Laurel Wamsley
Laurel Wamsley is a correspondent on NPR's Business Desk, where she covers personal finance and housing. She reports on how news events and the economy affect people and their money, and explains how to make sound financial choices in a fast-changing world.
Before joining the Business Desk, Wamsley was a reporter on NPR’s National Desk, where she reported on cities. Wamsley has reported on cities’ efforts to change zoning rules and parking requirements to allow more housing, how Baby Boomers feel locked in by low mortgage rates, and how downtowns are adapting to post-pandemic lifestyles. She also explored the economic impact of the bridge collapse in Baltimore.
She previously was a reporter on NPR's Newsdesk, where she reported breaking news and features on a wide range of subjects, including criminal justice, technology, sports, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wamsley spent several months reporting from Berlin as an Arthur F. Burns Fellow in 2019, and that year was NPR's lead reporter at the Women's World Cup in France.
Previously, Wamsley was a producer for NPR's shows and desks. She got her start at NPR as an intern on Weekend Edition Saturday.
Wamsley graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead-Cain Scholar. Wamsley also holds a master's degree from Ohio University, where she was a Public Media Fellow and worked at NPR Member station WOUB. Born and raised in Athens, Ohio, she has also called Austin and Chicago home. She now lives and bikes in Washington, D.C.
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Agents have typically taken a commission on the sale of a home that totals 5% to 6% of the price. But new rules have created an opening for brokers who charge much less. -
More inventory hitting the market was expected to drive sales. Instead, existing home sales suggest a continued slump in the housing market, with mortgage rates hurting affordability. -
In declarations to federal court, CFPB employees describe a hasty process to eliminate most of the agency's staff. "[A]ll that matters is the numbers," one employee said they were told by leaders. -
After a couple extremely slow years, more inventory is finally hitting the market this spring. But buyers might be put off by high prices and an unsteady economy. -
The temporary injunction issued by Judge Berman Jackson seeks to preserve the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a lawsuit filed by the agency's union proceeds. -
The WHO declared a pandemic. The NBA shut down its season. President Trump banned travel from Europe. Tom Hanks tested positive. On one day five years ago, the coronavirus became very real in America. -
Agencies from Social Security to the IRS store sensitive data on millions of Americans. Here's what the government knows about us – and what's at risk as DOGE seeks access to the data. -
It's the latest lawsuit abandoned by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since Trump appointees have taken over at the bureau. -
The consumer protection agency also dropped cases against four other companies including Rocket Homes. -
The ruling from a federal court in Washington, D.C., is — for now — a reprieve for CFPB staff who had been bracing for mass layoffs as early as Friday. -
Federal agencies continued to lay off workers Friday. The cuts come after President Trump signed an executive order this week directing agencies to prepare for "large-scale" reductions in force. -
About 70-100 employees were terminated at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, following dozens of recent workers who were fired earlier this week. Agency staff are bracing for even wider layoffs.
