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Michael Jordan’s generous grant to provide 500K HS students with finance education. Pound’s crash to worsen inflation and rates as ripple effect hits currencies. Biden urges companies to cut consumer costs and more financial news.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan has made a one-time grant to nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) that will provide access to a personal finance course to 498,000 students, primarily Black and Latino, who attend 639 high schools across the United States, Essence reported. The funds will support a dedicated Personal Finance Specialist, who will work to develop a curriculum in tandem with high school teachers to provide targeted financial lessons. Nearly 50 percent of high school seniors say they wish they had learned personal finance in school.
The British pound fell to a record low against the US dollar on Monday, for a total loss of 21% this year, as well as its lowest level against the euro since January 2021, CNN reported.
The Sterling was last down 1.5% at $1.069, according to Reuters, as of this writing.
The big concern is an increased cost of imports, particularly energy, as well as a rapid rise in borrowing costs for the government, businesses, and households.
Experts predict the Bank of England will need to increase interest rates much more aggressively to put inflation in check. They estimate rates could rise to around six percent by next spring.
The euro fell to a new 20-year low of $0.9528 and was last down 0.81%, Reuters reported.
The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level in over two years, with the loonie trading 1.1% lower at 1.3740 to the greenback, or 72.78 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest level since May 2020 at 1.3808, Yahoo reported.
The Australian dollar also fell to its lowest level since May 2020, touching $0.6438, and was last down 1.02%, Reuters reported.
China’s offshore yuan slid to a new low of 7.1728 per dollar, its weakest since May 2020. Onshore, the yuan had a 28-month decline of 7.1690.
President Joe Biden on Monday urged companies to lower costs for consumers, particularly gas stations, cell phone services, and banks, to help those who are struggling to cope with inflation.
Biden said “junk fees” such as bank overdraft fees and cellular phone termination charges were hurting families and that gas station operators needed to lower prices at the pump “now.”
