LONDON — A U.K. parliamentary committee rebuked Facebook Inc. in a new report that calls for regulation and intensified scrutiny of social-media companies. The report urged a compulsory code of ethics for technology companies to deal with harmful or illegal content on their sites. It also called for the creationRead More →
AFP/Getty Images General Joseph Dunford (L), chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Fang Fenghui shake hands after signing an agreement at the Bayi Building in Beijing. China recovered much more rapidly from the Great RecessionRead More →
In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, more states have followed. To date, 33 states have legalized the recreational or medicinal use of marijuana. Canada legalized recreational use nation-wide in October 2018. As these legal markets emerge, investments are pouring in (byRead More →
More than one in five taxpayers with wages probably had too little money withheld for taxes last year, according to the Government Accountability Office. Among the most likely are taxpayers with wages of $180,000, at least $20,000 of non-wage income and itemized deductions; taxpayers with gambling winnings; those with unreimbursedRead More →
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed gutting a rule that aimed to regulate the payday loan industry. The agency released two proposals Wednesday for rolling back the regulations on payday, vehicle title and other balloon-payment installment loans that were finalized in 2017 and were set to go into effectRead More →
In today’s edition of “People Are Saying Stupid Things About Stock Buybacks,” I want to talk about the Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders proposal to ban stock buybacks. Here it is in case you want to become a little bit dumber. Snark aside, I found the op-ed kinda lazy. TheirRead More →
Accountants and taxpayers alike may not be ready to file returns by the April 15 deadline. Americans are still making sense of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the largest tax-law reform in 30 years. The TCJA was enacted in December 2017, but many Americans are still unsure how itRead More →
There’s a fine line between filing your own taxes and seeking a professional’s help. The wrong move could lead to an inaccurate return, a call from the Internal Revenue Service — and extra fees and penalties. So what’s the tipping point? Going to a professional for what could be aRead More →
There’s a lot written about converting a traditional IRA to fund a Roth IRA, and with good reason. The benefits of owning a Roth IRA are nothing short of amazing. A Roth grows without any taxes and all amounts withdrawn are tax-free. The problem is that it’s difficult to getRead More →
A regulator has given Tesla Inc. the green light to sell its Model 3 cars in Europe, opening up an important new market following recent layoffs to cut costs. On Monday, the Netherlands Vehicles Authority, which has regulatory authority on behalf of the EU, said the Model 3 met requirementsRead More →
The force is strong with this furloughed worker. Like many, Michael Mateos, a graphic designer and contractor for the federal government, is out of work because of the partial shutdown. Like many workers in his position, he is looking for ways to earn income while paychecks are on halt. ButRead More →
Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg Long lines at airport security have been reported as unpaid Transportation Security Administration workers struggle with their finances. Just when you are beginning to think Donald Trump’s administration simply can’t get any more ridiculous, here we are: The White House itself is telling reporters the shutdown might cutRead More →
As the weeks-long federal government shutdown continues with no end in sight, the President Donald Trump has backed himself into a corner. Trump insists on funding for a Mexican border wall as the necessary condition for ending the partial shutdown. On Wednesday hestormed out of a meeting with Democratic congressionalRead More →
The U.S. government shutdown, now in its 21st day, is disrupting the initial-public-offering process and may cause delays in some of the bigger deals expected in 2019, including those of ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft. While January and February are typically slow months for new offerings as companies need toRead More →
For many federal workers, keeping a roof over their heads got a lot harder in January thanks to the partial government shutdown that is approaching its third week. Altogether, unpaid federal workers — including roughly 380,000 furloughed employees and 420,000 people working without pay — owe around $438 million inRead More →
New York freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s mention of a 70% tax on the wealthy provoked heated reaction from both supporters and detractors, with House Republican whip Steve Scalise deriding the idea as a “leftist fantasy program.” But the debate sparked by the Democrat from New York also revealed some misunderstandingsRead More →
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has dramatically curtailed inspections of domestic food-processing facilities during the partial government shutdown, though it is now trying to resume work at the most high-risk sites. Since the shutdown began in late December, the FDA has conducted some types of essential food inspections, including atRead More →
At 19 days in length as of Wednesday, the current partial government shutdown has become one for the record books. It ranks as the second-longest shutdown in more than 40 years, topped only by a 21-day closure during the Clinton administration that began in December 1995. The current shutdown hasRead More →
A GoFundMe page to raise money for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall has raked in over $18.5 million in just two weeks with an ultimate goal of $1 billion, and inspired at least one competing page dedicated to paying for ladders to get people over said wall (that pageRead More →
One very important theme for investors during 2018 has been the return to volatility, as investors worry about Federal Reserve tightening and President Trump’s trade dispute with China. The market always looks ahead, and another important focus for investors is the massive cut in the maximum federal income-tax rate forRead More →
