Massachusetts maintained the top spot from last year

Working moms might want to consider moving to Massachusetts, according to a new report. 

WalletHub recently found which states -- including Washington, D.C. -- are the best for working moms and Massachusetts took the top spot. Meanwhile, Louisiana took 51st. 

In fact, both states kept their spots from WalletHub’s report last year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former federal consumer watchdog and Democratic nominee for Ohio governor has landed his next job.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that Richard Cordray has been selected as its chief operating officer of federal student aid.

Cordray, 62, previously served as Ohio treasurer and attorney general and as the first head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Democratic President Barack Obama and, briefly, Republican President Donald Trump.

Cordray stepped down from his watchdog role to run for governor in 2018, a race he lost to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.

In his new role, he will be responsible for managing the student financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, including grants, work-study and loans for students attending college or career school, the department said in a release.

Two North Dakota retail associations allege in a new federal lawsuit the Fed hasn't properly fulfilled its duty to determine "reasonable" debit card processing fees under a 2010 law.

Two retail associations sued the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Thursday over what they claim is a failure by the central bank to properly enforce a federal law that caps the fees that can be charged on debit transactions.

The North Dakota Retail Association and the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Bismarck, saying the board has "failed to properly follow Congress's instructions to ensure that debit-card processing fees are reasonable and proportional to the costs of debit-card transactions."

Retailer trade groups have been at loggerheads with the major card companies Visa and Mastercard for years over the interchange, or "swipe," fees they charge on credit and debit card transactions. They backed Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, when he successfully pushed through an amendment to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that capped debit fees for card-issuing banks with more than $10 billion in assets.

Beginning in March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into one of the sharpest recessions in recent history. Millions were laid off, either temporarily or permanently, as restrictions went into effect to help reduce the spread of the virus. By June, the unemployment rate had risen to 11.1 percent, with almost 31 million people claiming unemployment insurance benefits.

A new report in our Making Ends Meet survey series finds that, despite these volatile economic conditions, the average consumer’s financial status and ability to stay on top of their finances improved between June 2019 and June 2020. These results suggest that public and private interventions, such as expanded unemployment benefits and loan forbearance, alongside consumers’ own spending reductions, helped to buffer household finances during the initial months of the pandemic. Public policy interventions meaningfully supported consumers’ financial status early in the pandemic. Many of these programs will eventually end and their end will likely have a significant impact on consumers’ financial status going forward unless additional actions are taken.

About six-in-ten U.S. adults (62%) say they favor raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, including 40% who strongly back the idea. About four-in-ten (38%) say they oppose the proposal, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted April 5-11.

The Biden administration and many congressional Democrats favor increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from the current rate of $7.25 an hour, but the proposal’s fate in the Senate is uncertain. Some senators, including several Democrats, support a more modest increase in the wage.

Among the public, those who back a $15 minimum wage are fairly divided over how to approach the issue if there is insufficient support in Congress for an increase to that amount this year. A narrow majority of these Americans (54%) say leaders should focus on passing an increase to the wage “even if it may be significantly less than $15 an hour,” while 43% say the priority should be to work to raise the hourly minimum wage to $15 “even if no increase makes it into law this year.”

As we approach the end of the Month of the Military Child and Financial Capability Month, it's important to remember that maintaining your financial readiness is a year-round effort. For military families with children, part of that effort should include helping your children develop sound financial habits and skills.

Children obtain their earliest understanding of financial concepts through their parents and guardians. You don't need to be a financial whiz to help your children develop strong financial habits. Make financial literacy a family activity by including your kids, at an age-appropriate level, in conversations that help them understand the importance of money in saving and spending.

In addition to using your day-to-day money experiences to help your children develop their money smarts, you can also use resources that we’ve created to help you teach them about money.

Private payrolls rose less than expected in April, but still increased by the most since September as COVID-19 vaccinations and reopenings stoke economic activity. 

U.S. employers added back 742,000 payrolls last month, ADP said in its closely watched monthly report on Wednesday. This followed a revised rise of 565,000 jobs in March. Consensus economists were looking for private payrolls to increase by 850,000, according to Bloomberg data.

The service-providing sector added back 636,000 jobs during the month, with the areas most deeply affected by the pandemic recovering more lost payrolls. Leisure and hospitality private payrolls surged by 237,000, while trade, transportation and utilities jobs increased by 155,000. Payrolls only declined in the information industry group.