Since Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, announced her plan last month to wipe away the student loans of millions of Americans as part of her presidential campaign, there’s been debate in the policy community about whether it’s a good idea. But some polling data published this week indicates votersRead More →
Every time we look at households’ preparedness for retirement, we find that two-earner couples are in the worst shape. We generally attribute their status to the fact that one-earner couples receive a Social Security spouse’s benefit equal to 50% of the breadwinner’s while most two-earner couples do not. A recentRead More →
The bottle: Brothership Irish-American Blended Whiskey, $49.99. The back story: The upcoming St. Patrick’s Day celebration is always a good reason to break out a bottle of Irish whiskey. But what if your taste leans more in the American direction, as in bourbon or rye? The Connacht Whiskey Company, aRead More →
Tip your waitstaff and thank your nurses. Being thanked more frequently at work can ultimately benefit physical health, according to a recent study involving acute-care nurses in Oregon. Receiving expressions of gratitude improved these nurses’ satisfaction with their work, and in turn predicted sounder sleep, more attempts to eat healthyRead More →
Robots are jerks. That’s according to the demoralized humans who played against the machines for money in a recent Cornell University-led experiment shedding light on what can happen to worker’s drive in an increasingly automated workplace. When humans unsuccessfully vied against a robot arm for cash prizes, participants ended upRead More →
When women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses seek funding to grow their business, the statistics aren’t pretty. Just 2.2% of all venture capital in the U.S. goes to companies founded solely by women. In addition, companies with all-male founders receive funding after their first round close to 35% of the time.Read More →
The size of the average fixed-rate mortgage last week nationally was $280,900. The size of the average adjustable-rate mortgage was $688,400 – two and a half times as big. That data point, courtesy of the Mortgage Bankers Association, is a reminder – perhaps an uncomfortable one – that the mortgageRead More →
You might have heard that Social Security checks are going up 2.8% next year, the biggest rise in seven years. That translates into an average benefit of $1,461 a month, up $39. While welcome, it’s necessary to remember that the increase is tied to inflation. Higher payouts will simply enableRead More →
AFP/Getty Images President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un at last year’s summit in Singapore. There may be some flashy headlines coming out of the second meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam this week, but foreign-policy analysts say not toRead 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 →
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 →
Cash in on checking. Americans resist change, at least when it comes to their checking accounts: A survey from finance site Bankrate and MONEY found that the average American had used the same primary checking account for 16 years, and more than one in four had had their account forRead More →
Is a low level of stock-trading volume warning of a new major downleg for the U.S. market? Some of the bearish advisers I monitor are worried that it might be, on the grounds that volume is a leading indicator and New York Stock Exchange trading volume has been trending lower.Read More →
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. At least that’s the hope after a WSJ report on Thursday said the U.S. may ease China tariffs to facilitate a trade deal. “Although, the Treasury didn’t confirm this…the market has bought this for now and if this turns out to be a junk, theRead More →
The financial sector is having a great start to the New Year, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF, +0.39% adding 6.9% so far this month. For the week to date, it leads all other sectors with a 4% rise, with the second-best, health care XLV, +0.80% up justRead More →
Fourth-quarter earnings growth for S&P 500 companies might appear robust on its own, but investors should also consider that growth in context, as it is expected to slow to less than half the average of the first three quarters. FactSet publishes a “blended growth” percentage change for earnings per share,Read More →
Do you remember the letter from Economic Slave in Chicago? He wrote to the Moneyist in July 2018. Here’s his letter in full and my response. Here’s a short recap of his original problem: “I’ve known my wife for eight-plus years and I’m happily married with a newborn son. WeRead More →
Gwen Merz, 28, is doing something she thought she’d never have to do again: hunt for a job. Earlier in her 20s, she set a goal to “retire” from full-time work at age 35, but she later decided to move that date up to 27. She wasn’t going to “retire”Read More →
A little post-Christmas love from Santa Claus to end 2018 won’t be enough to turn the tide for an ugly December and a brutal 2018 that cut across a broad swath of Wall Street, ranging from stocks to commodities. Indeed, while investors had spent much of the long-running bull marketRead More →
