News of the Day

On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey that found the Market Composite Index, which measures the volume of loan applications, decreased by 6.3% last week when adjusted to a seasonal basis.

“Mortgage applications declined for the third week in a row, reaching the lowest level since 2000. Similarly, with most mortgage rates more than two percentage points higher than a year ago, demand for refinances continues to plummet, with MBA’s refinance index also falling to a 22-year low,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

“Purchase activity declined for both conventional and government loans, as the weakening economic outlook, high inflation, and persistent affordability challenges are impacting buyer demand. The decline in recent purchase applications aligns with slower homebuilding activity due to reduced buyer traffic and ongoing building material shortages and higher costs.”

The survey covered over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990.

Wisconsin companies will pay 8.47 percent less in worker’s compensation insurance rates starting October 1, 2022, giving a boost to businesses​ around the state, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development reported.

The 2022 rate decrease, approved by the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance, marks the seventh year in a row worker’s compensation insurance premiums have declined in Wisconsin. The latest reduction in premiums is expected to save Wisconsin employers some $146 million.

“Strong partnerships among employers, workers, training providers, and other stakeholders are helping to keep employees safe and healthy on the job,” said DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. “Wisconsin’s proactive, collaborative approach is delivering real benefits for workers and their families while supporting the competitiveness of employers statewide.”

Worker’s compensation insurance rates are adjusted annually by a committee of actuaries from members of the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau. This independent body examines and selects the methodology and trends that produce the proposed rate adjustment, which is then reviewed and approved by the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance. While the overall rate level will decrease by 8.47 percent, the impact to policyholders will vary based on specific circumstances.

Wisconsin’s housing market is still being affected by lack of supply, according to a report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

Statewide median prices have gone up 10 percent through six months this year compared to the same timeframe in 2021.

However, overall listings during the month of June were down 14 percent compared to June 2021.

WRA President and CEO Mike Theo is anticipating that the current high demand is going to settle down by the end of the year.

“Without more inventory or a slowing down of demand to bring that equilibrium, we’re still going to see this upward pressure on prices and that means we’re going to start pricing more and more families out of the market,” Theo said.

U.S. retail sales rose 1% in June, from a revised decline of 0.1 % in May, the Commerce Department said Friday.  The retail sales report covers about a third of overall consumer spending and doesn’t include services, such as haircuts, hotel stays and plane tickets.

The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation and so largely reflect higher prices, particularly for gas.

Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said that excluding inflation, retail sales still rose about 0.3% in June, up from a contraction of 0.4% in May. She expects the economy to grow at a slim 0.5% annual rate in the April-June quarter, after shrinking in the first three months of the year.

The report showed consumers’ ongoing appetite for non-essentials like gadgets and furniture. In fact, sales at furniture stores rose 1.4%, while consumer electronics stores rose 0.4%. Online sales showed resurgence, posting a 2.2% increase. Business at restaurants was up 1%. But department stores took a hit, posting a 2.6% decline.

The Federal Communications Commission is fining the company responsible for about 10 million robocalls that directed customers to call “ScammerBlaster” — which scammed customers.

The commissioners voted unanimously to fine the company $116 million at their monthly meeting Thursday.

“I too can’t believe we are dealing with a company called ScammerBlaster,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during the meeting. “I detest robocalls and I believe that if we want to stop them we need both defense and offense.”

The commission’s Enforcement Bureau found Thomas Dorsher and his company, ChariTel Inc., made nearly 10 million scam calls to businesses between January and March 2021 with pre-recorded messages referencing ScammerBlaster, according to the commission.

This fine comes as the commission implemented a rule earlier this year to have phone companies implement technology to stop robocalls. And the commission sent cease and desist letters to companies last week to stop carrying calls from known scammers.

And Rosenworcel hopes the commission can get greater enforcement power to crack down further, she said.

“We have issued many fines just like this one. But after we do, we have to hand them over to our colleagues at the Justice Department and hope for further action. I like hope. But instead of wishing for the best, I would like the certainty of this agency being able to go to court directly and collect fines against these bad actors — each and every one of them,” Rosenworcel said. “This will take a change in the law and we need Congress to fix that. But I think this is a robocall change worth fighting for.”

The Labor Department said Thursday that its producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level before it reaches consumers, climbed 11.3% in June from the previous year. On a monthly basis, prices grew by 1.1%.

Core inflation at the wholesale level, which excludes the more volatile measurements of food and energy, increased 0.3% for the month, following a 0.4% increase in April and May. Over the past 12 months, core prices climbed 6.4%. Economists lauded the potential slowdown in core inflation increases, suggesting it could be a sign that consumer prices are beginning to moderate.

“It’s clear that food and energy are driving PPI higher, as was the case in yesterday’s inflation print,” said Peter Essele, the head of portfolio management at Commonwealth Financial Network. “When removing these volatile components, PPI appears to have peaked and is starting to roll over, a tell-tale sign that the economy is shifting into late-cycle territory.”

Overall, prices for goods jumped 2.4% last month, the sixth consecutive rise and the biggest contributor to the headline inflation figure. Nearly 90% of the June increase in services stems from a 10% leap in prices for final demand energy, including a stunning 18.% increase in gasoline prices, according to the Labor Department.

The services index, meanwhile, advanced 0.4% in June, with increases in transportation and warehousing services accounting for about two-thirds of the gain.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 1.3 percent in June on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 1.0 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 9.1 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The increase was broad-based, with the indexes for gasoline, shelter, and food being the largest contributors. The energy index rose 7.5 percent over the month and contributed nearly half of the all items increase, with the gasoline index rising 11.2 percent and the other major component indexes also rising. The food index rose 1.0 percent in June, as did the food at home index.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.7 percent in June, after increasing 0.6 percent in the  preceding two months. While almost all major component indexes increased over the month, the largest contributors were the indexes for shelter, used cars and trucks, medical care, motor vehicle insurance, and new vehicles. The indexes for motor vehicle repair, apparel, household furnishings and operations, and recreation also increased in June. Among the few major component indexes to decline in June were lodging away from home and airline fares.

The all items index increased 9.1 percent for the 12 months ending June, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending November 1981. The all items less food and energy index rose 5.9 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index rose 41.6 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending April 1980. The food index increased 10.4 percent for the 12-months ending June, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending February 1981.

Last Friday, Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Dawn Crim announced her departure from the agency that handles professional licensing. Crim in a joint press release with Gov. Tony Evers did not offer any reasons for her departure.

The State Senate confirmed Crim 29-2 in September last year.

Evers also announced he is appointing DSPS Assistant Deputy Secretary Dan Hereth to replace Crim. Hereth served as deputy district director for U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, starting in 2007 before joining DSPS in 2019.

Local health officials have the authority to issue public health orders and issue fines to enforce them without permission from local elected officials, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

The ruling stemmed from a case that was brought by two families of young athletes and a Dane County dance studio that was accused of being overcapacity in December 2020. At the time, there was a prohibition on indoor gatherings of any size following a fall surge in COVID-19 cases that year. They filed a lawsuit against Dane County, the local health department and Dane County’s health director Janel Heinrich that challenged the health order.

Dane County ruled against the plaintiffs, who petitioned to bypass the court of appeals. The Wisconsin Supreme Court granted their request and agreed to hear the case.

“Heinrich responded to the appearance of the communicable COVID-19 disease in her territory by issuing a series of orders from May 2020 until March 2022 that implemented measures to prevent, suppress, and control the disease’s spread,” Justice Jill Karofsky wrote for the majority. “She did so pursuant to her authority under state law.”

Karofsky went on to say that the law allows local health officers to “promptly take all measures necessary” to respond to communicable diseases like COVID-19.

Earlier today, a split Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled unmanned drop boxes are illegal and voters must deliver their absentee ballots by mail or in-person to their clerks.

The 4-3 ruling found the Wisconsin Elections Commission gave inappropriate advice to local clerks that they could use the drop boxes as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Wisconsin and the nation.

“WEC’s staff may have been trying to make voting as easy as possible during the pandemic, but whatever their motivations, WEC must follow Wisconsin statutes. Good intentions never override the law,” Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote for the majority.

Bradley was joined in the majority by fellow conservatives Brian Hagedorn, Pat Roggensack and Annette Ziegler.

Writing for the minority, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote drop boxes are a “simple and perfectly legal solution to making voting easier, particularly in the midst of a global pandemic.”