The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Tue Feb 4 2025

Daniel de Visé | Personal Finance Reporter

Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Easter is two months away, but the egg hunt has already commenced.

Panicked customers are emptying store shelves, Betty Lin-Fisher reports, just as many did with toilet paper and other staples when they feared shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Where are the eggs?

A rate hike in California?

Citing what it calls a potentially "dire situation," State Farm on Monday asked California for permission to hike insurance rates by an average of 22%, Andrea Riquier reports.

In the wake of the January Los Angeles-area wildfires, the insurer said has already paid out more than $1 billion to customers after receiving more than 8,700 claims. And because insurance premiums have been kept artificially low for many years, it was unable to collect the premium dollars it needed.

But some consumer advocates question that argument.

Wage growth slows for low-paid workers

During the peak of the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, wage growth surged for most Americans as employers scrambled to find workers amid lingering health concerns and a burst of consumer spending.

But pay increases really spiked for low-wage employees, such as those in restaurants, hotels and barber shop, allowing that group to narrow a massive pay gap with higher-income professionals.

Now, Paul Davidson reports, lower-paid workers are no longer catching up. And it appears they're falling behind again.

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.