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The wealth gap in the United States has grown wider in the wake of the Great Recession, with black and Hispanic American households faring much worse than white households, according to a study published Tuesday.

The study, from 2009 data compiled by the Pew Research Center, found the median wealth of white households was 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households.

Household wealth is defined as the sum of a family’s assets minus the sum of its debts. The study defines assets as homes, cars, savings and financial investments, while debts include mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt, among other things.

Based on data from the Census Bureau, the study highlights how blacks and Hispanics have been disproportionately affected by the collapse of the housing market, the financial crisis and the recession that marked the period from 2005 to 2009.

It found that the wealth gap between white households and their black or Hispanic counterparts was the widest it has been since the government began publishing such data by ethnicity in 1984.

The wealth of white households in America has always been greater than black and Hispanic households. Read more…

As a fresh-faced entrepreneur in the late 1990s, Scott Heiferman dove into several tech-focused ventures, including online ad firm iTraffic, which he sold in 1999. There was little that kept the 20-something’s attention for long. What a difference a decade makes. Heiferman, who turns 39 this month, is now more community evangelist than flitting entrepreneur.

“I never thought I would do anything for more than a year or two, because I would get bored, but I’m more interested now than ever on what the soul of my company is about: collective action, movements, revolution, community,” he says.

Shortly after the 9/11 tragedy, the self-described introvert became more compelled to speak with his New York neighbors than ever before. The sudden interest in face-to-face connections quickly became a singular obsession. Read more…

Apple Inc. has submitted plans to New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board to open a new store in Grand Central Terminal, potentially bringing in $5 million in revenue for the MTA, officials said.

“Our four stores in Manhattan are incredibly popular with customers and we are excited to bring the Apple retail experience to this incredible location,” said Apple spokesman Nick Leahy.

The submitted proposal would allow the use of more than 23,000 square feet, and the takeover of both the north and northeast balconies, making it Apple’s largest store worldwide.

According to MTA documents, if the proposal is passed Apple will pay an initial $800,000 in rent. However, after 10 years, the annual rent will exceed $1 million.

“We have received a proposal from Apple that has the potential to bring a great new shopping destination to iconic Grand Central Terminal and significantly increase revenues for the MTA’s transportation system,” said Julie Glave, MTA spokeswoman.

The MTA finance committee will review the terms of lease and vote on the proposal Monday, according to MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. Read more…

Deeds, not words: there must be action to match the rhetoric

If any evidence were needed of the fragility of the recovery, it came with yesterday’s second-quarter growth figure of 0.2 per cent. Of course, minimal growth is better than no growth, and the Office for National Statistics helpfully pointed out that, were it not for the impact of special factors such as the Japanese earthquake and the royal wedding, the figure might have been a perfectly respectable 0.7 per cent. It is also true that the fiscal consolidation has been front-loaded with big tax rises, which makes any level of growth welcome.

Nevertheless, the economy is clearly failing to develop the momentum that is being shown by our competitors. So the pressure for a change of strategy will grow: it is no surprise that the first hints of tension inside Downing Street are emerging, with the Prime Minister’s officials said to be impatient with progress in the Treasury and across Whitehall. Tha Read more…

U.S. home prices rose for a second consecutive month in May, rising by a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today.

The news raises hopes that the housing market might be finding its footing after 10 straight monthly declines, but the news wasn’t all good. April’s previously announced 0.8 percent gain was downsized to 0.2 percent, meaning that current prices appear to be a bit lower than they were a month ago (initial price estimates are often revised the following month).   On an annual basis, the FHFA’s national home price index is down an estimated 6.3 percent from May 2010 and has fallen 19.6 percent from its high point in April 2007. U.S. home prices have now returned to roughly their January 2004 level, although there is considerable variation among individual local housing markets.   The Mountain region showed the strongest monthly price gain of the nine U.S. Census Read more…

Tensions were running high across Capitol Hill last night as the White House, as well as Republicans and Democrats in Congress, scrambled to reassure investors that the country’s $14.3 trillion (£8.8 trillion) debt ceiling will be lifted by August 2.

After weeks of fruitless talks to raise the ceiling and reduce America’s long-term deficit, political leaders were waking up to that danger that investors may punish a divided Washington.

The acrimonous collapse of talks late on Friday between President Barack Obama and John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, is likely to rattle markets that have so far voiced a breezy confidence in a deal. At the close of a frantic weekend that saw temperatures top 100 degrees, the Republican House of Representatives and the Democratic Senate seemed no closer to agreeing a deal that still needs the President’s signature.

“For us to get this done by August 2, which is critical, and that’s the deadline all the leaders accept, they need to start this process in the House Monday night,” Mr Geithner said on Sunday. Read more…