CNBC.com's Pippa Stevens brings you the day's top business news headlines. On today's show, CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos explains why The Fed wants tighter rules on certain cryptocurrencies. Plus, the average hourly wage worker can no longer afford a one-bedroom apartment as prices climb.<\/p>\n
Fed Chair Powell grilled by grouchy senators over inflation and climate change, even as economy rebounds<\/p>\n
An economic rebound, rising wages and declining unemployment claims weren't enough to spare Federal Reserve Chairman\u00a0Jerome Powell\u00a0on Thursday from gripes in the Senate.<\/p>\n
During testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Democrats grilled Powell over the central bank's support for climate change initiatives and its rollback of financial protections, while Republicans questioned Powell on his\u00a0commitment to controlling inflation.<\/p>\n
"Big banks rake in cash \u2013 and they spend it on executive compensation and dividends and buybacks, instead of lending in communities or increasing capital to reduce risk," said committee chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. "The Fed should be fighting this trend, protecting our progress from Wall Street greed and recklessness \u2013 not making it worse."<\/p>\n
Ranking Member Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., offered criticism for what he views as the Fed's inaction on inflation.<\/p>\n
The co-creator of dogecoin explains why he doesn't plan to return to crypto<\/p>\n
Jackson Palmer, the co-creator of the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin, made a rare return to Twitter on Wednesday with some harsh words about crypto in general.<\/p>\n
"I am often asked if I will 'return to cryptocurrency' or begin regularly sharing my thoughts on the topic again. My answer is a wholehearted 'no,'" Palmer\u00a0tweeted on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In 2013, Palmer and Billy Markus created dogecoin\u00a0as a joke\u00a0based on the "Doge" meme, which portrays a shiba inu dog. Markus and Palmer\u00a0didn't intend\u00a0for dogecoin to be taken seriously.<\/p>\n
But the coin has recently taken off, and dogecoin is currently\u00a0one of the top 10\u00a0cryptocurrencies by market value. Earlier this year, it hit an all-time high of\u00a0nearly 74 cents. Despite its recent surge in popularity, Markus and Palmer haven't profited, as they\u00a0both sold out\u00a0before dogecoin's meteoric rise.<\/p>\n
Full-time minimum wage workers can't afford rent anywhere in the US, according to a new report<\/p>\n
People working minimum wage jobs full-time cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state in the country, the National Low Income Housing Coalition's annual "Out of Reach" report finds. In 93% of U.S. counties, the same workers can't afford a modest one-bedroom.<\/p>\n
The report defines affordability as the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to spend no more than 30% of their income on rent,\u00a0in line with what most budgeting experts recommend.\u00a0This year, workers would need to earn $24.90 per hour for a two-bedroom home and $20.40 per hour for a one-bedroom rental. That's an increase from $23.96 and $19.56, respectively,\u00a0from last year.<\/p>\n
The average hourly worker currently earns $18.78 per hour, the report finds, more than $6 short of the wage needed to afford a two-bedroom rental.<\/p>\n