Bulletin business briefs
Published 5:50 pm Thursday, February 15, 2024
Stuck in a dating app loop with no date in sight?
A lawsuit filed Wednesday against Match Group claims that is by design.
Tinder, Hinge and other Match dating apps are filled with addictive features that encourage “compulsive” use, the proposed class-action lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Northern District of California on Wednesday says Match intentionally designs its dating platforms with game-like features that “lock users into a perpetual pay-to-play loop” prioritizing profit over promises to help users find relationships.
This, the suit claims, turns users into “addicts” who purchase ever-more-expensive subscriptions to access special features that promise romance and matches.
Representatives for Dallas-based Match did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week to its highest level in 10 weeks, a setback for prospective homebuyers ahead of the spring homebuying season.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.77% from 6.64% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
A year ago, the rate averaged 6.32%.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week, pushing the average rate to 6.12% from 5.90% last week. A year ago it averaged 5.51%, Freddie Mac said.
The increase in rates echoes moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing loans. Stronger-than-expected reports on inflation, the job market and the overall economy have stoked worries among bond investors that the Federal Reserve will wait longer before it begins cutting interest rates.
U.S. factory production decreased in January for the first time in three months, reflecting declines in the output of motor vehicles, machinery and metals.
The 0.5% decrease in factory output followed a 0.1% gain a month earlier, Federal Reserve data showed Thursday. Total industrial production, which includes mining and utilities, fell 0.1% in January.
Production of motor vehicles and parts slipped 0.2% after rebounding strongly in the prior two months after the United Auto Workers’ strike ended in October.
Excluding autos, manufacturing decreased 0.6% from December, the most since March.
It also marked the fourth-straight monthly decline.