State of the Union: 5 key challenges for Biden as he delivers his speech
President Joe Biden will face no small task on Tuesday night, when he delivers his State of the Union speech after a little more than two years in office.Biden looks poised to tackle the debt-limit standoff, recession worries and acts of violence at home and abroad in his remarks. At the same time, American presidents […]
Feds move to crack down on ‘excessive’ credit-card late fees
President Joe Biden is spotlighting new moves by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to cut excessive credit-card late fees that cost American families about $12 billion each year. The CFPB unveiled proposals that will potentially save Americans up to $9 billion a year by targeting late fees that are currently protected by an “expansive” immunity […]
Oil prices gain for the session, but post a January loss
Front-month oil futures ended higher on Tuesday, but U.S. prices posted a third-straight monthly decline, ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve decision on interest rates and amid signs that Russian crude exports remain resilient. Prices for the U.S. and global crude benchmarks marked their biggest monthly declines since November 2022, while natural gas marked its […]
U.S. may cut off China’s Huawei entirely from U.S. suppliers
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is considering entirely cutting off Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. from U.S. suppliers over national-security concerns by tightening export controls targeting the firm, according to people familiar with the matter. The move — should the administration move forward — would mark the latest salvo in the high-stakes clash between the world’s two largest economies as U.S. […]
Pandemic is still a global health emergency but it may be reaching a point where higher immunity levels mean fewer deaths
The coronavirus pandemic is still a global health emergency, according to the World Health Organization, but an advisory panel has determined that it may be nearing an inflection point where higher levels of immunity will lead to fewer deaths. That was the message Monday from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the agency’s annual executive […]
How to pay for reparations in California? ‘Swollen’ wealth could replace ‘stolen’ wealth through taxes
The panel responsible for the nation’s first state-level exploration of reparations for Black Americans discussed an important question this weekend: How will the state pay for reparations?The California reparations task force listened to testimony from experts who suggested possible sources for compensation, after previous meetings had touched on the potential for hundreds of thousands of […]
I’m still working at 75: Do I need to take RMDs from my 401(k)?
Dear Fix My Portfolio, I retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2004 and have a yearly pension from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). I also work part time at a big hardware chain and have a portion of my salary placed in the company’s 401(k). I have been working there for four years […]
Last year, one woman told MarketWatch she was on hold for 7 hours, but the IRS says customer service will improve this tax season. And now? A big test lies ahead.
Last year, tax preparer Kathy Brown called the Internal Revenue Service, and took her daughter to a gymnastics class while her husband stayed on hold, ready to patch in Brown once an employee picked up.Seven hours later, after sitting through the gymnastics class and returning home, the Warsaw, Ky.-based enrolled agent found her husband still […]
Yellen dismisses minting $1 trillion coin to avoid federal default
LUSAKA, Zambia — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Federal Reserve likely wouldn’t accept a $1 trillion platinum coin if the Biden administration tried to mint one to avoid breaching the debt limit, dismissing an idea that has been floated to circumvent Congress on the issue. Some Biden administration officials and Democrats on Capitol Hill have discussed the […]
Opinion: I took Social Security at 62 and now regret it. Is there a way to increase my Social Security benefit?
Recently I had a conversation with Sue, an acquaintance who started receiving her Social Security benefit at age 62. Sue’s now 63, and she told me that she thinks she might have made a mistake. The problem is that she has realized that starting Social Security early reduced the benefit significantly, and she’d been wondering if it was possible to […]