer prices from July, which rose at 8.5% over the same time last year. That was down from 9.1% in June, largely due to falling energy prices. A fat raise would be good news for the roughly 51 million people who collect Social Security retirement benefits. But it will still fall short of many recipients’ needs. The 5.9% COLA for 2022 proved no match for this year’s inflation, so many have had to dip deeper into savings to cover higher prices on essentials like gas and groceries.
Read More
Amid a more saturated U.S. market, one analyst sees Disney and other streaming players ‘pivot to a new wave of sobriety’ Disney is raising prices across a variety of its streaming offerings, suggesting that the company has become more focused on streaming financials than absolute growth. Walt Disney Co. plans to raise prices on various streaming offerings as it gears up for the Dec. 8 launch of an ad-supported tier, marking the latest sign that the streaming market isn’t what it used to be. Whereas media companies once rushed to launch new services and grab new subscribers with flashy offers, they seem to be taking a more financially focused approach in light of a more saturated U.S. market. Disney’s DIS, +3.98% Wednesday afternoon earnings report marked a coda of sorts for the media industry, with MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson noting that now all the June-quarter streaming results are in for major players. And, indeed, growth for the industry was muted, with Nathanson noting an aggregate of just 2.7 million domestic streaming additions across the industry, most of which could be attributed to Paramount+ and an “undetermined number of free-trial [subscribers]” at that service.
Read More