Sir Issac Newton didnt necessarily say that an economy in downward motion stays in downward motion, but that wont stop Americans from believing it.

After a tumultuous last few years mentally, socio-politically, and economically, it would be tough to blame people for not feeling too optimistic entering the new year, which is traditionally a time for hope and a fresh start. But a new poll from Gallup, which surveyed more than 1,800 American adults, found that eight out of 10 respondents expect 2023 to be another year of economic difficulty, with higher taxes and an increased budget deficit.

Americans are greeting 2023 with great skepticism and little expectation that the economic struggles that closed out 2022 will abate, Gallup research consultant Megan Brenan wrote. Few U.S. adults also predict the partisan politics that plague the nation will improve, not an unreasonable expectation given that there will be divided government in 2023 after Republicans won control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Concerns around record-high levels of inflation and continued talk of a looming recession dominated much of the economic discourse last year. Such money woes are only adding to Americans ongoing anxiety over COVID, heightened racism and bigotry, and mental health and isolationism.

The Federal Reserve scrambled in 2022 to raise interest rates in an attempt to tamp down inflation as Americans shelled out more money to buy homes, fill gas tanks, run to the grocery store, or splurge on other everyday items.

But thats partly whats sparking recession fears. And, many Americans dont seem to think the Feds strategy will be effective. According to Gallup, more than six in 10 adult Americans think prices will still rise at a high rate and that the stock market will continue to fall in 2023 (although inflation has been slowly ebbing). And just over half of Americans expect unemployment to increase in 2023, which hasnt yet been a concern as workers continue to quit jobs in droves despite layoffs, particularly in tech, rattling the workforce.

Americans arent just grim about their bank accounts and the workforce. Ninety percent of respondents surveyed said they expect 2023 to be a year of more political conflict in the U.S.; if the unprecedented mess unfolding in the U.S. House of Representatives with would be Speaker Kevin McCarthy is any indication a week into the year, their prediction holds water.

In addition to that, more than 70% think the crime rate will rise, and 56% predict there will be many labor strikes by unions.

If youre not yet sufficiently bummed out, predictions internationally are similarly pessimistic. Eighty-five percent of U.S. adults are forecasting a 2023 fraught with international discord rather than peace. A bright spot, however, are the 64% of Americans who expect Russias power to decrease, which Gallup points to a likely reflection of the countrys recent setbacks in its war against Ukraine.

Whatever 2023 actually holds, the continual setbacks and shell shocks since the onset of the pandemic in 2020 sure have significantly impacted the roaring 2020s Americans by and large were once hopeful for.

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The stock market rallied on Friday amid hopes inflation may continue to cool and the Federal Reserve may ease up on its interest rate hikes following some mixed readings on the U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 was 2.2% higher in afternoon trading and on track to close out its first winning week in the last five. The gains were broad, with about 95% of the stocks in the benchmark index marching higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 673 points, or 2.1%, at 33,605, as of 2:34 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.5% higher.

Markets worldwide got an initial jolt from the U.S. jobs report.

EY Parthenons chief economist, Gregory Daco, told Fortune its a Goldilocks jobs report that points to a gently easing labor market.

Workers wage gains are slowing, which could mean easing pressure on the nations high inflation.

Todays payrolls report was nirvana for the bulls, David Russell, VP Market Intelligence at TradeStation Group, told Fortune. Wage growth slowed even as unemployment fell. The participation rate ticked up as long-term joblessness fell. These numbers seem to point toward a soft landing, with covid-fueled inflationary pressures still easing.

On the downside, the jobs report also showed hiring across the job market may still be too strong for the Feds liking, even after its fusillade of rate hikes last year.

Analysts warned trading may remain turbulent in the coming hours and weeks as investors keep trying to handicap whether the economy can avoid a recession. Much of the trading is based entirely on expectations for what the Fed will do with rates: High rates slow the economy by design, hoping to grind down inflation, while also threatening to cause a recession and dragging down prices for all kinds of investments.

Perhaps the clearest action for investors was in the bond market, where the yield on the two-year Treasury dropped to 4.27% from 4.48% just before the release of the data on the U.S. jobs market.

That yield tends to track expectations for Fed action, and more investors are betting the central bank will dial down the size of its next rate hike following Fridays data.

Key for them was the reading showing wages for workers across the country rose 4.6% in December from a year earlier. Its the smallest raise for workers since two summers ago, and it came despite economists expectations for an acceleration.

While weaker raises hurt workers, particularly when theyre still not keeping up with inflation, economists say they could keep the economy out of a vicious cycle where big gains in pay push employers to raise prices for their own products, leading to even higher inflation. Its something the Federal Reserve has talked about preventing, part of the reason why its been hiking interest rates at economy-shaking speed.

As long as wage gains are coasting to a sustainable altitude, the Fed might continue to throttle back its rate hikes, said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments.

A separate report also showed that activity in U.S. services industries surprisingly contracted last month, the first time thats happened since 2020. Analysts said thats likely due in part to the rate hikes already pushed through by the Fed, and the weakness could also reduce pressure on the nations inflation.

That report helped steady the stock market following a shaky morning and sent it ripping higher again. After opening the day with an initial pop of 1.2%, the S&P 500 lost almost all of it within minutes as Wall Street struggled with how to interpret the U.S. jobs report and what it means for the Fed and rates.

The Fed has pulled its key overnight rate up to a range of 4.25% to 4.50% after it began last year at virtually zero.

With inflation showing some signs of cooling in recent months, the Fed last month stepped down the size of its rate increase to 0.50 percentage points from four straight hikes of 0.75 points. Traders are largely betting on the Fed to move to the more traditional hike of 0.25 points at its meeting next month.

Past rate hikes have already meant big pain for areas of the economy that do best when rates are low, such as housing.

In coming weeks, companies across industries will show how widespread the damage is when they report how much profit they made during the last three months of 2022.

If companies across the S&P 500 report a drop in overall earnings per share, as some analysts suspect, it would be the first decline since the summer of 2020.

On Friday, retailer Costco Wholesale jumped 7.1% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after it reported stronger sales for December.

___

AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped stunning data Friday that put a damper on the rise of the new COVID variant XBB.1.5, the so-called Krakenand left it jockeying for dominance with competitor BQ.1.1, known as Cerberus. Experts maintain the Kraken variant will continue its rise, though, and that Fridays data is a statistical blip.

Last week, the CDC had projected that XBB.1.5 comprised about 40% of cases in the U.S. With a doubling time of about nine days, according to the CDCs European counterpart, many expected it to achieve dominance in the U.S. when the CDC updated its weekly COVID forecast Friday. But the figures shifted. On Friday, the CDC retroactively adjusted figures, blunting Krakens quick rise. Its now projected that the new variant comprised about 18% of cases this weekand about 28% of cases in the coming week.

The CDC did not immediately respond to Fortunes request for the reason behind the change. But a large batch of COVID viral sequences from outside the northeast U.S. has recently been uploaded, changing the picture, variant tracker Dr. Raj Rajnarayanan, assistant dean of research and associate professor at the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Ark., told Fortune. 

XBB.1.5 is responsible for the lions share of cases in the northeast, but BQ variants still dominate the rest of the country, according to CDC data. Given that the Northeast in general, and New York in particular, have been frontrunning nationwide COVID trends since the beginning of the pandemic, Rajnarayanan expects XBB.1.5 to still outcompete BQ.1.1 in the U.S., eventually.

So does Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research and founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. The tempered forecast leaves more runway before this variant achieves dominance cross country, he said in a Friday tweet.

XBB.1.5 has the potential to cause a global wave like Omicron BA.5 did this summerbut not as massive as the global Omicron BA.1 wave last winter, which was the largest the world has seen yet, Rajnarayanan said. A recent study by Dr. Yunlong Cao of Peking University in Beijing and other Chinese researchers made the same assertion, saying that XBB.1.5 is highly likely to eventually engulf the globe.

Last fall, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci labeled the BQ family of COVID variants pretty troublesome as they continued their upward ascent in the U.S., beating back a wave of BA.5 that swelled this past summer.

XBB and BQ variants are among the most immune-evasive seen to date, experts say. And as many predicted, theyre now duking it out for U.S. dominance.

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Turns out inflation wasnt transitory. Federal Reserve officials were convinced in 2021 that consumer price increases wouldnt last, and that they needed to maintain near-zero interest rates to help the economy navigate COVID-19. But Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, now admits that was a mistake.

Many of usthose inside the Federal Reserve and the vast majority of outside forecasterstogether made the same errors in, first, being surprised when inflation surged as much as it did and, second, assuming that inflation would fall quickly. Why did we miss it? he wrote in a Wednesday article for Medium.

Kashkari puts the blame on models that central bankers use to forecast inflation, arguing that they dont properly account for something called surge pricing inflation. He used the analogy of Uber drivers experience on a rainy day to describe this type of inflation. Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft offer their drivers so-called surge pricing when demand for rides spikes. Surge pricing can drastically increase the cost of a ride, thereby reducing demand and incentivizing more drivers to work and boost supply.

Kashkari argued that during the pandemic, the economy was hit with a form of surge pricing by corporations due to a sharp rise in demand as COVID lockdowns took hold, coupled with shortages created by broken supply chains.

But unlike during surge pricing for ride share companies, worker wages didnt surge at the same rate. This dynamic caused inflation and corporate profits to soar, while real wages declined.

Kashkari said that the key to the Feds miss was that inflation over the past year has been driven by this surge pricing that the Fed models failed to take into account, rather than a tight labor market or changes to consumer inflation expectationsthe two most common sources of rising prices during previous periods of high inflation. 

In these workhorse models, it is very difficult to generate high inflation, he explained. Either we need to assume a very tight labor marketor we must assume an unanchoring of inflation expectations. Thats it. From what I can tell, our models seem ill-equipped to handle a fundamentally different source of inflation, specifically, in this case, surge pricing inflation.

Kashkari went on to say that he believed the Fed should continue raising interest rates at least at the next few meetings due to its lack of ability to accurately forecast inflation. Cutting rates shouldnt even be considered, he added, until officials are convinced inflation is well on its way back down to their 2% target rate. 

Given the experience of the 1970s, the mistake the FOMC must avoid is to cut rates prematurely and then have inflation flare back up again, he said, referring to the Feds open market committee that determines interest rate levels. That would be a costly error.

Kashkari added that his article wasnt meant as a criticism of fellow Fed officials, noting that he, too, was wrong about inflation last year.

It is meant to be an honest assessment of what we missed and why we missed it in order to shed light on what we should learn going forward, he wrote.

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Tonight, $940 million is up for grabs in the latest Mega Millions jackpot drawing. Its a number thats enough to help beat the January blues and possibly, like Charlies grandfather in Willy Wonka, get us all out of bed and down to a corner store or gas station in hopes of buying a bit (or a lot) of luck. 

Its hard to conceptualize a number that high, and thats partly the point. The enormous winningsthe sixth-largest jackpot in historyare part of the golden age of jackpots, as The Associated Press calls it. Its not just Mega Millions putting more on the line; these days, lotteries are more mega than usual. 

Novembers Powerball prize was the largest jackpot in history: A record-breaking $2.04 billion. The sum surged after 40 consecutive drawings without a winner. And, last summer, over $1 billion was on the line in the nations third largest Mega Millions jackpot. 

All the largest jackpots in U.S. history are quite recent, dating back only to 2016. As the AP explains it, both Mega Millions and Powerball officials implemented rule changes in the mid-2010s that made jackpots difficult to win, thereby increasing the jackpot amount over time and enticing more people to buy lotto tickets in hopes of defying the odds. Powerball also introduced a third weekly drawing last year, making the jackpot heftier as more people participated and lost. 

The current Mega Millions jackpot, last drawn on Tuesday, has seen 23 drawings without a grand prize winner. Maybe thats because the odds of winning are one in 302.6 million.

Thats roughly around the same odds of Julys $1 billion-plus Mega Millions jackpot: one in 302.5 million. As Fortunes Chris Morris points out, the U.S. population is just under 333 million. Even the odds of getting hit by lightning are better than winning the lottery. 

The golden age of the jackpot offers financial escapism

A looming recession and rising inflation have left many people seeking financial security these days. Despite last years relatively sturdy job market, Americans had to dip into their pandemic savings as the experience economy resumed and the cost of living rose. Even as inflation slowly ebbs, consumer confidence is down, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index finds: In October only 17.5% of consumers said business conditions were good, and 23.3% said they expected conditions to worsen in six months.

Even the upper-middle class has been feeling financially anxious. For some households who are doing well and who are financially better off than they were in 2019, they are nonetheless seeing that financial buffer decrease, Wendy Edelberg, senior fellow at Brookings, told Fortune last spring. 

Its fueling a fascination with winning the lottery, which they hope will save them from their economic despair and help revive the middle class golden era. The interest during Powerballs jackpot spiked so much that local broadcasts reported on frustration with glitches in ticket machines, potentially linked to an inundation in sales, Fortunes Steve Mollman reported. (Although more people are buying tickets, theyre buying fewer of them for each drawing than they did about six years ago).

Lotteries have become an alternative mechanism of social mobilitya way of achieving financial success in an economy thats increasingly bereft of those opportunities, Jonathan Cohen, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Virginia whos completed a dissertation on American lotteries, told Bloomberg back in 2018. Theres an understandable belief that the economy is rigged and your best chance of making it out and getting rich is through the lottery, not through your job or savings.

Not that any of these jackpots are actually as big as they appear to be. If winners opt for the cash payout instead of the 29 years in annuity, which they usually do, they take home way less. If someone wins the Mega Millions tonight and does just that, theyll bank less than half of the projected prize at $483.5 million. Thats all before taxes, which vary by state.

But thats still a pot of goldeven if it is more difficult to strike gold as of late.

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Chime is a financial technology company based in California that partners with The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. to offer financial products. Both of the banks Chime partners with are FDIC members.

Chime is known for offering low-cost accounts that do not include overdraft fees or monthly maintenance fees. However, account options are limited which may not make Chime the best choice for those who have more extensive or complex financial needs.

Chime says it offers customer service 24/7 via its chat and phone line. It does not have any physical locations. All rates and fees are current as of January 4, 2023 and are subject to change. 

Chime offerings 

Chime currently provides two types of deposit accountschecking and savings accounts. It does not offer money market or certificate of deposit (CD) accounts at this time. The savings account offers a 2.0% APY, which is nine times the industry average, according Chime.

Checking and savings accounts 

Chime checking 

  • APY: 0%
  • Fees
    • Monthly service fee: $0
    • Minimum balance fee: $0
    • Overdraft fee: $0transactions that exceed your available balance are declined.
    • Out of network withdrawal fee: $2.50 per transaction
    • Debit card replacement fee: $0
  • Minimum opening deposit: $0

Funds in your Chime checking account can be accessed via a network of more than 60,000 in-network, fee-free ATMs with the Chime debit card. Customers receive a debit card when opening an account. However, cash deposits cannot be easily made with this account. Deposits must be made through third-party retail businesses. 

There are more than 90,000 such retail locations around the country where deposits can be made fee-free, including Walgreens. There are also retailers where deposits can be made and incur fees that may be charged by the merchant itself. Well-known retailers such as Walmart, CVS, Dollar General, and Rite Aid are all locations where Chime cash deposits can be made for a fee.   

Cash thats deposited to your Chime account via a third party is only FDIC insured once the bank receives the money.

High-yield savings account 

  • APY: variable 2%
  • Fees:
    • Monthly service fee: $0
    • Minimum balance fee: $0
    • Out of network withdrawal fee: $2.50 per transaction
  • Minimum opening deposit: $0

Customers are required to open a Chime checking account before a Chime high-yield savings account can be established. Money can be deposited into this account in various ways including transfers directly from your Chime checking account or by routing 10% of every direct deposit of $500 or more directly into your savings account. Mobile direct deposits are also allowed with this account. Similar to the Chime checking account, you can also make fee-free cash deposits into your Chime savings at Walgreens. There are also 75,000 retail stores that will allow you to make a cash deposit to your Chime savings for a fee.

Other services Chime offers 

While its additional services are limited, Chime does also offer a secured Credit Builder Visa credit card designed for those just starting their journey building their credit. Theres no credit check to apply for the card and no annual fee associated with it. Chime says users of the card raise their credit score by an average of 30 points.

Theres no minimum security deposit requirements to open the Credit Builder Visa either, unlike many other secured credit cards that are aimed at helping users build credit. Instead, the money you transfer to the card each month is the amount youre allowed to spend on the card. In order to open a credit builder account you must have a Chime checking account and qualifying direct deposits of at least $200. 

The bank also offers a Round Ups program. The program allows users to automatically grow savings by offering the opportunity to round up to the nearest dollar on transactions made with Chimes Visa debit card and transfer that difference from your Chime checking account into your Chime high-yield savings account. 

The Chime platform and customer support 

Chime offers a mobile banking app that has received positive customer reviews. The app allows for tracking spending and savings, transferring money, mobile check deposits, paying bills, and more. It is available for both iPhone and Android phones.

If you have questions or need to speak with a Chime representative, they can be reached 24/7 via phone and chat. Customers can also reach the bank via email or fill out an issues submission form on the Chime website. 

Pros and cons of Chime

If youre considering opening an account with Chime, its important to consider the benefits and some of the limitations associated with this financial technology company.

Pros:

  • Minimal to no fees: Chime checking and savings accounts do not include any monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance fees. However, you will pay fees on certain withdrawals or other transactions.
  • No minimum opening deposit requirements: With a $0 minimum opening deposit requirement, Chime accounts will be accessible for many people.
  • Credit builder assistance: For those struggling to establish a credit profile, Chimes Credit Builder Visa can be very helpful.

Cons:

  • Limited account options: Chime currently offers just a checking and savings account, which may be challenging for consumers who have more extensive needs.
  • Making cash deposits can be challenging: Cash deposits cannot be made at ATMs. While there are 90,000 retail locations where cash deposits can be made to your Chime account, this is likely to be more time consuming process compared to making ATM deposits.

Frequently asked questions

Is Chime a real bank?

Chime is not a bank. It is a financial technology company. The banking services it offers are provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A., both of which are FDIC members.

What bank owns Chime?

Chime bank accounts are backed by one of two partner banks, The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A.

How does a Chime bank account work?

Chime accounts work the same way as other bank accounts. You make deposits and once the money has been added to your account it is available for your use.

Vince McMahon is rejoining the board of WWE several months after he retired from the sports entertainment company during an investigation into alleged misconduct.

WWE said Friday that McMahon, the founder and majority shareholder of WWE, would return as executive chairman. It also announced a board shakeup.

Shares surged more than 22%.

McMahon retired as WWEs chairman and CEO in July. He had stepped down temporarily from the posts a month earlier. The Wall Street Journal reported over the summer that McMahon agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.

The Stamford, Connecticut, company said Friday that it would be looking at all strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

There have been rumors that WWE may be interested in selling the organization to another entertainment company.

McMahon appeared to address that possibility in a letter to the board, dated Dec. 20, but published Friday.

I believe WWE has a unique opportunity during this critical juncture to maximize value for its shareholders and all other stakeholders, McMahon wrote. Specifically, given the rapidly evolving media landscape in which more and more companies are seeking to own the intellectual property offered on their streaming platforms I firmly believe that the best thing to do for all of WWEs shareholders and other stakeholders is to undertake a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives.

The company said in early November that an investigation of a special committee formed to look into the misconduct allegations was completed and that the committee was disbanded.

The company on Friday did not immediately return requests from The Associated Press seeking details about the findings of that committee. It did say at the time that the company was implementing some of the suggestions of the committee.

McMahons return coincides with the airing of some of WWEs biggest premium live events of the year. The Royal Rumble takes place this month in Texas, while Wrestlemania, a two-day event, begins in April.

McMahon said in a prepared statement that he doesnt intend for his return to have any impact on the roles, duties or responsibilities of WWEs existing management team. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, serves as co-CEO, along with Nick Khan. McMahons son-in-law, Paul Levesque, who wrestled under the name Triple H, serves as chief content officer.

McMahon controlled a majority of company shares even after his retirement, giving him the power to engineer a board shakeup upon his return. Three board members, JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R. Speed and Alan M. Wexler, were ousted to make room for McMahon and two other board members, Michelle Wilson and George Barrios.

Vince McMahon has been among the most recognizable faces at WWE for decades.

When he purchased what was then the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, wrestling matches took place at small venues and appeared on local cable channels.

WWE matches are now held in professional sports stadiums and the company has a sizeable overseas following.

The organization underwent a seismic transformation under McMahon with events like WrestleMania, a premium live production that draws millions of fervent viewers.

Revenue in 2021 exceeded $1 billion for the first time and the company has television deals with Fox and NBCUniversal. It announced a multi-year expansion of its original programming partnership with A&E in May 2022.

WWE stars have become crossover sensations, including Hulk Hogan, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

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