Category: personal finance

Used Car Prices Pop Up Unexpectedly, Suggesting Inflation Woes Not Over

February 9, 2023
Business & Marketscar salesCompanieseconomic policieseconomyinflationMarketspersonal financeUSused car prices
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Used car prices jumped unexpectedly in January, which suggests that inflation woes are not over for car buyers. The news has the potential to squash optimistic predictions that inflation is heading downward, as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates. Used car prices have increasingly become a point of interest for investors and for…

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States Pass Pay Transparency Laws—Will Productivity Diminish?

February 8, 2023
BrightbudgetingEarning Moneyemployeepay transparencyPay transparency lawspersonal financesalary rangesUS
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Washington and California passed laws requiring companies to post salary ranges on job listings. New York passed a similar last year. The goal is to help reduce wage gaps and make a more level playing field for employees. And with pay transparency laws becoming a hot topic in business, questions by both employers and employees…

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Closing Prices for Crude Oil, Gold and Other Commodities (Feb. 8)

February 8, 2023
Benchmark U.S. crude oilBrightBusiness & MarketsgoldGold and CommoditiesinvestingMarketspersonal finance
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Benchmark U.S. crude oil for March delivery rose $1.33 to $78.47 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for April delivery rose $1.40 to $85.09 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for March delivery was unchanged at $2.46 a gallon. March heating oil fell 1 cent to $2.89 a gallon. March natural gas fell 18 cents to $2.40 per…

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How Retirement Benefits Are Figured

February 8, 2023
Brightpersonal financeretirementSocial Security
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After doing this column for so many years (more than a quarter century now), I’ve learned there are two kinds of potential Social Security beneficiaries. The vast majority are those who just want a general idea of how their benefits will be figured. But there are more than a few people out there who want…

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Life Insurance Tactics for Small-Business Owners

February 8, 2023
Brightinsurancelife insurancepersonal financesmall businessWealth Management
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Having a small business often means that it is the only income available to support a family. Fluctuations in business can result in money being tight at times. In the event of the business owner dies, the family can suddenly be put into dire straits financially, with the only way out being to sell the…

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IRS Recommends Taxpayers to Wait for ‘Additional Clarification’ Before Filing Returns Due to Refund Confusion

February 8, 2023
Business & MarketseconomyIRS - U.S. Internal Revenue Servicepersonal financePolicies & Impactstax filingtax rebateTax Refundtax returnsUS
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The Internal Revenue Service has advised millions of taxpayers who have benefited from state rebate and refund payment programs to currently hold off from filing their income tax return while the agency decides on how to treat such receipts. “There are a variety of state programs that distributed these payments in 2022 and the rules…

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American Households Burn Through Pandemic Savings, Lose Spending Power Amid High Inflation

February 8, 2023
Business & Marketseconomyinflationpersonal financerecessionsavingsspending powerUSUS News
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The savings cushion that many Americans built up during the COVID-19 pandemic is dwindling as people struggle with elevated decades-high inflation, with the overall savings rate dropping below pre-pandemic levels, to its lowest in almost 15 years. In January 2020, the personal saving rate of American citizens was 9.1 percent, according to data from the…

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US Banks Race to Attract Consumer Deposits After Record-High Exodus

February 8, 2023
banksBusiness & MarketsCompaniesconsumer depositseconomic policieseconomyinflationInvestmentMarketspersonal financeUSUS News
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American banks are chasing consumers to open new accounts, after a massive exodus of deposits over the past year led to a drain in capital. U.S. banks borrowed a total of $120 billion through the federal funds market on Jan. 27, the largest single day record since 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported. The problem began…

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Investing: Breeze Through a Fund Prospectus

February 7, 2023
Alternative InvestmentsBrightfact sheetfundfund prospectusinvestingInvestmentpersonal financeprospectus
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By Nellie S. Huang From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance We get it: No one wants to read a fund prospectus, and few investors ever do. “I can tell you precisely how many clients read the prospectus: zero,” says Lew Altfest, chief executive of Altfest Personal Wealth Management. But reading a fund’s prospectus is an important step…

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IRS Proposes New Program for Reporting Tips Across Service Industry

February 7, 2023
BrightBusiness & Marketseconomic policieseconomyinflationIRSpersonal financePolicies & ImpactstaxTIPSUSUS NewsWealth Management
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Feb. 6 issued proposed guidance for a voluntary tip-reporting program between the agency and employers across an array of service industries. Notice 2023-13 contains a proposed revenue procedure that would establish the “Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement” (SITCA) program, which the IRS says would serve as the sole tip-reporting compliance program between…

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