Rhode Island
The Fed just cut rates. Here is what it means for Rhode Island – The Boston Globe
For Rhode Island, the advent of a rate cut comes at a time when the unemployment rate has gone up while the labor market is seeing fewer jobs available for workers. Meanwhile, the housing market has registered record prices for homes amid elevated mortgage rates and limited supply of homes in the market.
Experts suggested that the Fed’s move would help stabilize the labor market in the state.
“We have seen some weakness, but we haven’t been seeing a whole lot of layoffs and hopefully this will continue to decrease the number of layoffs,” Lisa Murray, Citizens Bank’s Massachusetts president, told the Globe. “I think we got a little fat during the pandemic and that’s why we saw some of the activity that we’ve been seeing with layoffs. But I think people are going to continue to try to right-size their organizations for a much more measured economy going forward.”
Laurie White, the president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, told the Globe the Fed’s lowering of borrowing costs will help companies to source relatively cheaper capital to invest in their businesses.
“I think it could be euphemistically said hallelujah,” she said. “The reduction, the half-point reduction, is going to unleash additional capital expenditure activity.”
White described the Fed’s move as “aggressive” and anticipated more cuts over the coming months. She noted, however, how businesses react will be influenced by more than just what the Federal Reserve does, but also by the results of who will end up in the White House.
“I don’t think you’ll see anything, you know, truly, truly consequential from business in terms of making any moves until after the election in November, when it is determined what direction [of] the policy is,” White said.
One area of Rhode Island’s economy White said could be impacted by a drop in rates is the building sector, which could be helped by lower borrowing costs.
“The building and the construction industry is a very important sector to the Rhode Island economy,” she said. “There is a tremendous amount of pressure on homes, there is not…a lot of inventory. What we need is more inventory. But in order to get more inventory, you need to be able to borrow and build at rates that are competitive.”
John Marcantonio, the chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Builders Association, said he would wait and see how the rate cut impacts his members who represent the residential construction business in the state.
“When it was going up, the pace at which it went up, it certainly did affect, you know, housing,” Marcantonio said. “In many ways, how fast it comes down, the pace at which it comes down, where it would settle in, is going to be something we’re all going to have to sit back and watch and see how that effect happens. I would say I’m glad the Fed is finally cutting rates.”
Limited inventory is a major concern for the housing market in Rhode Island. A rate cut could lead to lower mortgage rates, which will spur demand for homes in a state struggling to provide enough properties for prospective buyers, said Chris Whitten, president-elect of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
Interest rates on home loans had been dropping in recent weeks in anticipation of a quarter percentage point rate cut, he said, but a 50 basis point reduction would put added pressure on the Ocean State’s housing market.
“For the Rhode Island housing market, which was already struggling with inventory,” he said, “I am going to see, I think, a lot more buyers getting in the market and therefore a lot more multiple offer situations and therefore the home values continuing to go up on their already record median high pace.”
In recent years, Rhode Island has lagged behind other states in the country in issuing new construction and building permits. An increase in local prospective homebuyers and from neighboring states would escalate competition and push up prices. Although lower borrowing costs may ease the cost of capital for builders, the sector would still face challenges to develop new homes.
“Even though it may be more advantageous for builders now, given the 50 basis points cut, it’s a matter of actually finding those opportunities and getting through the red tape that we have here in Rhode Island, at the local level, to build the inventory that we do need,” Whitten said.
Omar Mohammed can be reached at omar.mohammed@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter (X) @shurufu.
Rhode Island
United RI announced opening of Good Neighbor Energy Fund | ABC6
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — United Way of Rhode Island announced the Rhode Island Good Neighbor Energy Fund has begun for the 2024 through 2025 season.
The fund helps families that need assistance paying their home heating bills but are not eligible for federal or state assistance.
Since it was founded, the Good Neighbor Energy Fund has aided over 48,250 Rhode Island homes.
United RI says any local households in the state that are in need of funding assistance for energy are encouraged to contact a local Community Action Program agency, or to call the 211 helpline for help locating a CAP agency.
GNEF eligibility is determined on total income not exceeding 300% of the federal poverty level, and provides up to $825 per household each heating season depending on eligibility, fuel type, and need.
United RI said in addition to sponsors, the fund relies on Rhode Islanders who donate through the “Warm Thy Neighbor” campaign.
Donations can be made through the yellow donation envelope enclosed with monthly energy bills, or by scanning the QR code on the envelope.
Additionally, donations can be given through phone by texting “WARM” to 91999.
For more information, visit United Way of Rhode Island’s website here.
Rhode Island
RISavers program gives private sector workers a hand in building their nest eggs • Rhode Island Current
Former U.S. Naval officer Darryl Lindie learned early in his career that taking care of his team was key to accomplishing a mission.
Since buying AASign & Awning in Warwick in 2023, Lindie has applied that philosophy to his business, giving his 30-person team paid days off and other benefits. But one offering remained a little too complicated and expensive: retirement savings.
Not for long.
Legislation approved in the 2024 General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Dan McKee in September sets up a public retirement savings program for private-sector workers whose employers don’t already offer the investment option. Ahead of its formal launch, state officials unveiled details of the RISavers program at an event outside Lindie’s sign shop on Wednesday.
Modeled after similar programs in other states, including Connecticut, RISavers automatically opens Roth Individual Retirement Accounts for eligible private-sector workers, set up through the Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer with help from a third-party account administrator.
“It is absolutely true that anyone can open a Roth IRA or another retirement account whenever they want,” Treasurer James Diossa said. “But it’s also equally true that not everyone has the ability to navigate the financial sector. These things can be daunting and RISavers makes it quick and easy and helps ensure more Rhode Islanders are on a path to stable retirement.”
An estimated 170,000 Rhode Island workers, equal to 40% of the state’s private-sector workforce, don’t get retirement benefits through their jobs, according to information from Diossa’s office.
The program also alleviates the burden on small businesses, which have no obligation to match contributions. Their only cost is from processing payroll deductions from participating employees.
Businesses with at least five employees are mandated to make the new retirement program available to their workers, with phased-in deadlines based upon business size. Employers with at least 100 workers must enroll within the first year of the program, while those with 50 to 100 workers have to sign up within two years. All 400,000 businesses that meet the minimum employment requirement must join within three years. Businesses with fewer than five employees can also sign up anytime they want.
“This represents a win for families, for the state economy, and for the overall well-being of our state,” McKee said.
And, it doesn’t come with any extra costs to taxpayers or extra staffing needs, as touted by House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi.
A fiscal note included with the legislation in March 2024 estimated a $311,000 startup cost, split between fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026, based on comparable startup costs in other states like Delaware and Maine. However, no additional money was used in the nearly $14 billion fiscal 2025 budget to pay for the program, which instead relied on existing funds within the treasurer’s office, according to Rob Craven, Diossa’s legislative affairs director.
Rhode Island will pay a $100,000 fee for Vestwell State Savings, split between this fiscal year and the next, to administer the program. Rhode Island is also partnering with Connecticut, which launched its public retirement savings program for public-sector employees two years ago, to share in administration costs and investment fees from Vestwell.
Which, in turn, drives down the fees for participating workers.
The program will use Bank of New York Mellon for its accounts, the same financial services company Vestwell uses for its version of a public retirement account.
Since Connecticut launched the MyCTSavings program in April 2022, it has opened retirement accounts for nearly 30,000 state residents, who have invested $33 million, said Comptroller Sean Scanlon, who attended the event in Warwick.
As of June 30, 2024, 20 states had launched, or passed legislation to launch, retirement savings programs for private sector workers, 17 of which (including Rhode Island) automatically enroll eligible workers, according to the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University’ McCourt School of Public Policy.
Diossa plans to launch a pilot program with a small number of participants in the spring of 2025, opening up the program to full capacity “shortly after.”
Lindie is eager to sign up, noting the interest among his workers already. He hopes the perk will attract new workers to the growing, design-to-build sign shop.
“We are looking for a younger generation of talent, and we need these kinds of benefits,” Lindie said.
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Rhode Island
1 person killed, 1 injured in Rhode Island house fire
One person is dead and a second person was injured in a fire in Warwick, Rhode Island, early Wednesday morning.
According to WJAR, firefighters responded shortly after midnight to a report of two people trapped in a burning home on Holt Street. A man was found dead in the home, and a woman was removed from the house and taken to an area hospital for smoke inhalation.
The identity of the man who died has not been released.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, fire officials said.
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