Some people are down on the economy — here’s why we should care
By Elizabeth Renter | NerdWallet
When you ask people how they’re doing, you often get a knee-jerk “fine” or “good” without much introspection. But lately, when you ask people about the economy, they have clear feelings.
SpaceX launch marks 40th for the Space Coast
SpaceX sent up the 40th rocket launch of 2024 from the Space Coast on Tuesday morning.
A Falcon 9 carrying 23 Starlink satellites lifted off at 10:24 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40. The launch was delayed from Monday; SpaceX did not give a reason for why they stood down from that attempt.
Engines full power and liftoff! pic.twitter.com/LOik03Hzpk
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 28, 2024
The first-stage booster made its 10th flight with a bullseye recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic.
SpaceX has managed 38 of the 40 launches from either Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center this year, and plans are to turn around launch pads even quicker in the second half of the year so the Space Coast could top 100 launches for the 2024.
This was SpaceX’s eighth launch from the Space Coast in May.
All of SpaceX’s launches so far have been Falcon 9 launches. The first Falcon Heavy launch of the year is slated to fly on June 25 carrying the GOES-U weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
T-Mobile to buy almost all of U.S Cellular in deal worth $4.4 billion with debt
By MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writer)
T-Mobile is buying U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and certain spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, and further consolidating the industry.
T-Mobile would get more than 4 million new customers and control of U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations and about 30% of spectrum assets across several spectrum bands. T-Mobile will also enter into a new master license agreement on more than 2,000 towers and extend the lease term for the approximately 600 towers where T-Mobile is already a tenant.
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the deal will “create a better experience for all of our customers with more coverage and more capacity.”
It may also signal the start of more consolidation in an industry with fewer players than ever. “The writing is on the wall for the carriers and consolidation is now on the horizon and could speed up into 2025,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. “This is the first shot across the bow in the wireless world and we expect more deals over the next year.
More people make ‘no-buy year’ pledges as overspending or climate worries catch up with them
By ADRIANA MORGA (Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — A 35-year-old Brooklyn resident gave up buying new clothes. A 22-year old in San Diego swore off retail therapy at Target. A 26-year old in England banned carbonated drinks from her shopping list.
These three women, who don’t know each other, all started the year resolving to spend money only on necessary purchases, or what is popularly known as engaging in a no-buy challenge. The self-imposed rules of the challenge are simple: participants pledge to stop buying non-essential items, be they unneeded shoes, additional beauty products or other impulse buys for a set amount of time, usually 12 months.
What started several years ago as a blogged-about experiment in budgeting and mindful spending has become a popular trend on social media. A Reddit group where people share their experiences has 51,000 members. The challenge primarily gained popularity on TikTok, where some videos of users seeking to hold themselves accountable get hundreds of thousands of views.
Best cities for freelancers and self-employed workers 2024
By Rosalie Murphy | NerdWallet
The National Association for the Self-Employed’s membership has grown dramatically over the last few years, says Keith Hall, the group’s president and CEO. And while that growth has slowed since its COVID-era peak in 2022, he thinks flexible work is here to stay.
The boom in self-employment started when “a lot of people had to do it because of COVID. They didn’t choose to do it; they had to do it,” Hall says. “Many others saw and learned and read that you can do this. You don’t need to be tied to the desk in corporate America.”
Below is NerdWallet’s 2024 list of the 10 best U.S. metro areas for freelancers and the self-employed. Our analysis used recent metro-area data from the U.S. Census Bureau and state-level data from the Tax Foundation. The top metro areas are those where a significant percentage of the workforce is self-employed already, rent is relatively affordable, unemployment is low, worker mobility is high and state income taxes are relatively low.