Americans

domoyega | E+ | Getty ImagesAs credit card debt swells and interest rates spike, many spenders are fearful about high balances.Nearly 1 in 5 Americans are afraid to check their credit card statements, according to a recent report from travel website Upgraded Points, which surveyed 3,500 people in April 2022. While Americans trimmed credit card debt in 2020, steep balances have returned amid soaring costs for staples like gasoline, groceries and housing.Indeed, credit card balances jumped $71 billion year over year,…

Tom Hardy has been voted the hardest actor to understand by Americans.A new survey by Preply, via The Wrap, found that US viewers have a harder time following along with the British actor’s dialogue than any other star. The Birmingham-set gangster series Peaky Blinders, a show on which Hardy appears as Alfie Solomons, was also voted the show Americans found the hardest to understand.Hardy’s name was followed by Sofia Vergara, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sean Connery, Johnny Depp, Jackie Chan, Ozzy Osbourne, and Benedict…

CLIMATEWIRE | As extreme weather wracks much of the globe, large majorities of Americans believe that in many cases, climate change is to blame. Roughly three-quarters of respondents to a recent poll said global warming is affecting weather-related issues in the United States, including extreme heat, wildfires, drought and rising sea levels, according to a report released yesterday by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication. While those…

Three out of five Americans believe that the James Webb telescope is a somewhat or very good investment, according to a new YouGov poll.The $10 billion Webb telescope, is an international programme led by the Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.Last week, the Nasa released the first images from the powerful next-generation telescope -- a treasure trove of full-colour images from deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date to cosmic cliffs, birthplace of stars, blackholes,…

Violence can seem to be everywhere in the United States, and political violence is in the spotlight, with the 6 January 2021 insurrection as exhibit A. Now, a large study confirms one in five Americans believes violence motivated by political reasons is—at least sometimes—justified. Nearly half expect a civil war, and many say they would trade democracy for a strong leader, a preprint posted today on medRxiv found. “This is not a study that’s meant to shock,” says Rachel…

Soon after NASA shared the first stunning images taken by the agency’s new, powerful James Webb Space Telescope, a new online opinion poll asked Americans: was the nearly $10 billion observatory a good investment? And the resounding answer: yes. Today, marketing and data analytics firm YouGov released an online poll of 1,000 Americans, asking them their overall opinion of NASA and whether or not various space programs have been good investments. Roughly 70 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of NASA, and 60…

The May 2022 Personal Finance and Credit survey released by Credit Sesame found that a greater number of Americans are relying on credit cards to fund routine purchases and expenses as interest rates and inflation reach highs not seen in decades. The Federal Reserve issued a 0.75% increase in its benchmark rates in June, the largest jump since 1994. The consumer price index, which measures inflation, jumped to 9.1% in June from the same period last year. The survey, developed by Credit Sesame using Momentive Inc.'s survey…

Seven in 10 U.S. consumers see an economic downturn ahead, assuming one hasn’t already started. But awareness doesn’t equal preparedness — two in three admit they aren’t ready for what they think is coming, according to a survey from MagnifyMoney, a personal finance website. “When you are living paycheck to paycheck and seeing everything around you go up in price by the day, it can be really scary,” said Matt Schultz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, which owns MagnifyMoney. “You know you don’t have a lot of wiggle…

A sign advertises to purchase cars at a used car dealership in Arlington, Virginia, February 15, 2022.Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty ImagesDETROIT – If investors are looking for signs of a recession or weakening consumer spending, they can skip over new vehicle prices, which hit a new record in June.Fueled by pent-up consumer demand, low vehicle inventories and rising sales of luxury vehicles, Cox Automotive reported this week the average transaction price of a new vehicle last month was $48,083 – a 1.9% increase from May and…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A new survey shows Americans' view of the January 6 Capitol attack can be predicted by their opinions on social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, but not as much by someone's race or whether they own a gun except when the two are looked at together. …