Morning Business Report: Verizon outage, housing costs, and market slide

More than 1.5 million Verizon customers reported wireless and data outages Wednesday, according to Downdetector.

(LILAMAX)- More than 1.5 million Verizon customers reported wireless and data outages Wednesday, according to Downdetector.

The outage was widespread across the United States, with the highest number of reports coming from New York City, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Houston. Many users said their phones displayed “SOS” instead of the usual wireless signal.

Verizon has not said what caused the outage or when service will be fully restored.

Meanwhile, new data from Realtor.com suggests the U.S. housing market may never return to pre-pandemic affordability levels. The report says mortgage rates would need to fall to 2.65 percent, incomes would have to rise 56 percent, or home prices would need to drop 35 percent for housing to be considered affordable again. Affordability is defined as housing costs making up no more than 21 percent of monthly income.

Stocks also slipped for a second straight session Wednesday, with banks among the day’s biggest losers.

President Trump’s proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent is also drawing attention. One company is already responding. Bilt announced three new tiered credit cards that will offer a 10 percent APR for the next 12 months. After that, the interest rates will jump to between 26 and 34 percent. The cards offer perks for rent and mortgage payments.

In other financial news, Americans who are behind on federal student loan payments could lose their tax refunds. The U.S. Department of Education can seize a borrower’s entire refund — including the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit — if the loan is in default.

Borrowers concerned about their refunds are encouraged to log into studentaid.gov to check their account status.