Personal finance

Carlos Ponce joins others at a July 16 demonstration in Miami Springs, Florida, asking senators to support the continuation of unemployment benefits. Joe Raedle | Getty Images The fight over state and local funding  “Both sides have dug in on their philosophical grounds,” when it comes to supporting state and local governments, said Mark Mazur,

FG Trade | E+ | Getty Images The market for initial public offerings may be on fire this year, but investors still need to be wary of getting burned. Many of the IPOs in 2020 are now trading above their debut price. Already, 111 companies have raised $37.8 billion, according to Renaissance Capital, which advises investors on

Maskot/Getty Images Tough choices are ahead for employers as President Donald Trump’s payroll tax holiday goes into effect, but it’s never too early for employees to figure out what’s coming up. The payroll tax deferral went into effect on Sept. 1, following an executive order Trump had issued in August. It’s effective until the end of

Most renters in the U.S. are now protected from eviction until the end of the year, according to an order announced on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The ban is unprecedented and could prevent millions of Americans from being forced out of their homes during one of the worst public health crises in

As many parents experienced in the spring, remote learning asks a lot from them, too. Not only do many children need assistance with school work and scheduling but, at the very least, they require basic supervision, which means an adult must be at home to help. To that point, 21% of parents said that they

Win McNamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images August was a hard month for Donna Crenshaw. First, she stopped getting an extra $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits, which had been helping pay the bills. Absent that subsidy, Crenshaw gets just $33 a week before tax from North Carolina, where she lives just

David Bakke, 48, considered himself pretty responsible when it came to saving money. As a freelance blogger, he had been putting money aside in an emergency fund and had about $6,000 saved before the pandemic. But Covid-19 caused his business to slow while a surprise air conditioning repair set him back $3,000. “It [emergency savings]

Tang Ming Tung | DigitalVision | Getty Images From jobs to savings to retirement plans, the coronavirus pandemic has upended many Americans’ financial lives. While millions are still unemployed and many have seen their emergency savings run dry, it isn’t all necessarily negative. Many are saving more and spending less. In fact of those surveyed

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech as the 2020 Republican presidential nominee on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Aug. 27. Carlos Barria | Reuters Workers who participate in President Donald Trump’s payroll tax deferral will see a temporary increase in their take-home pay, but they’ll likely see smaller

Apple split its stock on Monday. FREDERIC J. BROWN | AFP | Getty Images Two of the most valuable and popular public companies – Apple and Tesla – completed stock splits on Monday. Wondering what that entails? And what, if anything, it means for your investments?  Let’s start with how the process of a corporate stock

A waitress serves diners at a restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 29. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters The economic uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus has spared no generation of American workers. But a recent survey found that young professionals could be bearing the brunt of the financial stress. One big consequence of that pressure

DusanManic | iStock | Getty Images Many people’s retirement dreams received a reality check following the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. New research shows that’s especially true for older workers. A recent report from Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee of Congress found that workers ages 65 and up were hit harder by

Amid one of the worst public-health crises in history, a record number of Americans are without health insurance. John Fedele Amid historic levels of unemployment, as many as 12 million Americans may have lost their health insurance since February, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute.  “Because most U.S. workers rely on their

valentinrussanov | E+ | Getty Images  If the economic havoc from the coronavirus persists, distressed homeowners could find themselves facing a terrifying prospect next year: Foreclosure. The CARES Act, the pandemic relief act that became a law this spring, sought to keep millions of Americans in their homes. In particular, it gave borrowers with federally

Anna Vela had three days to pay her rent or her landlord would evict her and her three children.  She didn’t have the money. When the pandemic hit, Vela’s boss at the supermarket where she worked in Davenport, Iowa, had cut her weekly hours to around 11 from 35. And when she learned that she’d

Workers in Philadelphia took to the streets to demand Congress return and come to a deal on unemployment and other financial relief. Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images Unemployed workers may soon get a bump of $300 or more in their weekly jobless benefits. What’s more, it seems they won’t have to apply for that extra

Philadelphia residents rallied at City Hall to demand Congress return and come to a deal on unemployment and other key features of the HEROES Act. Cory Clark/NurPhoto via Getty Images At least five states have begun paying out a federal boost to weekly unemployment benefits. Others have signaled they’ll do so within days. Arizona, Louisiana,

Getty Images Changes are coming for risk-averse Vanguard investors who are parking cash. Late next month, Vanguard will transition its $125.3 billion Prime Money Market Fund to a government money market fund, investing “almost exclusively” in U.S. government securities, cash and repurchase agreements backed by government securities or cash. The fund will be renamed the

In a major policy pivot, the Federal Reserve said it will allow inflation to run “hotter than normal” to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus crisis. That means the Fed will be less inclined to hike interest rates, letting borrowers benefit from cheap money for an extended period of time. “This kind of

Images By Tang Ming Tung Some Americans who are still waiting for their $1,200 coronavirus stimulus payments may be relieved to know their checks will soon be in the mail. The IRS announced this week that 50,000 people will receive catch-up payments for money that was withheld due to their spouse’s past-due child support. Catch-up