Since Americans tightened their belts during the coronavirus pandemic, total household debt has fallen quarterly for the first time since 2014. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that total household debt fell by $34 billion in the second quarter, a decrease of 0.2%. This is the largest declineRead More →
Less than a week after the Government Accountability Office said the Internal Revenue Service had reduced stimulus checks to 1.1 million dead, a report released Monday by Erin Collins, the National Taxpayer Advocate, said the federal tax collector also sent about 74,000 checks to people who were locked upRead More →
Stay safe, MarketWatchers, and don’t miss these top stories: Personal finance Almost 1 in 3 Americans feel less patriotic this July 4th Fewer people are celebrating the Fourth of July or spending money on the holiday this year, surveys find What financial advisers have been doing with their clients’ moneyRead More →
The numbers: Some 1.54 million Americans applied for traditional jobless benefits in early June and more than 700,000 sought compensation though an emergency federal program, reflecting both a steady decline in job losses from the coronavirus but a still-worrisome number of layoffs. Initial jobless claims slowed to 1.54 million inRead More →
Usually, I love the summer. As a college professor and department chair, normally I’m done teaching by June, and my time is taken up by scholarly and administrative duties: Doing research, advising doctoral students, staffing classes for the fall. As a professional musician, I also typically take advantage of theRead More →
Hope you’re staying healthy, MarketWatchers. Don’t miss these top stories: Personal Finance My son is the only one wearing a mask at his job, while all the executives are working from home — what can he do? ‘Not one person, except him, is wearing a mask.’ Black Americans are twiceRead More →
Dear Moneyist, My youngest sister persuaded my father to sell his home and buy her a property with two residences: a small town house for him and a nice four-bedroom house for her and her family. My father recently passed away. We discovered that our sister’s mother-in-law is an attorney.Read More →
A trending topic on social-media sites Wednesday was raising fresh questions about the integrity of those platforms and their capacity to foment antipathy, or even disrupt democracy, rather than foster genuine political discourse ahead of the 2020 presidential election. The hashtag #NeverWarren has been the most popular topic on TwitterRead More →
Japanese online-shopping billionaire Yusaku Maezawa isn’t afraid to make it rain with his $2 billion fortune — as in, he’s already forked over cash to be the first moon tourist, and he once paid a whopping $111 million for a painting. For his next trick, he’s giving away $9 millionRead More →
President Donald Trump says our economy is “the best it has ever been,” and he is planning to ride that false claim to a second term. I won’t let him get away with it. I have the track record — in business and government — to show America what realRead More →
Levying high taxes on e-cigarette products could make adult smokers less likely to quit smoking. That’s according to researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research, City University of New York and Bentley University. Higher e-cigarette taxes in Minnesota increased smoking rates and led to a fall in the rateRead More →
While some U.S. lawmakers have branded Qassem Soleimani a terrorist, the late Iranian general’s significance to the Iranian people was on full display on state TV and in the streets of Tehran. Many Iranians reacted with shock and anger to the killing of Soleimani, the leader of the foreign wingRead More →
The Secure Act, which was signed earlier this month, changes the way beneficiaries will receive money from inherited retirement accounts, but not everyone is in danger of a big tax hit. The new rules say beneficiaries of qualified retirement accounts, such as individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans, need toRead More →
(Reuters) – At least 15 people were injured on Friday after a liquid nitrogen line exploded at a Textron Aviation plant near Wichita, Kansas, potentially setting back the launch of a new aircraft under development, county and company officials said. Emergency medical services took 11 people to the hospital, oneRead More →
Diana Perez, 29, grew up in Paterson, N.J., with a single mother. She began using drugs as a teen, and upon moving to New York at age 21, she partied and used cocaine heavily. After losing her Starbucks SBUX, +0.52% job and falling short on rent, Perez found herself sporadicallyRead More →
TGIF, MarketWatchers. Don’t miss these top stories: Personal Finance Here’s what you can do to help people who are homeless this holiday season (and what NOT to do) A global ‘Sleep Out’ on Saturday will raise awareness and funds to combat homelessness. There’s been a disturbing rise in cellphone injuriesRead More →
First, people love to save money. They like a deal. If they can get something for $50, that’s better than paying $75. Paying $30 is even better. Second, people don’t like to be told how to save money. Especially when those suggestions deal with strongly held personal preferences. It’s alsoRead More →
Meet the world’s youngest selfie-made billionaire. Reality star and cosmetics queen Kylie Jenner, now 22, is probably the most recognizable (and controversial) newcomer in the Forbes magazine world billionaires issue revealed in March, when she was still 21. The social-media star’s fortune officially hit $1 billion earlier this year, severalRead More →
Chick-fil-A is ruffling feathers again. The Georgia-based chicken-sandwich chain has long been criticized over its contributions to groups with anti-LGBTQ stances. In March, the San Antonio city council voted to ban the chain from its international airport, citing its history of LGBTQ issues, and the Buffalo, N.Y., airport followed suitRead More →
What’s life like after Facebook? Users of the world’s largest social network are once again exploring that question as #DeleteFacebook trends online. Many consumers vowed to deactivate their accounts in 2018 after revelations that U.K.-based campaign strategy firm Cambridge Analytica used millions of Facebook FB, +0.80% users’ personal data withoutRead More →
Most people are comfortable with skimping on tipping their Uber driver. That’s the conclusion of a working paper released this week, co-authored by University of Chicago economist John List and published by the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago. Uber customers tip on just 16% ofRead More →
Transgender individuals who undergo surgery that affirms their gender identity can experience significant mental-health benefits down the line, a new study suggests. Yale University researchers analyzed the Swedish Total Population Register of 9.7 million people, zeroing in on 2,679 people who had been diagnosed with gender incongruence (also called genderRead More →
Living by the ocean blue can help keep you from feeling … well, blue. A new U.K. study of almost 26,000 people finds that those who reside about half a mile from the beach have better mental health than those who live more than 30 miles away. Researchers from theRead More →
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund in Shanghai By Jeff Mason NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a deal to end a nearly 15-month trade war with China could happen sooner than people think and that the ChineseRead More →
More than half a million people are homeless each night in the United States, a new White House report has found. And nearly half of them are concentrated in one state: California. All told, 47% of all unsheltered homeless people nationwide — meaning those who sleep in areas not meantRead More →
