Connect with us

Finance

Energy prices are high and people in these states face the heftiest electricity bills

Published

on

Paying utilities bills, including ones for electricity, is a responsibility that many Americans face – and some have difficulty covering – each month. 

Nationwide, the amount of money that Americans had to pay for electricity in August averaged $185.59, according to a recently-released report from LendingTree. However, it found residents in some states faced heftier monthly bills than others. 

The five most-expensive states clocked average monthly electricity bills whose costs ranged from 21.6% to 37.1% above the national average, it reported. 

ALMOST 4 IN 10 AMERICANS WORRY ABOUT PAYING BILLS IN NUMBERS SURPASSING GREAT RECESSION ERA

LendingTree said its findings for monthly electricity bill costs were based on data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Residents in the following five states were on the hook for the largest average electricity bills in August, according to LendingTree’s analysis: 

Connecticut: $254.47

Hartford, Connecticut

Fall foliage along the Connecticut River in Hartford. Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. Hartford is known for its attractive architectural styles and being the Insurance capital of the United States (iStock / iStock)

Arizona: $252.60

Phoenix skyline

In an aerial view, the downtown skyline is seen during a heat wave on July 15, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. Weather forecasts today are expecting temperatures to reach 115 degrees. The Phoenix area is grappling with record-breaking temperatures as prolo (Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Texas: $233.38

Austin, Texas skyline

In an aerial view, the downtown skyline is seen on April 11, 2023 in Austin, Texas. The city of Austin has been ranked as the top destination of U.S. job markets for the second consecutive year, according to data collected by The Wall Street Journal. ((Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) / Getty Images)

Hawaii: $230.80

The entire coastline of Honolulu, Hawaii

The entire coastline of Honolulu, Hawaii including the base of Diamond Head crater and state park, past the hotel lined Waikiki Beach towards downtown in the distance including the suburban neighborhoods dotting the hills surrounding the city center. (iStock / iStock)

Alabama: $225.65

Huntsville Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama, USA park and downtown cityscape at twilight. (iStock / iStock)

LendingTree found “usage matters,” reporting some states “may have high rates” for each kilowatt-hour used “but low average monthly bills (and vice versa).”

Utility bills a major pain point for some Americans

LendingTree’s findings about electricity bill costs comes as it reported 23.4% of Americans experienced an inability to cover their entire energy bill or portions of it in the last year, based on Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data. 

The share who felt that creeped up 1.4 percentage points year-over-year, it said.

“Even though inflation has moderated in recent months, life is still crazy-expensive, and that can make it hard to pay your bills,” LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz said in the report. “Lots of people have found themselves needing to make difficult decisions to keep the lights on.” 

MAJORITY OF AMERICANS LACK ECONOMIC SECURITY, STUDY FINDS

Overall inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index increased 0.3% month-over-month and 2.7% year-over-year in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

couple looking bills

Buying online Online shopping A Bankrate.com survey reveals that 40% of Americans that are married or living with a partner have committed financial infidelity. iStock iStock (iStock / iStock)

For electricity, prices posted a 0.4% drop month-over-month but remain up 3.1% from 12 months ago. Meanwhile, utility gas service prices rose 1% from October and 1.8% from November 2023, the CPI data showed.

Needing to cover utility bills prompted 34.3% of Americans to curb their spending on necessary things – or eliminate some altogether – in at least one instance in the prior year, LendingTree said. 

NEARLY 60% OF AMERICANS SAY $100K INCOME REQUIRED TO CURB EXPENSES ANXIETY: STUDY

In September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported American households saw an average of $77,280 in household expenditures in 2023. That equated to about $6,440 per month. 

 

Continue Reading

Finance

Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says markets are too complacent

Published

on

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, leaves the U.S. Capitol after a meeting with Republican members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on the issue of de-banking on Feb. 13, 2025.

Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Monday that markets and central bankers underappreciate the risks created by record U.S. deficits, tariffs and international tensions.

Dimon, the veteran CEO and chairman of the biggest U.S. bank by assets, explained his worldview during his bank’s annual investor day meeting in New York. He said he believes the risks of higher inflation and even stagflation aren’t properly represented by stock market values, which have staged a comeback from lows in April.

“We have huge deficits; we have what I consider almost complacent central banks,” Dimon said. “You all think they can manage all this. I don’t think” they can, he said.

“My own view is people feel pretty good because you haven’t seen effective tariffs” yet, Dimon said. “The market came down 10%, [it’s] back up 10%; that’s an extraordinary amount of complacency.”

Dimon’s comments follow Moody’s rating agency downgrading the U.S. credit rating on Friday over concerns about the government’s growing debt burden. Markets have been whipsawed the past few months over worries that President Donald Trump‘s trade policies will raise inflation and slow the world’s largest economy.

Dimon said Monday that he believed Wall Street earnings estimates for S&P 500 companies, which have already declined in the first weeks of Trump’s trade policies, will fall further as companies pull or lower guidance amid the uncertainty.

In six months, those projections will fall to 0% earnings growth after starting the year at around 12%, Dimon said. If that were to happen, stocks prices will likely fall.

“I think earnings estimates will come down, which means PE will come down,” Dimon said, referring to the “price to earnings” ratio tracked closely by stock market analysts.

The odds of stagflation, “which is basically a recession with inflation,” are roughly double what the market thinks, Dimon added.

Separately, one of Dimon’s top deputies said that corporate clients are still in “wait-and-see” mode when it comes to acquisitions and other deals.

Investment banking revenue is headed for a “mid-teens” percentage decline in the second quarter compared with the year-earlier period, while trading revenue was trending higher by a “mid-to-high” single digit percentage, said Troy Rohrbaugh, a co-head of the firm’s commercial and investment bank.

On the ever-present question of Dimon’s timeline to hand over the CEO reins to one of his deputies, Dimon said that nothing changed from his guidance last year, when he said he would likely remain for less than five more years.

“If I’m here for four more years, and maybe two more” as executive chairman, Dimon said, “that’s a long time.”

Of all the executive presentations given Monday, consumer banking chief Marianne Lake had the longest speaking time at a full hour. She is considered a top successor candidate, especially after Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Piepszak said she would not be seeking the top job.

Continue Reading

Finance

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: UNH, TSLA, BABA

Published

on

Continue Reading

Finance

Klarna doubles losses in first quarter as IPO remains on hold

Published

on

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, speaking at a fintech event in London on Monday, April 4, 2022.

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Klarna saw its losses jump in the first quarter as the popular buy now, pay later firm applies the brakes on a hotly anticipated U.S. initial public offering.

The Swedish payments startup said its net loss for the first three months of 2025 totaled $99 million — significantly worse than the $47 million loss it reported a year ago. Klarna said this was due to several one-off costs related to depreciation, share-based payments and restructuring.

Revenues at the firm increased 13% year-over-year to $701 million. Klarna said it now has 100 million active users and 724,00 merchant partners globally.

It comes as Klarna remains in pause mode regarding a highly anticipated U.S. IPO that was at one stage set to value the SoftBank-backed company at over $15 billion.

Klarna put its IPO plans on hold last month due to market turbulence caused by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plans. Online ticketing platform StubHub also put its IPO plans on ice.

Prior to the IPO delay, Klarna had been on a marketing blitz touting itself as an artificial intelligence-powered fintech. The company partnered up with ChatGPT maker OpenAI in 2023. A year later, Klarna used OpenAI technology to create an AI customer service assistant.

Last week, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said the company was able to shrink its headcount by about 40%, in part due to investments in AI.

Watch CNBC's full interview with Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski

Continue Reading

Trending