If you have any debt, your bills are going up again. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the seventh time this year — rates are now at their highest level in 15 years. And that means you’ll continue to pay more for all sorts of consumer loans, from credit cards to auto loans and certain mortgages. The Fed increased rates on Wednesday by a 0.5% point — less aggressive than previous hikes but also said it expects to continue raising rates through next year.
Two groups have filed a lawsuit to stop Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey’s reorganization into a nonprofit mutual holding company. The suit was filed by the union, Health Professionals and Allied Employees, along with New Jersey Citizen Action, which said the lawsuit seeks to protect millions of policyholders in the state. The suit raises a number of concerns, including whether the change will lead to premium increases for Horizon policyholders. Horizon has said the reorganization would be better for its business, and the state approved the change last month. Horizon and the state did not comment on the suit.
Congress is continuing hearings Wednesday on the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The company’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested on fraud and other charges, and during testimony on the Hill, the company’s new CEO accused Bankman-Fried of embezzlement.
As has been reported by Open Secrets and other media organizations, Bankman-Fried was active in the 2022 election cycle — donating $28 million to his PAC called Protect our Future. According to Federal Election Commission data, the PAC donated $250,000 in support of the congressional campaign of New Jersey’s Robert Menendez Jr., who won his bid to represent the state’s 8th Congressional District. We reached out to Menendez’s office for comment but hadn’t heard back at the time of this broadcast.
