The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169, is widely considered the most important U.S. legislation to date to combat climate change. The act includes two dozen tax provisions designed to accelerate the deployment of clean energy. While most of these provisions are aimed at corporations, many provisions are designed to ....
(AP) — Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that the Federal Reserve will likely cut its key interest rate slowly and deliberately in the coming months, in part because inflation has shown signs of persistence and the Fed’s officials want to see where it heads next. Powell, speaki....
The numbers: Initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 217,000 in the week ending Nov. 9, the Labor Department said Thursday. It is the lowest level of claims since May. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would fall by 1,000 to 220,000. Last week claims were unrevised at a....
(Reuters) - As Wall Street financiers gathered in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday, their optimism about President-elect Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda was tempered by uncertainty over his personnel and policies. Bankers were still bullish on deals. They expected friendly regulators to be install....
The IRS could have about 1 million employee retention credit (ERC) claims remaining to process by the end of the year, the national taxpayer advocate said Tuesday at the AICPA & CIMA National Tax Conference. "That is a huge lift," Erin Collins said. "This is not a five-minute exercise." And the....
Key Points The U.S. Federal Reserve could carry out fewer rate cuts than previously expected next year should President-elect Donald Trump’s global tariffs take hold, former Fed policymaker Loretta Mester said Tuesday. “My own view is the market ....
Donald Trump’s election victory has catapulted US stocks to fresh records and pushed the dollar to a two-year high. It’s anything but good news for the rest of the world. Equities excluding the US are tumbling, with an MSCI gauge at its lowest in three months. An index of developing-marke....
Key Points The consumer price index increased 0.2% in October, taking the 12-month inflation rate up to 2.6%. Both numbers were in line with expectations. The core CPI accelerated 0.3% for the month and was at 3.3% annually, also meeting forecasts. Despite signs of inflation moderating elsewhere, shelter p....
The stock market could rally stronger into the end of the year following Republican Donald Trump’s presidential election victory than it did when he won the US presidency eight years ago, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s trading desk. “I expect 2024 returns to be larger than 2016,” Andrew T....
Crypto is on a hot streak since President-elect Donald Trump's victory. Bitcoin broke past $80,000 for the first time over the weekend, and recently traded around $82,000, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. Dogecoin, a so-called meme token often promoted by Elon Musk, has nearly doubled in va....
President-elect Donald Trump is poised to push swiftly for new tax cuts if Republicans win full control of Congress, further slashing corporate rates and extending trillions of dollars of other cuts even as the national debt soars. Major portions of Trump’s 2017 tax law are set to expire next y....
Stocks hit fresh all-time highs, climbing alongside bonds and commodities, in a concerted cross-asset advance that by one measure was the best for a Federal Reserve day in 2024. Equities extended their post-election rally, with the S&P 500 approaching 6,000 and notching its 49th record this year. That was af....
Key Points The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points, to a target range of 4.50%-4.75%. The vote was unanimous. Fed officials have justified the easing mode for policy as they view supporting employment becoming at least as much o....
Stocks hit all-time highs, US yields jumped and the dollar saw its best day since 2022, with investors mapping out Donald Trump’s return to presidency and the potential for Republicans to win both houses of Congress. The S&P 500 climbed 2.5% on bets the newly ele....
(Reuters) - With Donald Trump heading back to the White House, Wall Street is anticipating the potential for lower taxes, deregulation and a U.S. president who is quick to sound off on everything from the stock market to the dollar. Trump made tariffs and tax cuts key elements of his pitch to voters, ....
Taxpayers must consider many areas of accounting for fixed assets when determining the most advantageous methods to use for income tax purposes. Some of these methods were less significant in recent years due to the availability of 100% bonus depreciation on eligible property. However, under currently enacted law, bonus depreciation is phasin....
Questions run rampant when you are in or near retirement. Will I run out of money? How can I avoid overpaying taxes? Will my family be taken care of if I am no longer here? Such questions highlight an important point. Everyone wants a smooth retirement but achieving one is not easy. Still, you can go a long way in m....
The IRS announced the 2025 benefit and contribution limits for qualified retirement plans, including contribution limits for Sec. 401(k) plans and individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) Friday, increasing the limit on 401(k)s by $500. Notice 2024-80 includes updates to dollar limits for a range of qual....
A sharply weaker jobs reading has thrown up some uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. economy. But the preponderance of evidence from official data, company earnings and even consumers points to a strong, if gradually slowing, economy. There was even more attention than usual on Friday’s jobs figure, com....
The U.S. Treasury Department is harnessing AI to combat taxpayer fraud, successfully recovering $4 billion in fraudulent and improper payments. This success is primarily due to advanced machine learning (ML) techniques that analyze data to identify tax non-compliance. In a recent release, the Treasury em....
EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX – SEPTEMBER 2024 Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.8 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending in September 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries increased 0.8 percent and benefit costs increased 0.8 percent from June 2024. (See tables A, 1, 2, and ....
US stocks gave up all of their gains for October as a sell-off in tech heavyweights on Thursday produced Wall Street’s worst daily drop in almost two months. In the final trading session of the month, the S&P 500 ended down 1.9 per cent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed 2.8 per cent lower. Big Tec....
Job creation in October slowed to its weakest pace since late 2020 as the impacts of storms in the Southeast and a significant labor impasse dented the employment picture. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 12,000 for the month, down sharply from September and below the Dow Jones estimate for 100....
Across the United States, companies that rely on foreign suppliers are preparing to raise prices in response to the massive import tariffs that former president Donald Trump promises if he wins the election Tuesday. Producers of a range of items, including clothing, footwear, baby products, auto parts and....
The numbers: Initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 216,000 in the week ended October 26, the Labor Department said Thursday. This is the third straight decline in weekly claims. Claims are now at their lowest level since May. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimate....
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation posted its biggest monthly gain since April, bolstering the case for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts following last month’s outsize reduction. The so-called core personal consumption expenditures price index, which strips out volatile food an....
In the race for the White House, the largest companies in the US are facing two starkly different financial futures, separated by one vast sum: a quarter trillion dollars a year. The potential price tag is thanks to the differing tax policies of the two candidates, one of the most crucial distinctions bet....
U.S. job openings tumbled last month to their lowest level since January 2021, a sign that the labor market is losing some momentum. Still, posted vacancies remain well above pre-pandemic levels. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the number of job openings dropped to 7.4 million in September from 7.9 million....
US consumer confidence increased in October by the most since March 2021 on optimism about the broader economy and the labor market. The Conference Board’s gauge of confidence jumped 9.5 points to 108.7, the highest level since the start of the year, data released Tuesday showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg....
The U.S. economy posted another solid though slightly disappointing period of growth in the third quarter, propelled higher by strong consumer spending that has defied expectations for a slowdown. Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced during the three-month period from....
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, limited itemizers’ state and local tax (SALT) deductions to $10,000 for tax years 2018 through 2025 (the SALT cap). However, federal policymakers have continued to battle each other and state policymakers over the limit. Although increasing the limit and extending its time frame were part of the Build....
A punishing 2½-year fight to bring inflation down appears to be succeeding. The election could change that. Inflation has fallen thanks to higher interest rates and big assists from healed supply chains and an influx of workers. But whether borrowing costs and price growth continue to ease next year could turn heavily o....
Corporate executives may have personal political leanings and beliefs, but when it comes to the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, they see political and regulatory risks no matter which candidate is elected. Among 709 executives who participated in PwC’s pulse survey, 75% agreed or strongly agreed that Donald....
The Nasdaq Composite climbed to an all-time high on Friday, boosted by megacap tech stocks. The tech-heavy index rose 0.56% to 18,518.61, while the S&P 500 inched 0.03% lower to end at 5,808.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 259.96 points, or 0.61%....
To understand more about the challenges professionals face as they transition to retirement, Kiplinger spoke with Teresa Amabile, a professor emerita at the Harvard Business School and coauthor of Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You. You and your colleagues conducted more than 200 interviews, inc....
Talking about money can be uncomfortable and awkward. But if you want to be considerate of others while staying within your budget, you should establish guidelines on matters such as dining out with friends, attending a wedding or deciding how much to tip. A lot of people think money is not polite conversat....
The IRS on Tuesday provided its annual inflation adjustments for over 60 tax provisions in tax year 2025, including increases in the standard deduction for married couples and single individuals. These adjustments generally apply to tax returns that will be filed in 2026. Rev. Proc. 2024-40 provides details ab....
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said she expected the US central bank would continue cutting interest rates to guard against further weakening in the labor market. “So far, I haven’t seen any information that would suggest we wouldn’t continue to reduce the interest rate.”....
US stocks are unlikely to sustain their above-average performance of the past decade as investors turn to other assets including bonds for better returns, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists said. The S&P 500 Index is expected to post an annualized nominal total return of just 3% over the next 10....
Businesses and households in major economies are struggling to bounce back from the era of high inflation as precarious growth prospects and political uncertainty weigh on their confidence. Although economic activity remains relatively firm, confidence indicators have slid sharply or remain stuck in negative territory, accor....
Wharton’s Stephanie Creary speaks to Teresa Amabile, emerita professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and Kathy Kram, emerita professor of management and organizations at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, about how to prepare for retirement and other insights from their book Ret....
Consumer spending held up in September, underscoring a resilient economy that is now getting a boost from the Federal Reserve, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% on the month, up from the unrevised 0.1% gain in August and better than the....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will call out plans to vastly increase the scale of U.S. tariffs in a Thursday speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, taking a thinly veiled shot at former President Trump’s plans to hike import taxes. Yellen, according to prepared remarks, will pa....
US government bonds slumped after strong September retail-sales figures fanned doubts over how quickly the Federal Reserve will continue to lower interest rates. The selloff pushed Treasury yields higher by as much as seven to 10 basis points. Initially, short maturities led the move as traders trimme....
Is inflation really easing? Well, for healthcare, not so much. This marks the second year in a row that employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have risen 7 percent, to reach an average of $25,572 annually, according to KFF's annual survey, 2024 KFF Employer Health Benefit Survey. The survey of 2,142 e....
New data from KPMG shows the Americas are hot for companies looking to strengthen their supply chains—for reasons from cost reduction, to improved resiliency against ongoing geopolitical tensions. KPMG uses the term “strategic shoring” to describe global supply chains shifti....
(Reuters) - Global investor optimism posted its biggest jump since June 2020 in October due to Federal Reserve rate cuts, stimulus pledges from China and expectations of a soft landing for the U.S. economy, a BofA survey of fund mangers published on Tuesday showed. Cash allocations dropped to 3.9% from 4.2% in ....
Mention financial planning and everyone thinks of preparing for retirement. We start thinking about how much to save, where are the best places to save, whether we are properly insured, and whether we have a will. Seldom do many people, including professional financial planners, consider what happens for the rest of their life after ret....
These days, people are increasingly interested in thinking about wealth in a holistic way, in a multidimensional way — after all, wealth is more than money. Your assets also include your health, knowledge, time and relationships. This view of wealth invites a comprehensive approach to wealth management beyond your finan....
There’s an unusual divergence in Corporate America’s profit outlook this season: while analysts have cut forecasts, company guidance points to another strong quarter. Data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show analysts expect S&P 500 firms to report a 4.2% increase in third-quarter earnings versus....
As the oldest members of Generation X close in on age 60, retirement decisions are moving front and center. Many Gen Xers have spent decades carefully saving and investing in their retirement, but even those who have closely followed the savings playbook are starting to question whether their retirement dream will beco....
Individual taxable earnings of up to $176,100 annually will be subject to Social Security tax in 2025, the Social Security Administration (SSA) said Thursday. The amount, an increase from $168,600 in 2024, is the wage base limit that applies to earnings subject to the 6.2% OASDI tax (old age, survivors, and disabilit....
Federal Reserve officials at their September meeting agreed to cut interest rates but were unsure how aggressive to get, ultimately deciding on a half percentage point move in an effort to balance confidence on inflation with worries over the labor market, according to minutes released ....
Thanks for joining us. Here are five key takeaways from the US consumer price index report for September, released Thursday: Both the headline and the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, came in 0.1 percentage point higher than forecast for the month, with a 0.2% increase in the headline index and a 0....
A top Federal Reserve official said the central bank was now “well positioned” to pull off a soft landing for the US economy, as he signalled support for a slower pace of cuts after September's big half-point move. New York Fed president John Williams said the “very good” jobs report for....
Consumers don't care for negative surprises. That's why so many companies affix carefully worded warning labels on everyday goods, ranging from hot coffee cups to hand mixers. And for safety reasons, it's also why Van Halen buried article 126, also known as the no-brown-M&M's rider, in their performance contract in th....
The U.S. budget deficit topped $1.8 trillion in the latest fiscal year, driven by higher spending on interest and programs for older Americans, as the government faces a persistent gap between federal outlays and tax collections. The new data comes as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic pic....
Hurricane Milton could wreak short-term havoc on U.S. economic data, even as it inflicts more lasting pain on Florida’s Big Bend region. The storm—classified as a Category 5 as of Tuesday afternoon—is forecast to hit Tampa and environs Wednesday night, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene batter....
This semiannual update surveys recent federal tax developments involving individuals. It summarizes notable cases, rulings, and guidance on a variety of topics issued during the six months ending April 2024. The update was written by members of the AICPA Individual and Self-Employed Tax Technical Resource Panel. The items are arran....
Effective strategic planning creates a vision for the future, develops actionable near- and long-term goals to achieve objectives, and provides clarity for employees on their role in the future success of the company. Business leaders are finding their ability to craft strategy is being squeezed. Sixty-eight pe....
(Reuters) - The dollar jumped to a seven-week high on Friday and was on track to post its best week since September 2022 after a surprisingly strong jobs report for September led traders to cut bets that the Federal Reserve will make further 50-basis-point rate cuts. The greenback was also set for its best weekly perce....
Traders are staring down a series of risks after the stock market’s torrid start to the year, from economic fear, to interest rate uncertainty, to election angst. But perhaps the most important variable for whether equities can keep rolling returns to the spotlight this week: corporate earnings. The&nbs....
Around 45,000 dockworkers from Maine to Texas remain on strike weeks after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a point. So, what will these recent pieces of economic news mean for the economy and consumers in Chicago, the Midwest and beyond? Reset checks in with Chicago’s centra....
(Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday and settled with their biggest weekly gains in over a year on the mounting threat of a region-wide war in the Middle East, although gains were limited as U.S. President Joe Biden discouraged Israel from targeting Iranian oil facilities. Brent crude futures rose 43....
Key Points Nonfarm payrolls surged by 254,000 in September, up from a revised 159,000 in August and better than the 150,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down 0.1 percentage point, as the survey of household employment showed an even stronger picture, with a gain....
The numbers: The service side of the economy grew in September at the fastest pace in a year and a half, a new survey found, suggesting the U.S. is in no danger of recession. An index of service businesses climbed to 54.9% last month from 51.5% in August, the Institute f....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that the recent half percentage point interest rate cut shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign that future moves will be as aggressive, in fact indicating the next moves will be smaller. The central bank chief asserted during a speech in....
What swoon? The bears usually come out in full force in September, historically the worst month for stocks. And while the market got off to a rough start in the Labor Day–shortened first week, it’s been all rainbows and sunshine since then. The Federal Reserve’s jumbo-sized ....
(Reuters) - A mistake by the U.S. central bank in setting interest rates during the last phase of its inflation battle is the main risk that could undercut the economy over the next year, according to a new survey of economists released as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was set to speak on Monday. ....
Inflation moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s target in August, easing the way for future interest rate cuts, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a gauge the Fed focuses on to measure the cost of goods and services in the U.S. economy, rose 0.1% for ....
Whether interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve help engineer a soft landing depends only partly on how much weakness is under the hood of the U.S. economy. Success also depends on lower borrowing costs spurring new investment and spending to counteract any slowdown. Fed Chair Jerome Powell cast last week’s half....
Building and preserving wealth for retirement requires both a smart investment plan and a thoughtful tax strategy. Many overlook or undervalue retirement tax planning techniques until it’s too late. These techniques can enhance your investment growth and stretch your dollars, allowing you to maximize your wealth and peace....
Election polling continues to forecast a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, but within corporate America, top executives are preparing for Harris to become the next president of the United States, according to a ne....
The US economy grew at a 3% annualized pace in the second quarter, a faster rate than Wall Street had expected. The Bureau of Economic Analysis's third estimate of second quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged from the second estimate which had shown 3% annualized growth. Economists had est....
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in four months. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 218,000 for the week of Sept. 21. It was the fewest since mid-May and less than the 224,000 an....
While most CFOs agree the upcoming presidential election will impact their businesses, the level of that impact will vary depending on factors like industry, size, revenue and plans. However, uncertainty around the election and the events leading up to it may be contributing to both polit....
(Reuters) - Global growth is in the process of stabilizing as the drag from central bank rate hikes fades and falling inflation boosts households’ incomes, the OECD said on Wednesday, marginally raising its outlook for this year. The world economy was projected to grow 3.2 per cent both this and next year, the Organisat....
(Bloomberg) -- The debate over the magnitude of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest-rate cut in November is intensifying, with traders ramping up wagers in futures keyed to the central bank’s path as officials start to weigh in on their next move. After weaker-than-expected US consumer confidence data Tue....
The S&P 500 fell on Wednesday — after wavering for most of the session — as investors pondered the Federal Reserve’s path of rate cuts and digested housing-market data. The Nasdaq 100 closed modestly higher. The 10-year US Treasury yield advanced to hover around 3.79%. The Bloomberg Dol....
A handful of Federal Reserve officials on Monday left open the door to additional large interest-rate cuts, noting that current rates still weigh heavily on the US economy. “Over the next 12 months, we have a long way to come down to get the interest rate to something like neutral to try to hold the conditions....
With less than two months to go until the US presidential election and with polls suggesting that the two leading candidates are neck and neck, it is unsurprising that some investors are getting jittery. Newly published research from Research Affiliates, the research consultancy and investment adv....
Share buybacks — one of the defining features of the US stock market over the past decade — hit a wall last year as higher borrowing costs and concerns about a potential recession prompted executives to preserve cash. S&P 500 companies bought back $795bn of their own stock in 2023, according to S&P Dow....
Providing financial — and increasingly nonfinancial — information for decisionmaking is one of the most important reasons for the finance function’s existence. Consequently, falling short in management reporting creates risks for the organisation: Failing to provide timely, useful financial information means that decisions will....
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said Monday that he expects policymakers to dial down the pace of interest rate cuts after last week’s half percentage point reduction. “I think after 50 basis points, we’re still in a net tight position,” Kashkari said in a CNBC “Squawk Box....
While the stock market rallied after the long-awaited Federal Reserve rate cut last week, there’s a sense of unease accompanying the gains. Referring to the Fed’s shift to a bigger rate cut than had been expected even a week before the meeting, Charlie McElligott, cross-asset strategist at Nomura Secur....
Commercial bankers play a crucial role in providing capital for businesses to operate and expand. However, studies reveal that gender bias often leads to women entrepreneurs being denied loans more frequently than men. There’s a staggering $1.7 trillion financing gap worldwide for small- and medium-si....
Last week’s announcement that venture capital firm Fearless Fund would close a grant contest for Black women business owners as part of a settlement in a lawsuit alleging discrimination once again brought the topic of funding to Black founders back to the public eye — especially after its recent l....
What's going to happen with the federal estate tax is anyone's guess. The federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption for people who die in 2024 is $13,610,000, and the highest estate tax rate is 40%. However, after 2025, the $13,610,000 figure will be much lower. That's because the 2017 Ta....
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its first interest rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic, slicing half a percentage point off benchmark rates in an effort to head off a slowdown in the labor market. With both the jobs picture and inflation softenin....
US equities will climb through the rest of the year with the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest-rate cut bolstering the chances of a soft landing for the economy, according to a survey of Bloomberg Terminal subscribers. The rally will likely be too modest to take the S&P 500 Index above 6....
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday by half a percentage point, an unusually large move and a clear signal that central bankers think they are winning their war against inflation and are turning their attention to protecting the job market. “Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends,....
Fed Chair Jerome Powell entered a new phase in his campaign to softly land the U.S. economy, lowering interest rates Wednesday with an audacious half-point cut. The move raised new questions the central bank can’t easily answer. At the same time, the rate cut did clarify the answer to a more important ques....
The Federal Reserve will begin a crucial pivot this week, lowering interest rates for the first time in more than four years as it pursues a rare soft landing for the US economy. With inflation seemingly under control and weakness showing in the US labor market, officials are widely expected to drop their bench....
Dive Brief: Planning for potential corporate tax changes is among the top risk mitigation measures that finance leaders said they are taking to prepare for the presidential election in November, with over half (62%) of the respondents reporting a sharper focus on tax planning, according to a U.S. Bank survey of ab....
(Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a four-month high in September amid expectations that inflation will continue moderating over the next year and household incomes improve, but views on the labor market weakened against the backdrop of slower job gains. The brightening inflation outlook was reinforc....
(Bloomberg) -- Not since the lead-up to the financial crisis have bond traders been so divided about the outcome of the next Federal Reserve decision. With only two days to go, whether Fed policymakers will cut interest rates by a quarter-point or a half point is considered a tossup in US interest-rate markets. E....
The stock market has recovered most of the losses suffered in its summer selloff. While the S&P 500 Index has bounced back before, this time is unique because it isn’t being led by Big Tech — instead it’s everyone else’s turn. Technology giants like Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Co....
(Reuters) - U.S. household wealth rose last quarter to $163.8 trillion, a fresh record, driven by gains in real estate values as well as a rise in the stock market, data from the Federal Reserve showed on Thursday. The increase in the net worth of households and non-profits, which stood at $161 trillion at the end of the f....
At the height of the Great Resignation a few years ago, salary increase budgets told the story: Employers were willing to pay a premium to get workers in the door. Today, that urgency has lessened slightly, as organizations navigate a changing job market amid a backdrop of economic uncertainty. New research out this week....
Since the bull market began its run after the pandemic, its resistance to contrary forces has been astonishing. This congenitally strong bull, the first since World War II to develop amid a Federal Reserve rate-hiking cycle, has galloped unhindered by the influence of doubting Thomases fearing an economic crash landin....
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland European traders who went to bed thinking a quarter-point Fed rate cut was a lock for next week may well have had a rude awakening on this Friday the 13th, with the odds for a super-sized half-point reduction back at nearly a coin toss....
Underlying US inflation unexpectedly picked up in August on higher prices for housing and travel, undercutting the chances of an outsize Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next week. The so-called core consumer price index — which excludes food and energy costs — increased 0.3% from July, the most in four months, ....
Wall Street and the Federal Reserve need to get on the same page. Here’s the CliffsNotes version: Analysts are betting on a big year for corporate earnings in 2025, which suggests a strong economy ahead. Fed officials, meanwhile, are prepping for their first cut to interest rates in more than four years, t....
Inflation presents a challenge for most American households, but it can be particularly pernicious for retirees who live on a fixed income. For that reason, retirees who have signed up for Social Security benefits closely monitor the annual cost-of- living adjustment in their payments. Forty percent of seniors....
The share of workers in the U.S. labor force who are “prime working age” (ages 25-64) has significantly fallen since the mid-1990s, and older workers now make up a greater share of the workforce, according to an Aug. 23 report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. At ....
(Reuters) - (This Sept. 10 story has been corrected to show the number of respondents who said "likely" and "very likely", in paragraph 8) The Federal Reserve will lower interest rates by 25 basis points at each of the U.S. central bank's three remaining policy meetings in 2024, according to a m....
(Bloomberg) -- Global bond yields slid to a two-year low this week due to concern over slowing growth in major economies and increasing expectations for interest-rate cuts. The average yield on a broad gauge of investment-grade government and corporate debt has fallen to 3.3%, the....
Keeping track of your 401(k) balance isn’t just about eyeballing the lump sum you’ve socked away in your retirement savings account. What you’ve saved is a key measuring stick to help you figure out whether you’re on track to reach your savings goal and cover your spending needs once you stop....
(AP) — The IRS has collected $1.3 billion from high-wealth tax dodgers since last fall, the agency announced Friday, crediting spending that has ramped up collection enforcement through President Joe Biden’s signature climate, health care and tax package signed into law in 2022. ....
In a notable policy shift, Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has proposed a 28% capital gains tax rate for some high earners, departing from President Joe Biden's more aggressive stance on taxing investment income. The move comes as the 2024 pre....
Former President Donald Trump is promising to repeal taxes on Social Security benefits, a campaign pledge some experts say could potentially cause more harm to the program than good. The proposal is meant to entice the 67 million U.S. households who receive monthly benefit checks from ....
Ken Witt, CPA, CGMA, AICPA & CIMA associate director – Management Accounting Research and Development, discusses in this JofA podcast episode the reasons that finance executives in a quarterly AICPA & CIMA survey continue to lower their optimism about the U.S. economy. He also ....
(Reuters) - U.S. economic activity expanded more slowly from the middle of July through late August and businesses pulled back on hiring, signals that underscore why the Federal Reserve is set to begin to lower interest rates later this month. The U.S. central bank's latest temperature check on the healt....
Former President Trump delivered a major economic address in New York on Thursday, announcing his plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 15% and create a "government efficiency commission" led by Elon Musk, while vowing to "make America richer and stronger" if elected in....
Thanks for joining us. Here are five key takeaways from the US employment report for August, released Friday: Nonfarm payrolls rose by 142,000, which marked an acceleration from July but was notably less than the 165,000 median forecast in Bloomberg’s survey. – and there was a cumulative 86,000 redu....
(Bloomberg) -- A key segment of the US Treasury yield curve briefly turned positive as weaker-than-anticipated labor-market data bolstered bets on steep interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Treasuries jumped on Wednesday — led by shorter-maturity notes that are more sensitive to the Fed’s monetary polic....
(Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' proposed corporate tax hike could reduce S&P 500 (.SPX) company earnings by about 5%, with additional taxes potentially hitting profits harder, Goldman Sachs analysts said. Last month, Vice President Harris outlined plans to raise&....
(Reuters) - The dollar fell more than 2% against other major currencies in August, marking its biggest monthly drop this year and providing some relief to economies that have suffered under the weight of dollar strength. The dollar's downtrend, which has long been anticipated, is driven by expectations that the ....
(Reuters) - MSCI's gauge of global equities fell sharply on Tuesday, with Wall Street stocks taking their biggest hit since early August while U.S. Treasury yields fell after manufacturing data spurred worries about the economy. Investors were also waiting anxiously for the monthly U.S. jobs report du....
Anticipating changes coming to Social Security in 2025 can help you start planning for the new year and identify any adjustments you can make to maximize your eligibility for the most benefits. People who think these changes only impact retirees would be wrong. Current workers need to keep an eye on accumulating enough So....
The equity market rally may stall near record highs even if the Federal Reserve starts a highly anticipated rate-cutting cycle, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists. The team led by Mislav Matejka — who has been among the most bearish voices on stocks this year — said that any policy ....
The US labor market is expected to grow by 0.4% a year through 2033, less than one-third of the pace in the preceding decade, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics projections. The annual rate translates to 6.7 million additional jobs over the decade, or about 55,000 a month, the BLS said in a report ....
(Bloomberg) -- The proximity of the Federal Reserve’s shift to interest-rate cuts is battering the US dollar this month, sending the world’s reserve currency slumping and igniting rallies in major peers around the globe. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has dropped almost 2% in August so far, marking the steepest....
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation rose at a mild pace and household spending picked up in July, reinforcing policymakers’ plan to start cutting interest rates next month. The so-called core personal consumption expenditures price index, which strips out volatile food and ene....
It’s not uncommon to have regrets, and as you get older, they can pile up. For older respondents, starting to save for retirement on the late side is the biggest concern, according to a 2024 Bankrate study, followed by not saving enough for emergencies. Not surprisingly, inflation and a ....
(Bloomberg) — A rally in the S&P 500 lost traction as Nvidia Corp. extended its selloff to more than 6%. The good news: most stocks in the US advanced. Buoyed by data showing the economy is holding up and a host of market observers reassuring investors that Nvidia’s growth prospects remain intact, th....
(AP) — The U.S. economy grew last quarter at a healthy 3% annual pace, fueled by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday in an upgrade of its initial assessment. The Commerce Department had previously estimated that the nation’s gross domestic product — the....
Americans are growing wary of the job market amid continued signs labor demand is cooling, according to new data released from the Conference Board on Tuesday. Overall, the latest consumer confidence index reading from the Conference Board showed an u....
A large percentage of Americans over 50, forlornly eyeing the balances in their portfolios, are getting worried they don’t have enough money to get them through retirement comfortably — or even get them through it at all, according to an AARP survey. That’s a legitimate concern, because personal s....
(Reuters) - The U.S. dollar gained on Wednesday due to month-end buying and technical factors after recent declines that pushed it to its weakest in more than a year, as traders awaited data that could dictate the pace of the Federal Reserve's imminent easing cycle. Sharp bouts of volatility hit foreign exchange m....
September is a popular time for companies to go public. This month’s stock-market volatility is putting some plans on ice. Companies weighing whether to make their stock-market debuts face a critical decision in the coming weeks: pull the trigger soon so they can launch their deals before year-end or hold off until 2025. The outloo....
You wouldn’t guess it by the level of uncertainty and volatility across markets, the economy and the political environment. Still, a growing number of America’s CFOs are optimistic about the coming year when it comes to the U.S. economy. They are, in fact, the only member of the C-Suite we surveyed who, in August, raised thei....
Strong flows from corporate buybacks and systematic funds should drive the S&P 500 Index to a new all-time high this week, further increasing investors’ FOMO, according to Scott Rubner, managing director for global markets and tactical specialist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “We estimate $17 billion....
In 2022, Congress enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, P.L. 117-169, which added $80 billion to the IRS’s budget over the next decade. While some funds have been rescinded and others reallocated from enforcement to operations, the IRS still has more appropriated resources than it has had in decades. In the Inflation Re....
Executives are grappling with whether the November election will stymie their investment and growth plans. A central variable: How high, or low, the corporate tax rate might go. This summer’s dizzying political developments make it hard to pinpoint what could happen to the corporate tax ....
(Bloomberg) -- Now that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has made it crystal clear that interest-rate cuts are coming next month, bond traders are focusing in on bets over the size of that first reduction and the future path of easing. Powell, speaking Friday at the US central bank’s annual symposium in Wyo....
With student loans, rising housing costs and the ease of credit card use, it’s become all too simple to get into debt. In fact, it’s estimated that about two-thirds of U.S. adults carry some form of debt. And while being debt-free can provide some much-needed emotional freedom and relief, getting out of that debt ....
Exaggerated concerns about the viability of Social Security continue to circulate like a persistent urban legend that refuses to die. They have only intensified during the political silly season leading up to the November elections. I heard some of these warnings from Steve Scalise, the House majo....
(Reuters) - U.S. company executives are talking much more about the upcoming presidential election than they did four years ago as a wider policy rift between candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump raises questions around taxes, tariffs and pricing power. In company earnings calls over the two months ended A....
(Reuters) - U.S. business activity fell to a 4-month low in August and firms continued to struggle to pass on higher prices to consumers, bolstering the likelihood that inflation will stay on a downward trend over the coming months. S&P Global said on Thursday that its flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index, whic....
The nest egg that Americans believe they need to retire comfortably continues to rise — skyrocketing to $1.46 million, according to Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 Planning & Progress Study. That number is up from $1.27 million just a year ago, and up more than 50% since 2020. Since we announced our proprietary ....
A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday struck down a landmark regulation issued by the Federal Trade Commission that sought to ban employers from using noncompete agreements to prevent most workers from joining rival firms. U.S. District Judge Ada Brown ruled that the commission’s authority to police unfair meth....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Federal Reserve officials agreed last month that they would likely cut their benchmark interest rate at their next meeting in September as long as inflation continued to cool. The minutes of the Fed’s July 30-31 meeting, released Wednesday, said the ....
The job market from early 2023 through early this year wasn’t as hot as it seemed at the time, new government data suggested Wednesday. Compared with the still-official numbers, employers might have added 818,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March, the Labor Department said. That means the econo....
Thinking of unretiring? You're not the only one. Punching a time clock is still part of the regular routine for many older adults. In fact, Americans over 75 are the fastest-growing age group in the workforce, more than quadrupling in size since 1964, according to the Pew Research Center. Some experts now forecast this demograph....
(Bloomberg) -- Momentum traders and a surge in corporate buybacks promise to drive a US stocks rally over the next four weeks, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s trading desk. “The pain trade for equities is higher and the bar for being bearish at the beach into a Labor Day barbecue party is high,....
(Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is proposing to increase the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% if she wins a November election against Republican rival Donald Trump, her campaign said on Monday. Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said the move would be part of "a fiscally responsible way ....
(Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said it is time to consider adjusting borrowing costs from their current range of 5.25% to 5.5%, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday. "Gradualism is not weak, it's not slow, it's not behind, it’s....
More than half of the US’s biggest companies see artificial intelligence as a potential risk to their businesses, according to a new survey of corporate filings that highlights how the emerging technology could bring about sweeping industrial transformation. Overall, 56 per cent of Fortune 500 companies cited AI as a “risk fact....
(Bloomberg) -- Wall Street is betting that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will confirm that interest-rate cuts are coming at the central bank’s annual confab in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But as the debate shifts from “will they or won’t they?” to “how big will they go?” — stock traders may be left wanti....
It’s been quite a turnaround. All three major U.S. stock indexes edged higher Friday to notch their biggest weekly gains of the year, with traders regaining their confidence after last week’s market freakout. Investors got a plenty of reassurance on the U.S. economy in recent days: so....
(Reuters) - Big investors are bracing for this summer's stock market rout to run into the autumn, fearing a broader wave of selling will follow the turmoil sparked by U.S. recession concerns and the Bank of Japan wrong-footing currency speculators. The sudden reversal of crowded equity and foreig....
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks climbed and bonds tumbled as data on retail spending and the labor market underscored the strength of the world’s largest economy, allaying fears the Federal Reserve would be risking a deeper slowdown. As economic jitters abated, the S&P 500 extended a six-day rally to 6.6% — the be....
Key Points The New York Fed’s Survey of Consumer Expectations put the three-year inflation outlook at 2.3%, the lowest in a data series going back to June 2013. Household spending is expected to increase by 4.9%, which is 0.2 percentage point lower than in June and the lowest reading since Apri....
A 58-year-old client came to financial planner Michael Kitces' office seeking a plan that would allow him to retire at age 65 with $1 million. The client headed home "retired" that very day. "He had more than enough for a partial retirement that would actually make him quite happy," said Kitces, who went on ....
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he’s looking for “a little more data” before supporting a reduction in interest rates, emphasizing he wants to be sure the US central bank will not have to change course once it begins cutting. “We want to be absolutely sure,” Bostic said T....
Financial markets are flashing a higher probability of an oncoming recession in the wake of the market maelstrom that briefly sparked fear across Wall Street last week. It still remains an outside chance. But models from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. show that the market-implied odds of an ....
(Reuters) - Panic appears to have faded following last week's outbreak of volatility in U.S. stocks, but if history is any guide, markets might remain jittery for months. Wall Street's most closely watched gauge of investor anxiety, the Cboe Volatility Index (.VIX), has rapidly eased after closing at a....
Key Points The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, increased 0.2% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.9%, its lowest since March 2021. Excluding food and energy, core CPI came in at a 0.2% monthly rise and a 3.2% annual rate, meeting expectations. ....
As another quarterly earnings season from Corporate America enters its final stretch, this much is clear: The long-awaited recovery in the companies that were left out of the artificial-intelligence frenzy has finally begun. Signs of the turnaround are unmissable. For several quarters, profit growth in the seven b....
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole It's been a blessedly quiet start to the week in Asia with Japan taking a much-needed holiday for Mountain Day, after the Nikkei tumbled down a mountain of its own last week and sent global markets reeling. If Tokyo were open, futures suggest the Nikk....
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said the market plunge and partial recovery in the past week amounted to an ”overreaction” by investors. He added that ”America is alive and well.” The longtime chief executive of JPMorgan Chase said that despite the turmoil and some ....
US consumers are reining in spending on travel and leisure, hitting businesses including Disney theme parks, Airbnb home rentals and Hilton hotels as questions grow about the health of the economy. Warnings from several companies’ earnings statements this week offered the latest evidence of belt-tighten....
Wall Street eked out gains on Friday that all but erased the losses investors suffered in a week of volatile trading that included some of the worst and best days for US stocks in almost two years. In New York the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq each closed 0.5 per cent higher on Friday, leaving both lit....
A key step when helping clients transition to retirement is preparing a tax-efficient income plan, including any necessary investment adjustments, as they begin retirement account withdrawals. (See "Building a Tax-Efficient Retirement Income Plan for Clients," JofA, May 12, 2022.) A related step in the planning process....
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has amped up its outreach efforts to update businesses on the requirements for beneficial ownership information (BOI), which requires reports from over 32 million businesses this year. As of June, FinCEN said that it has reached over 90,000 stakeholders dir....
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon predicted the Federal Reserve will avoid taking emergency steps to lower borrowing costs as he sees the US economy skirting a recession. “I don’t expect that you’ll see anything before September,” Solomon said in an interview for ....
A rally for stocks still left investors battered by markets’ wild swings and bracing for more turbulence. Traders were regaining their footing Tuesday after fresh fears about the economy and fallout from the unraveling of some of Wall Street’s most popular bets sent stocks tumbling. The market seemed to stabilize as stocks r....
Key Points Nonfarm payrolls grew by just 114,000 in July, below the downwardly revised 179,000 in June and the Dow Jones estimate for 185,000. The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.3%, its highest since October 2021, triggering an economic rule on recessions. Health care ag....
Monday’s market rout increases both the risks of recession and a more harrowing financial-market accident. But for Federal Reserve officials who laid the groundwork last week to cut rates by a quarter-percentage point at their meeting next month, the outlook would likely need to deteriorate further in the coming w....
The U.S. added far fewer jobs than expected last month, raising worries about a broader economic slowdown. Employers added just 114,000 jobs in July, according to a report Friday from the Labor Department. That marked a sharp drop from the average monthly gain over the last year. Meanwhile, the unemployment rat....
Midway through the year, leaders of some of the biggest companies are seeing signs of troubles in the world’s two biggest economies. From McDonald’s to Mercedes-Benz, executives are saying that many consumers in China and the U.S. are pulling back on spending. The reasons are different. In C....
Bond traders are piling into bets that the US economy is on the verge of deteriorating so quickly that the Federal Reserve will need to start easing monetary policy aggressively to head off a recession. Previous worries about the risk of elevated inflation have virtually disappeared, swiftly giving way to speculation t....
Wall Street finished sharply lower on Monday, closing out a global market rout that saw Japan’s main stock index suffer its worst day in 37 years. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 dropped 3 per cent, its sharpest one-day drop since September 2022, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite fell 3.4 per cent.....
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill to expand the child tax credit and restore some tax breaks for businesses failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday as Republicans largely opposed the measure, arguing they would be in position to get a better deal next year. Majority Leader Chuck Sc....
US government bonds, on the heels of their best month this year, rallied on economic data seen as cementing the case for three Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year. The 10-year Treasury yield fell below 4% for the first time since February on Thursday after a manufacturing gauge and jobless claims data ad....
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks kicked off August sharply lower after a round of economic data on Thursday spurred concerns the economy may be slowing faster than anticipated while the Federal Reserve maintains a restrictive monetary policy. Equities initially opened higher, buoyed in part by gains in Meta Platforms ....
(Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to near a three-year high of 4.3% in July amid a significant slowdown in hiring, heightening fears the labor market was deteriorating and potentially making the economy vulnerable to a recession. The increase in the unemployment rate from 4.1% in June marked the four....
WASHINGTON—A bipartisan tax bill that sailed through the House six months ago reached a dead end as the Senate killed the once-promising deal Thursday and turned it into fodder for campaign-trail finger-pointing. The bill would have revived expired tax provisions that help businesses making capital investments or conducting r....
(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday interest rates could be cut as soon as September if the U.S. economy follows its expected path, putting the central bank near the end of a more than two-year battle against inflation but square in the middle of the nation's presidential elec....
If you’re like most people, you tend to spend more as you earn more. That’s lifestyle creep, and it’s one of the biggest factors that can stop you from growing your wealth. When you can’t create a buffer between your income and your spending, you’ll find yourself trapped in a paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, dependent ....
The development of better variable spending strategies represents one of the most compelling approaches to improving retirement outcomes, according to Wade Pfau, the retirement researcher and co-founder of the Retirement Income Style Awareness platform. However, Pfau asserts in a recent interview with ThinkAdvisor,....
Federal Reserve officials are likely to move closer to lowering interest rates from a two-decade high this week by signaling a potential rate cut in September, though they may stop short of providing details beyond that. The US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee will keep its benchmark rate in a range of 5.25% to....
Tech stocks extended their recent slide Tuesday, continuing the stock market’s rotation away from its biggest winners. Investors studied a flood of earnings reports. And they prepared for data and remarks in the coming days that could shed light on some of the biggest issues facing markets: the performance o....
(Reuters) - U.S. private payrolls increased far less than expected in July, but that likely is not a true reflection of a labor market that continues to moderate gradually. Private payrolls rose by 122,000 jobs this month after advancing by an upwardly revised 155,000 in June, the ADP National Employment Report showed on....
The U.S. initial public offering market has raised $23.2 billion in proceeds in the year to date, surpassing the $19.4 billion raised for all of 2023 — with five months still to go. That’s according to Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO exchange-traded funds and....
The IRS on Friday issued five new warning signs that a business has filed an incorrect claim for the pandemic-era employee retention credit (ERC). The IRS plans to announce new steps soon to counter improper claims, including reopening the voluntary disclosure program. In coming days, the IRS plans to provide details on ....
The violent rotation out of Big Tech has dragged the Nasdaq 100 Index down 8% in just over two weeks, leaving it on the cusp of a correction. Whether it can avoid that dubious milestone will likely come down to earnings from a quartet of companies worth nearly $10 trillion combined. In a week that also brings a F....
US consumers are showing signs of flagging after helping to prop up the world’s largest economy since the pandemic, according to a growing number of companies, economists and investors. This week’s shaky start to the corporate earnings season has fuelled concerns that consumer strength has peaked, despite da....
Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t — you’re right.” This observation speaks to the power of belief. A belief system is a set of principles and ideologies that we use to interpret our everyday lives and reality. Like any belief system, financial beliefs are instilled over time a....
The IRS has made great strides in customer service, such as accepting its 1 millionth submission through the Service's online Document Upload Tool, but it still has much room to improve, including to the wait time to resolve taxpayer identity theft cases, officials said Wednesday. IRS Commissioner D....
(Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers are seen leaving their short-term interest-rate target in the 5.25%-5.50% range next week and waiting until September to start a string of quarter-point reductions, after fresh data showed the U.S. economy regained steam last quarter. Before the data, traders had priced in about a ....
(Reuters) - U.S. prices increased moderately in June as the declining cost of goods tempered a rise in the cost of services, underscoring an improving inflation environment that could position the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in September. The report from the Commerce Department on Friday also showed co....
Investors and bankers are lining up to raise billions of dollars for new special purpose acquisition companies, defying predictions the asset class would be wiped out after a series of scandals and a regulatory crackdown. Spacs, colloquially known as blank cheque companies, raise money in an initial public off....
A stock-market selloff intensified Wednesday, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in value from the Magnificent Seven group of tech giants and pushing the Nasdaq Composite to its first decline of 3% or more in 400 trading days. After a frenzy over artificial intelligence sent stocks to new heights in the fir....
The U.S. economy grew briskly in the second quarter. Gross domestic product rose at a 2.8% annual rate in the second quarter, adjusted for seasonality and inflation, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That handily beat the 2.1% expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. The second-quarter pa....
KEY POINTS Target is the latest retailer to stop accepting personal checks as a form of payment at checkout. As the U.S. steadily moves toward a “check zero” world, here’s who may be affected. Most Americans may not even remember the last time they wrote....
Entities seeking access to beneficial ownership information (BOI) will spend over 8.7 million hours filling out paperwork in the first year and over 3.6 million in the second year, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said in an estimate Monday. FinCEN posted the estimate in the Federal Regi....
The stock market has suddenly turned upside down. The market’s laggards have sprung to life in recent days, while the seemingly impervious “Magnificent Seven” group of technology stocks has stumbled. Investors are even more focused than usual on corporate earnings as they try to anticipate what comes nex....
For more than two years, inflation has eclipsed everything else at the Federal Reserve. In a shift eagerly awaited by global markets, that’s poised to change. US central bankers are ready to cut interest rates in September amid growing confidence that price stability is within sight – while risks to the labor m....
Big Tech stocks are “no longer the only game in town”, according to investors who over the past week have moved out of the megacaps that have driven the market rally for years in favour of smaller companies and other previously unloved sectors. The Russell 2000 small-cap index has jumped 7 per cent since ....
Dive Brief: U.S. companies plan to raise salaries 3.9% next year, pulling back from a median increase of 4.1% this year as resignations and employee turnover subside, Willis Towers Watson found in a survey. The proportion of U.S. companies that reported trouble attracting and retaining talent plunged 19 percentage points thi....
A growing number of Wall Street economists are cautioning the Federal Reserve is waiting too long to reverse course after raising interest rates to a two-decade high. Tame inflation data in each of the last three months, combined with slowing US economic growth and a rising unemployment rate, are leadi....
Traders added to bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates three times this year after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said conditions were ripe for easing. Two quarter-point rate reductions are fully priced in for 2024, with market-implied odds of a third cut reaching about 60% on Monday. The first move is widely expected in....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said second-quarter economic data has provided policymakers greater confidence that inflation is heading down to the central bank’s 2% goal, possibly paving the way for near-term interest-rate cuts. Powell highlighted the three latest inflation readings, though he made c....
Why wait until September? That is the question hanging over markets after Thursday’s surprisingly weak inflation reading. There doesn’t seem to be much reason for the Federal Reserve to put off cutting rates any longer, and waiting too long carries risks of its own. The Fed’s publicly stated criteria for a rate cut, tha....
In less than a year, the IRS has deployed new resources to collect $1 billion from high-income individuals who owed at least $250,000 in recognized tax debt, Commissioner Danny Werfel said. "Too often during the past decade, the IRS didn't have the resources or staffing to pursue high-income earners who our c....
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite cruised to fresh records Wednesday, with investors appearing more confident that interest-rate cuts are on their way. The broad index logged its sixth straight record close—its longest such streak since 2021—with all 11 of its sectors advancing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite n....
KEY POINTS The CPI, a broad measure of costs for goods and services, declined 0.1% from May, putting the 12-month rate at 3%, around its lowest level in more than three years. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core CPI increased 0.1% monthly and 3.3% from a year ago. The annu....
KEY POINTS The producer price index is now up 2.6% year over year. In June, an increase in the price for services offset a decline for goods. The reading is an increase from the May number, which was also revised higher. A measure of wholesale prices rose more than expected in June as Wall Street ass....
(Reuters) - The "last mile" of the Federal Reserve's battle against inflation may have shortened to a last lap after U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in June, shoring up policymakers' confidence that they are winning the fight and paving the way to interest-rate cuts in coming months. The consumer price....
Business leaders recognize that balancing professional responsibilities with personal well-being is essential. Understanding how vacation duration impacts recovery and productivity is key to maintaining a healthy, motivated workforce. Historically, longer vacations have been favored, but recent insights suggest th....
CFOs, especially small business CFOs, wear multiple hats, including one often overlooked and underappreciated — that of the negotiator. We often think about negotiations only in the context of infrequent, high-impact situations like negotiating an M&A deal, collective bargaining agreement or a multi-million-dollar contract.....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the labor market is no longer driving inflation in the US economy to the extent it was earlier in the pandemic recovery, echoing earlier comments by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell. The job market was “initially very tight” during the post-Covid rebound, but “now we h....
Financial firms nudged the S&P 500 to a fresh record Tuesday, a rare day lately when a sector other than technology led the broad stock index higher. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group and Intercontinental Exchange ended the session at all-time highs, while another six banks and finance companies in the S&P 500 cl....
Getting an accurate measure of the startup market's pulse is tricky -- it's an ephemeral beast, after all -- but the dominant sentiment regarding startup valuations over the last year was a resounding "meh." Plenty of startups were founded, and some succeeded. But with VCs pulling back on funding, banks tightening their ....
These five questions can help CEOs get their arms around a technology that couples mind-bending promise with mind-blowing risk. If the topic of Generative AI has been hogging an increasing share of your meeting agendas, you’re hardly alone. Since it was unleashed on the general public two years ago, GenAI has become the subject ....
An elite cadre of tech giants that drove the stock market to records is under pressure to keep the party going this earnings season. The S&P 500 has climbed 17% this year, fueled by investor excitement over artificial intelligence that has sent shares of Nvidia and its fellow tech tita....
Many investors hold an S&P 500 index fund in their portfolios, thinking it is a low-risk way to keep pace with the market and a counterweight to other holdings like bonds and international stocks. But most don’t realize that the index isn’t what it used to be—both in terms of what’s in....
With elevated inflation preventing Federal Reserve officials from feeling confident enough to cut interest rates, some policymakers at their meeting last month called for careful attention to signs the labor market might weaken faster than anticipated. “A number of participants remarked that monetary policy should stand ready to ....
KEY POINTS Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed satisfaction with the progress on inflation but said he wants to see more before being confident enough to start cutting interest rates. “We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2%....
Almost two-thirds of tax professionals who responded to an annual AICPA survey about IRS customer service said it takes over 90 days for the agency to provide a substantive response to correspondence, which is the area where the tax professionals said improvement would help the most. The survey showed that 6....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he was pleased with how inflation had resumed a downtrend following a rebound at the start of the year but said it was too soon to say whether the central bank might be able to lower interest rates by the end of the summer, as investors increasingly anticipate. “We’ve....
(Reuters) - U.S. job openings rose in May after posting outsized declines in the prior two months, but the trend remained consistent with an easing in labor market conditions that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, ....
Corporate America faces the highest earnings bar in almost three years as it prepares to report second-quarter results, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists. Single-stock analysts predict profits at S&P 500 firms rose 9% on average in the April-June period — the biggest year-over-year increas....
Unless you have done zero work on retirement, you have a plan. It may be outdated, formal or informal, producing good results or not. But you have a plan. Then you start to think about all that has happened in the world — and how your objectives may have changed — since you set up your “plan.” The holes probabl....
For the first time in three years, Wall Street’s equity capital markets bankers appear to have the wind at their backs. Initial public offerings have gotten off to their best start to a year since the heady days of 2021, with more than $20 billion raised in the first six months, according to data compiled by Blo....
KEY POINTS The core personal consumption expenditures price index increased just a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month and was up 2.6% from a year ago. May marked the lowest annual rate since March 2021, which was the first time in this economic cycle that inflation topped the Fed’s 2% targ....
As with tackling any new goal, it helps to have the right habits in place to help lead you across the finish line. Whether you’re saving up for a house, thinking about retirement or just hoping to achieve a feeling of security, building the right habits is crucial to ensuring you have the tools you need to acco....
Harvard Business School professor Joseph Fuller has spent the better part of a decade studying — and working with — some of the world’s most successful people, from Fortune 500 executives to Nobel Prize laureates. What sets high achievers apart from everyone el....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy expanded at a 1.4% annual pace from January through March, the slowest quarterly growth since spring 2022, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade from its previous estimate. Consumer spending grew at just a 1.5% rate, down from an initial estimate o....
The numbers: Consumer confidence fell slightly in June and reflected the ongoing uncertainty among Americans about the future of the economy. The consumer-confidence index slipped to 100.4 this month from a revised 101.3 in May, the Conference Board said Tuesday. Economists polled by the Wa....
(Reuters) - The Dow rallied on Monday to a one-month high, while the Nasdaq tumbled over 1% as investors rotated out of AI-linked stocks and added some laggards to their portfolios, betting on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended lower on the rotation out of technology sto....
The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation yardsticks are poised to show the tamest monthly advances since late last year — a stepping stone for officials to begin lowering interest rates, possibly as soon as September. Economists expect no change in the May personal consumption expenditures price index and a minimal 0....
As a working American, you’ve likely dreamed of the day when you can finally hang up your hat for good and retire. Some dream of traveling the world, or moving to a tropical area, or simply spending time indulging in hobbies. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality for many retirees. A recent study from MedicareFAQ ....
KEY POINTS Generation X feels less prepared for retirement than other generations despite approaching it sooner. Nearly half of Gen Xers, or 48%, say they won’t have enough money to enjoy retirement. Much of Gen X is in the “sandwich generation,” taking on the financial burden of caring for both adult ....
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly warned the US labor market is nearing an inflection point, where further slowing could mean higher unemployment. Daly, who votes on monetary policy this year, said restrained demand will likely be needed to return inflation to the central....
US fiscal deficits are projected to grow over the next decade, likely pushing the government to increasingly rely on Treasury bills and healthy demand to plug the holes. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week upped its deficit estimate for 2024 to almost $2 trillion from about $1.6 trillion ....
The US Federal Reserve and its vast global audience thought 2024 would be a rate-cut bonanza. But with inflation proving stickier than almost anyone predicted, those expectations are fading fast. Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed as much on June 12, when he and his fellow policymakers signaled there would be just one cut i....
Benjamin Franklin famously observed, “The only two things you can count on in life are death and taxes.” To which an unknown wag offered the sardonic and almost equally famous rejoinder, “That may be true, but at least death doesn't get worse every time Congress reconvenes.” Let’s start by belaboring the obvious a....
I’ve spent 30 years researching what makes people, and especially leaders, mentally strong. Along the way, I’ve discovered that you become mentally stronger by exercising six core mental muscles: Confidence Fortitude Boldness Decision-making Goal-focus Messaging (which is about sh....
One of the upsides of retirement is that for the first time in years, you have control over your time. If you want to spend the afternoon watching Bonanza reruns, well, no one is going to stop you. Retirement also gives you more command over your money. While you’re working, you have limited control over how often....
Most remaining employee retention credit (ERC) claims show signs of fraud or errors, and the IRS will deny tens of thousands of the most obvious erroneous claims in the coming weeks, the Service said Thursday. The IRS also will start a new round of processing claims with the lowest risk of fraud while maintai....
It was the best of times, it was not the worst, but some pretty bad times. In the tale of two stock markets facing U.S. investors, the S&P 500 is soaring to new records driven by a single company, Nvidia NVDA -3.54%, while less-important companies fall and remain far below their highs. The Russell 2000 index of small....
What’s going on here? The US dollar hit an eight-week high against the yen and approached a five-week peak against sterling, driven by Federal Reserve policies. What does this mean? The dollar's strength largely stems from the Fed's cautious approach toward interest rate cuts. Unlike othe....
Workers are feeling less optimistic, according to recent data from Glassdoor’s Employee Confidence Index. Professionals reporting a positive six-month business outlook plummeted to 46.4% in May, continuing its spiral downward in the last two years. A key factor impacting employee confidence has bee....
A chorus of Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday emphasized the need for more evidence of cooling inflation before lowering interest rates, with a couple policymakers offering insight into the potential timing of such a move. Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said it will likely be appropriate for the central bank to c....
The S&P 500 pulled back on Thursday after briefly passing the 5,500 level for the first time ever as market bellwether Nvidia gave up earlier gains. The broad market index fell 0.25% to end at 5,473.17. Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 rose as much ....
Markets are unusually calm—and that’s making Wall Street nervous. Stocks have been on a steady climb, with the S&P 500 up 14% nearly halfway through 2024 and closing at 29 records along the way. One-day index changes of 1% in either direction have been rare, and there has been just one 2% move, the fewest sin....
WASHINGTON—The 21% U.S. corporate tax rate is the biggest single variable in the sprawling 2025 tax debate, and the two parties are trying to turn that dial in opposite directions with major consequences for companies’ profits and federal revenue. The rate could climb as high as 28% if....
KEY POINTS Understanding what benefits you have or may qualify for is a critical part of planning for long-term care, experts say. Long-term care insurance typically pays for care if you have a chronic illness, have dementia or a severe cognitive decline, or can’t do at least two out of six “act....
The Federal Reserve has more than one way to work its will on the economy. It could soon start using its more subtle tools to start nudging rates down. That still would have a real impact on businesses and households. The central bank most directly controls short-term rates by setting a target range for the federal-f....
The artificial-intelligence trade and Tesla TSLA 2.92%increase; green up pointing triangle powered the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to fresh records Thursday, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to sputter. The mixed market came a day after the Federal Reserve indicated it is in no hurry&nb....
If you’re not spending time each day trying out new AI tools and understanding how the burgeoning technology may impact your work or life — you’re going to fall behind. That was the message from a group of longtime technology leaders speaking about the future of artificial i....
In September 2023, the IRS announced a moratorium on the processing of new employee retention credit (ERC) claims because of what it said was rampant fraud. That moratorium has not stopped the filing of new claims, and the IRS has not been able to process all the claims filed before the moratorium. For exampl....
The dollar is rising toward a new high for the year on speculation that Wednesday’s US inflation reading and Federal Reserve policy decision will increase demand. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose Tuesday for a fourth straight session, climbing a total of 1.2% in that period, amid help from last week’s re....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index held flat in May though it increased 3.3% from a year ago. Both numbers were 0.1 percentage point below market expectations. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI increased 0.2% on the month and 3.4% from a year ago, compared with respective estimates of ....
The Federal Reserve will lower interest rates just once this year, according to a new poll of academic economists, as lingering inflation forces the US central bank to adjust its schedule to cut borrowing costs. More than half of the 39 academics that took part in the FT-Chicago Booth poll said that the Fed wo....
Mounting political heat is complicating interest rate decisions in the US and the UK, where central banks are weighing whether to cut borrowing costs as voters prepare to go to the polls. The Bank of England and the Federal Reserve want to avoid any perception that they were cutting interest rates ....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Bank upgraded its outlook for the global economy Tuesday, estimating that it will expand 2.6% this year on the strength of sustained growth in the United States. The bank’s latest outlook marks an increase from the 2.4% growth for 2024 it had predict....
Inflation is still higher than the 2% the Federal Reserve is aiming for, and maybe that is OK. That is, if we could just put aside the fact that we hate inflation so much. Fed policymakers are poised on Wednesday to leave their benchmark federal-funds rate steady at the highest level in....
Economists are divided over how many interest-rate cuts Federal Reserve officials will signal for 2024 at their policy meeting next week, following a pop in recent inflation figures. Policymakers are likely to back away from a longstanding forecast for three rate reductions this year, but it’s a close call on w....
KEY POINTS Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 272,000 for the month, up from 165,000 in April and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 190,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4%, the first time it has breached that level since January 2022. Job gains were concentrated....
Recently, I gave a talk — in a building that was once a church, believe it or not — on what I call the “seven deadly sins of wealth management.” I’d like to share a brief overview of those remarks and invite you to reflect on your own journey as a saver and investor. Not to be weighty, but these are not trivial matters. The....
The IRS now has enough money that it can hire more experienced workers to audit both companies and individuals, and it does not have to pick and choose among whom to audit, a managing director at Grant Thornton told attendees at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 2024 in Las Vegas. "Gone are the days when they would hire folks ri....
Lynn Hogan and her husband jokingly call themselves “the turtles” after methodically investing for decades. In the current race against inflation, which has made trips more expensive and $200 grocery bills not uncommon, the mostly retired educators are among those keeping pace. Returns from slow-and-steady investme....
Bond traders are tilting dovish again, piling into wagers that would benefit from a faster pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts as Treasuries rally. While US yields inched higher on Wednesday, 10-year rates have declined by more than a quarter point in recent trading sessions, tumbling after the Fed’s prefer....
For a decade now, currency markets have been ruled by the strengthening dollar. But no kingdom lasts forever. Contrary to what many on Wall Street expected, the U.S. dollar has gotten a fresh wind this year, as bumpy inflation data has prompted investors to dial back bets on rate cuts. Measured against other c....
About three quarters of organizations plan to change their talent strategies in the next two years, focusing on altering work processes and investing in upskilling and reskilling, according to the Deloitte AI Institute’s latest report. To address potential job displacement, these organizations are retrain....
NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. federal court of appeals panel suspended a venture capital firm’s grant program for Black women business owners, ruling that a conservative group is likely to prevail in its lawsuit claiming that the program is discriminatory. The ruling against the Atlanta-based ....
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said he expects inflation to continue falling in the second half of this year, adding that elevated borrowing costs are restraining the economy. Williams said that while inflation is still too high, Fed policy is well positioned and the imbalances between supply....
KEY POINTS The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy costs increased 0.2% in April and 2.8% from a year ago. Headline PCE rose 0.3% and 2.7%, respectively, in line with estimates. Personal income increased 0.3% on the month, matching the estimate, while spending ro....
(AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.3% annual pace from January through March, the weakest quarterly rate since the spring of 2022, the government said Thursday in a downgrade from its previous estimate. Consumer spending rose but at a slower pace than previously though....
The Federal Reserve’s first-line inflation gauge is about to show some modest relief from stubborn price pressures, corroborating central bankers’ prudence about the timing of interest-rate cuts. Economists expect the personal consumption expenditures price index minus food and energy — due on Friday — to ris....
The US stock market is finally as fast as it was about a hundred years ago. That was the last time share trades in New York settled in a single day, as they will from Tuesday under new Securities and Exchange Commission rules. The change, halving the time it takes to complete every transaction, also occurred in jurisdic....
Another round of blowout earnings from artificial-intelligence darling Nvidia Corp. and the economy’s steady advance mean the S&P 500 Index likely has further room to rise, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s trading desk. “With the AI-theme still delivering and the macro hypothesis intact, we ....
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has said “substantial increases” in living costs are a “problem to a lot of people” as persistent inflation dents President Joe Biden’s standing with voters ahead of November’s election. Prices for housing and everyday goods were still high for many voters, Yellen....
Federal Reserve officials earlier this month coalesced around a desire to hold interest rates higher for longer and “many” questioned whether policy was restrictive enough to bring inflation down to their target. Minutes from the two-day Federal Open Market Committee gathering ending May 1 showed that, while....
KEY POINTS JPMorgan Chase’s chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, says a “hard landing” for the U.S. cannot be ruled out. Speaking at the JPMorgan Global China Summit in Shanghai, he told CNBC that the worst outcome for the U.S. economy will be a “stagf....
Being the victim of a complicated fraud scheme is a situation every company wants to avoid, given the potential reputational and financial damage. CPAs can help their clients mitigate their risk of business fraud effects by staying on top of current trends in this area of malfeasance and helping their clients have the right preventive measures....
The IRS issued a consumer alert Tuesday about scams involving the fuel tax credit, the sick and family leave credit, and household employment taxes that it said have led thousands of taxpayers to file inflated refund claims. Instead of getting their refunds, taxpayers are finding that their checks are delayed as the IRS seeks documentatio....
(Reuters) - Data this week offered the U.S. Federal Reserve good news on two fronts but policymakers haven't openly shifted views yet about the timing of rate cuts investors are convinced will start this year. Comments from Fed officials including the vice chair of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, New York Fed ....
US stocks could not reach new records on Thursday, despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) touching 40,000 for the first time ever. The Dow finished the day down 0.1%, closing at 39,869 after briefly surpassing its new price milestone earlier in the session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq....
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed at records after the latest inflation report showed price pressures moderating, bucking a trend of hotter-than-expected readings. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite logged all-time highs on the same day for the first time since March 21. The S&P 500 g....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank is unlikely to raise its key interest rate in response to signs of stubborn inflation and underscored his view that price increases would soon start to cool again. Yet Powell, during a ....
KEY POINTS The CPI report showed an increase of 0.3% from March, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Inflation eased slightly in April, providing some relief for consumers. On a 12-month basis, however, the CPI increased 3.4%, in line w....
Three straight months of hot inflation data dented Wall Street’s confidence that a series of interest-rate cuts is set to start at any minute. Investors are hoping the fourth time is the charm. A mood of renewed optimism about a soft landing for the U.S. economy has swept across trading desks in the d....
US producer prices rose in April by more than projected, though key components that feed into the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge were more muted. The producer price index for final demand increased 0.5% from a month earlier, driven largely by services and following a downwardly revised 0.1% drop in....
North America’s largest companies are on track to post their best quarterly earnings relative to expectations in at least two years, as they’ve worked to keep costs down over fears of a recession. The 459 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported this quarter have posted profits on average 8.4% higher ....
(Reuters) - Debate over whether U.S. interest rates are high enough deepened among Federal Reserve officials this week, and may be stoked further after a key survey showed a jump in consumers' inflation expectations. "There are ... important upside risks to inflation that are on my mind, and I think t....
(Reuters) - A host of U.S. companies are faced with a problem they had not expected to confront this year: a rising dollar. Many market participants believed the dollar would fall on the back of interest rate cuts that both investors and the Federal Reserve had penciled in for 2024. Those cuts are yet to come, ....
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has amassed billions of dollars more than it needs to cover what customers lost in its November 2022 collapse, setting them up to receive full recoveries, plus interest, a rare outcome in US bankruptcy proceedings. Lower-ranking creditors typically receive just pennies on the dollar for th....
(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said on Wednesday that the U.S. economy needs to cool off as an avenue toward getting inflation back to the central bank’s 2% target. “A slowdown in activity will be needed to ensure that demand is better aligned with supply for inflat....
KEY POINTS Jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ending on May 4, up 22,000 from the week before. It was the highest claims number since late August 2023. Continuing claims, which run a week behind, increased to 1.78 million, up 17,000 from the previous week. Initial filings....
"Not having enough money for retirement" continues to be the top financial worry for Americans, according to a new Gallup poll. Shortly behind that worry is "not being able to pay medical costs of a serious illness/accident," followed by "not being able to maintain the standard of living you enjo....
KEY POINTS A brighter economic outlook has helped push Social Security’s projected trust fund depletion date to one year later. Experts still say now is the time for Congress to take action and prevent a looming shortfall. The trust funds the Social Se....
Job growth took a step down in April, as reported in Friday’s employment numbers. But there is a world of difference between a slightly weaker labor report and the types of job losses that could push the economy into a recession. With corporate profits on an upswing, a major downturn in the economy could be far away.....
Evidence is stacking up that the U.S. economy has slowed, led by the formerly red-hot services sector. Yet overall activity levels remain healthy, and some cooling is welcome news to investors because it opens the door back up to possible rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The most obvious indicator was Friday’s employ....
KEY POINTS Executives at some of America’s largest companies have said that consumers feel the pinch of higher prices. Their remarks come as sticky inflation poses a challenge for Main Street, Wall Street and the Federal Reserve. Some of America’s best-known corporations are say....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tried to keep the central bank’s options open Wednesday by sticking with his view that interest rates are restrictive and that inflation was likely to resume its decline. But a string of disappointing readings on price and wage pressures have led inve....
Time is precious, and Americans know it. To gauge how precious, financial planning firm Empower asked 2,204 adults between March 11 and 14 how much money they thought an hour of their time was worth. On average, Americans valued their time at $240 an hour. And based....
We often hear people say that they are good as long as things just keep on moving up and to the right. If only that were the reality. Of course, if given long enough, that’s what happens. The key part of that statement is “if given long enough.” Recessions happen. When you are accumulating wealth, recessions&nbs....
Amongst other things, 2023 will be remembered as the year of chatbot AI, particularly ChatGPT. Though many of us are aware of ChatGPT, it’s probably safe to say most of us don’t understand how it works and aren’t using it to its full potential. Let’s try to bring you up to speed. I will consider both of these points and di....
KEY POINTS Nonfarm payrolls increased by 175,000 on the month, below the 240,000 estimate from the Dow Jones consensus. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.9% against expectations it would hold steady at 3.8%. A more encompassing jobless rate edged up, to 7.4%, its high....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Since retiring two years ago, Joan Harris has upped her travel game. Once or twice a year, she visits her two adult children in different states. She’s planning multiple other trips, including to a science fiction convention in Scotland and a Disney cruise soon after tha....
On July 10, 2023, I walked out of my old office for the last time. Upon my departure, I gave up a lot of my identity. I spent eight years with the firm and was one of four owners. I lost some relationships. No, I didn’t lose friends or leave on bad terms, but I walked away from the thing that connected us and the daily social in....
An ancient Chinese proverb that counsels “do nothing, and everything will be done” could sum up the Federal Reserve’s latest approach to interest-rate policy. Fed officials will hold their benchmark federal-funds rate steady at its highest level in more than two decades, around 5.3%, at their two-day policy meet....
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated for the third straight month as Americans continue to fret about their short-term financial futures with prices and interest rates still elevated. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidenc....
One of the more challenging issues that partnerships, S corporations, and other passthrough entities (PTEs) must consider in the complex world of state and local taxes (SALT) is the passthrough entity tax (PTET) and the related accounting for and reporting of income taxes resulting from an entity’s activity under FASB Accounting Standard....
Twenty-two years ago, Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act — the landmark legislation that created the foundation for the modern corporate financial reporting and auditing landscape, as well as developing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to oversee the audits of U.S. companies. Since that time, the....
(CNN) — Inflation remained stubbornly high last month, but it hasn’t stopped Americans from spending. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — a closely watched inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve — accelerated to 2.7% for the year ended in March, according to data released ....
Two powerful business lobby groups filed suit Wednesday against the Federal Trade Commission seeking to overturn its ban on noncompete agreements just one day after it was finalized. Why it matters: The lawsuit will likely delay the ban from taking effect — or derail it entirely, ....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services produced in the January-through-March period, increased at a 1.6% annualized pace, below the 2.4% estimate.The personal consumption expenditures price index, a key inflation variable for the Federal Reserve, rose at a 3.4% ann....
You may have spent decades saving for retirement, waiting for the day when you could step back from long hours at work and do what you want with your time. But stopping work entirely can be difficult, especially if you love certain aspects of your job. Phasing into retirement — continuing to work part-time, even for just a fraction of your o....
JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon said the US economy was “booming” but warned that he was “on the cautious side” of there being a soft landing. In a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday at the Economic Club of New York, Dimon said the state of the US economy was “unbelievable” and ha....
WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday banned employers from using noncompete contracts to prevent most workers from joining rival firms, achieving a policy goal that is popular with labor but faces an imminent court challenge from business groups. The measure, approved by the agency’s Democratic maj....
Traders have built up bets that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again, a once-unthinkable prospect that highlights a shift in market expectations after stronger than expected US economic data and hawkish comments from policymakers. Options markets now suggest a roughly one in five c....
Contrary to popular belief, reaching professional goals doesn't always have to equate to revenue. Although money makes a difference when growing your brand and solidifying your place as a successful entrepreneur, make sure you're investing in yourself in other ways as part of a long-term strate....
While professionals often set goals and devise strategies on behalf of their employer, they may be less inclined to apply the same practices to their personal life. In addition to fostering a sense of purpose and direction, setting both professional and personal goals can help people to avoid long-term regret about not li....
Finance leaders haven't felt this good about the U.S. economy in nearly three years. Grant Thornton's Q1 2024 CFO survey found that 57% of CFOs are optimistic or very optimistic about the U.S. economy, marking an 11-quarter high for the survey. Also, 71% of finance leaders project growth in net profits over the next....
For the most part, the growing list of sustainability-related regulations around the globe doesn't demand as much from small and medium-size enterprises. Many SMEs, however, are demanding more of themselves — for the good of the planet and for the good of their bottom line. More than 7,600 SMEs have p....
Happiness, it appears, is now coming to people at a time when most of them weren’t expecting it: in their sixties. According to a new survey, older Americans are among the globe’s happiest people, with more financial stability and social connections than their younger counterparts. Specifically, Americans aged 60 and above ranked as the tenth-happie....
Top performers and the best leaders usually have one skill in common: a high level of emotional intelligence. The bulk (90%) of top performers have high emotional intelligence and 58% of job performance is impacted by emotional intelligence, according to research from TalentSmartEQ, which provides t....
Social Security has become a saving grace for Americans, especially for retirees. The social insurance program was established back in 1935 and is funded by taxpayers through the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax. Around 53 million retirees and their families received benefits in January 2024, according to the So....
The Federal Reserve is likely to wait longer than initially expected to cut interest rates, given stubborn inflation readings in recent months, the central bank’s top two officials said Tuesday. Policymakers came into 2024 looking for evidence that inflation was continuing to cool rapidly, as it did late las....
The International Monetary Fund inched up its expectations for global economic growth this year, citing strength in the US and some emerging markets, while warning the outlook remains cautious amid persistent inflation and geopolitical risks. Global economic activity will expand 3.2% this year, it said Tuesday in it....
BlackRock Inc.’s Robert Kapito says the stock market is poised to benefit as investors deploy their outsized holdings of cash. There’s almost $9 trillion sitting in money market funds and the same amount in cash alternatives at banks, Kapito, president of the world’s largest asset manager, said at the Asia Pacif....
Expectations that the Federal Reserve would aggressively cut interest rates this year have helped propel stocks to repeated records. Now that the case for rate cuts is weakening, scrutiny of the bull market is intensifying. The S&P 500 has added 7.4% this year and is off a mere 2.5% from its all-time high, set Ma....
(Reuters) - U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in March amid a surge in receipts at online retailers, further evidence that the economy ended the first quarter on solid ground. The report from the Commerce Department on Monday, which followed news this month of robust employment gains in March and a pick-....
KEY POINTS In New York, the tax department reported 771,000 audits in 2022, up 56% from the previous year, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance.At the same time, the number of auditors in New York declined by 5% to under 200 due to tight budgets.The state is sending out hundreds of thousands of A....
Don’t bank on an upbeat corporate earnings season to drive equities higher as much of the optimism is already priced in following the record-breaking rally this year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists. First-quarter profit estimates have been reduced going into the reporting period, lowering th....
It has been two years since forecasters felt this good about the economic outlook. In the latest quarterly survey by The Wall Street Journal, business and academic economists lowered the chances of a recession within the next year to 29% from 39% in the January survey. That was the lowest probability sinc....
US stocks slid and equity-market volatility hit a six-month peak following Iran’s military strike on Israel, as markets assessed the risk of the conflict escalating into a full-blown war that could curb energy supplies from the region. Traders had been anxiously watching to see how markets would react after t....
Even though you may be a high-net-worth individual, you are still capable of making mistakes in retirement. But these mistakes may be different now that you have more disposable funds. Below are five common mistakes that I have noticed high-net-worth individuals make in retirement: 1. Not changing asset ....
Conservation easements, digital assets, and microcaptive insurance — these are just some of the schemes and scams the IRS covered Thursday, the last day of its annual Dirty Dozen campaign. Started in 2002 by the IRS, the annual Dirty Dozen campaign lists 12 scams and schemes that put taxpayers, busines....
A rare rally in both tech stocks and commodities, combined with a jump in bond yields, has echoes of periods when bubbles are forming, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp. The unusual price moves are consistent with bets that interest rates will stay higher for longer while economic growth remains stron....
The percentage of companies that have defaulted on their debt more than once has reached its second highest level since 2008, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings. Around 35% of total global defaults in 2023 were by issuers that are “re-defaulters,” a trend that’s also dampening recoveries....
A hotter-than-expected inflation print Wednesday morning all but removed the possibility of interest rate cuts in the near future. That leaves earnings as a last leg of support for the resilient stock market rally that began last year. And Corporate America could very well deliver on that promise. Wall Street ....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.5% in March, higher than expectations and marking an acceleration for inflation.Shelter and energy costs drove the increase. Energy rose 1.1% after increasing 2.3% in February, while shelter costs were higher by 0.4% on the month and up 5.7....
Treasury yields reached their highest levels of the year Monday — where they swiftly attracted buyers — as traders decided two Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts are likelier than three this year. Loss of faith that the Fed will deliver on the three quarter-point rate cuts that policy makers last month said....
Global stock market concentration has risen to its highest level in decades, increasing risk for passive investors. The 10 largest stocks in the MSCI All Country World Index now account for 19.5 per cent of the widely followed benchmark of 23 developed and 24 emerging countries. This is up from less than 9 per cen....
“It’s time for founders to take out their pitch decks,” said Fernando Fabre, CEO of Kauffman Fellows, as he previewed the results of the almost 30-year-old organization’s first venture sentiment survey. Around 53% of investors surveyed predicted that 2....
Over the years, ZDNET readers have challenged, informed, and inspired me in countless ways. Recently, I wrote about how using ChatGPT as a virtual assistant for a data project saved me many hours of work. Reader @f8lee pushed back on my entire premise, arguing that my use of ChatGPT c....
The AICPA and over 50 state CPA societies have written to the Treasury secretary and the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) asking that enforcement of beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements be suspended until one year after court cases have been resolved. "We....
Rebates paid at the time of sale under two home energy rebate programs created in the Inflation Reduction Act are not includible in individual purchasers' gross income or cost basis, the IRS said Friday in Announcement 2024-19. The announcement also includes coordination rules for taxpayers who want to claim a....
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said artificial intelligence may be the biggest issue his bank is grappling with, likened its potential impact to that of the steam engine and said the technology could “augment virtually every job.” The CEO devoted a chunk of his annual shareholder le....
Stocks have been on a tear this year. The coming earnings season will show investors whether corporate profits are backing up the market rally. The S&P 500 has increased 9.1% year to date and is trading near all-time highs. It just clinched its best first-quarter performance since 2019. The economy continues to be stronger....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is pausing the implementation of its new climate disclosure rule while it defends the regulation in court. Wall Street’s top regulator voted in March on the final rule, which requires some public companies in the U.S. to report their greenhouse gas em....
On Aug. 10, 2023, the Tax Court held in Parker, T.C. Memo. 2023-104, that an S corporation’s debt that was canceled in connection with the transfer of property should be included in the amount realized on the transfer of property and not as cancellation-of-debt (COD) income. Facts In Parker, the p....
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday it would pause the implementation of its new climate disclosure rule while it fights in court over the measure’s legality. The SEC will stay the rule, in part to avoid regulatory uncertainty as litigation proceeds, the agency said in a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eig....
Thanks for joining us. Here are five key takeaways from the March US employment report, released Friday: Nonfarm payrolls advanced 303,000 last month following a combined 22,000 upward revision to job gains in the prior two months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed. The rise exceeded al....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials will likely reduce their benchmark interest rate later this year, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday, despite recent reports showing that the U.S. economy is still strong and that U.S. inflation picked up in January and February. “The r....
Two Federal Reserve officials who vote on monetary policy decisions this year said they still expect the US central bank to cut rates three times in 2024, though they’re in no rush to begin lowering borrowing costs. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the three rate cuts penciled in by Fed officials las....
Corporate profits hit record highs in the fourth quarter of last year. But corporations aren’t the only ones riding high: The supercharged bottom lines of America’s biggest companies may have helped boost the entire country’s economy, keep people employed....
The Congressional Budget Office warned in its latest projections that US federal government debt is on a path from 97% of GDP last year to 116% by 2034 — higher even than in World War II. The actual outlook is likely worse. From tax revenue to defense spending and interest rates, the CBO forecasts released....
Bond traders priced in less monetary-policy easing by the Federal Reserve this year — and briefly set the odds of a first move in June below 50% — after a gauge of US manufacturing activity showed expansion for the first time since 2022. The amount of Fed rate cuts priced into swap contracts for this year dropped ....
Stocks fell broadly Monday after new economic data prompted investors to dial back bets on interest-rate cuts this year. Coming off its best first quarter since 2019, the S&P 500 started the trading day modestly in the green. But it reversed course after the latest Institute for Supply Management report suggested manufacturing activ....
In the early days of the generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) revolution, users had only a couple of ways to use new services such as ChatGPT. Most often, they had to log on to a specific website or open a dedicated mobile app. Now, that model is changing. Instead of offering AI as a stand-alone service, tech companie....
Leadership has never been easy. And, according to half of executives in a January survey, leadership will be more challenging in 2024. The challenges, besides economic and geopolitical uncertainty, are numerous and fast-moving. That's why 42% of executives ranked the ability to navigate changes quickly as the ....
What comes to mind when you hear the term “retirement planning”? Most people think of investments, Social Security, health insurance, tax strategies and other money-related issues. These pieces are all a big part of the retirement planning process, and the numbers need to work together for your plan to work. A ....
Global stock markets have recorded their best first-quarter performance in five years, buoyed by hopes of a soft economic landing in the US and enthusiasm about artificial intelligence. An MSCI index of worldwide stocks has gained 7.7 per cent this year, the most since 2019, with stocks outperforming bonds b....
The Numbers The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, on Friday morning. The core index rose 0.3% in February, equal to economists’ consensus estimate and down from the 0.4% increase in January. The i....
The IRS opened its annual Dirty Dozen list of scams that target tax professionals, taxpayers, and businesses on Thursday with a warning about evolving phishing and smishing scams designed to steal sensitive information. Fraudsters and identity thieves use these scams to trick recipients into clicking a suspicious l....
Time is running out for hundreds of thousands of taxpayers to claim their owed 2020 tax refunds, according to the IRS. The agency says nearly $1 billion remains unclaimed ahead of the May 17 filing deadline. About 940,000 people across the country are among those who have unclaimed refunds, with an average median re....
Many investors had high hopes going into 2024. The market’s robust first-quarter rally still managed to surprise them. Everything from stocks to bitcoin to gold marched to new records. The S&P 500 gained 10% in the first quarter, its best start to the year since 2019. Any weakness in the stock market hasn’t laste....
(Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment in nonresidential structures like factories and healthcare facilities. The report from the Commerce Department on Thursday also showed profits rising at a soli....
Junk-rated US companies have seen their interest costs rise after the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike campaign, but profits haven’t kept up, putting a squeeze on finances and underscoring a key risk for investors in high-yield debt as the trend persists. The ratio between companies’ earnings and their interest expense h....
The US faces a Liz Truss-style market shock if the government ignores the country’s ballooning federal debt, the head of Congress’s independent fiscal watchdog has warned. Phillip Swagel, director of the Congressional Budget Office, said the mounting US fiscal burden was on an “unprecedented” trajecto....
Stock traders decided to take some chips off the table at the start of a week that will bring the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure — on a day when markets will be closed. Equities pulled back after a rally that drove the S&P 500 to multiple records, spurring speculation the market has gone t....
KEY POINTS Establishing a routine is necessary for successful investing and building wealth.When I think about my clients who have managed to reach financial independence, I'd say they have very defined patterns that help them save and track their finances.Here's how to develop habits t....
(Bloomberg) -- A rush of megadeals is powering a rebound in mergers and acquisitions, bringing some much-needed relief for investment bankers after two years of subdued activity. Global deal values are up about 21% year-on-year to more than $660 billion as the first quarter draws to its close, according to data ....
Americans are continuing to spend, despite anxiety over the economy, making companies question their expectations of consumer spending habits during slower economic growth. Shoppers are stretched, but discretionary spending isn’t abating as quickly as some finance chiefs and economists expected—a phenomenon ....
US small-cap stocks are suffering their worst run of performance relative to large companies in more than 20 years, highlighting the extent to which investors have chased megacap technology stocks while smaller groups are weighed down by high interest rates. The Russell 2000 index has risen 24 per cent sinc....
When you’re a new parent, you have a lot on your plate. Between learning how to care for your child’s physical and emotional needs and adapting your life around your new family member, you’re also trying to consider their future and what you may need to do now to help get them started on the best path to succe....
The Federal Reserve is still aiming to lower interest rates later this year, and for many U.S. households and small businesses those rate cuts can’t come soon enough. But for big companies able to tap the corporate bond market, and for investors riding a rising stock market, relief from the Fed doesn’t see....
“Joe, I enjoyed your workshop, but you have to stop using the word ‘depends’ when you’re talking to a bunch of old folks!” This was the response I got from a gentleman in the crowd after giving a presentation on Social Security. I shared during the talk that there isn’t one best time to start Social S....
Federal Reserve members still see three interest rate cuts in 2024 despite an improving outlook for economic growth. The Federal Open Market Committee’s March projections for rate cuts, or the so-called “dot plot,” shows a median Federal funds rate of 4.6% in 2024. With the current fed funds rate in....
Recent surges in startups and other forms of business creation are key signs of the economy’s strong recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic recession. Before the pandemic, economists and policymakers worried that a series of metrics such as a falling share of businesses that ar....
WASHINGTON—U.S. businesses, big and small, have united behind a bipartisan bill to revive expired tax breaks for research and equipment spending, help that many see as critical to competing with foreign rivals or even surviving. The problem: They can’t get Senate Republicans—usually their allies—to budge. ....
Every time an employee leaves an organization a slew of resources are drained to find their replacement. While companies aren’t necessarily shelling out thousands of dollars upfront to find a replacement, they are losing a significant amount with lost productivity. That includes everything from time spent interviewin....
Three in five finance leaders say "now is not a good time" to be taking greater risks, according to a recent survey, partly because of the prospect of interest rate cuts. Deloitte's first-quarter North American CFO Signals survey found that 60% of CFOs are risk-averse, with geopolitics, macroeconomics, th....
The dream of retiring outside the U.S. is becoming a reality for more Americans. You may see your standard of living rise in a country like Norway or Iceland, or maybe you envision a healthier lifestyle in the warm and sunny climates of Costa Rica, Portugal or Mexico. The reasons to retire abroad are as divers....
When many in the workforce daydream about retirement, the idyllic images that flood their minds sometimes get drowned out by fears of the unknown. While those fears are natural, those who know what retirement is really like shared some encouraging perspectives in the 2024 MassMutual Retirement Happiness Study. ....
When the Federal Reserve began sharply raising interest rates two years ago, the prospect of mortgage rates hitting 7% terrified Dwight Sandlin, a home builder based in Birmingham, Ala. “I was scared to death. Scared. To. Death,” he said. He just booked his most profitable year ever. While sales of his modern fa....
A recent pickup in inflation isn’t likely to shift Federal Reserve policymakers’ forecasts for three interest-rate cuts this year and four in 2025, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Federal Open Market Committee will keep rates steady in the 5.25% to 5.5% range for a fifth consecutive me....
KEY POINTS The producer price index, which measures pipeline costs for raw, intermediate and finished goods, jumped 0.6% on the month, double the Dow Jones estimate.On a year-over-year basis, the headline index increased 1.6%, the biggest move since September 2023.Two-thirds of the rise in headline PPI came fr....
A bipartisan bill to expand the child tax credit and reinstate a set of business tax breaks has stalled in the Senate after winning overwhelming approval in the House, as Republicans balk at legislation they regard as too generous to low-income families. The delay of the $78 billion tax package ....
EXCLUSIVE: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday that inflation could face a bumpy return to normal after back-to-back reports showed that price pressures within the U.S. economy rebounded at the start of the year. In a sit-down interview with FOX Business' Edward Lawrence, Yellen pushed back a....
Prices paid to US producers rose in February by the most in six months, driven by higher fuel and food costs that add to evidence inflation remains elevated. The producer price index for final demand increased 0.6% from January, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The gauge rose 1.6% from a year earlier, the ....
End-of-year planning is a notoriously busy sprint for leaders. Upon reaching the finish line, CEOs must resist the urge to simply close the books and move on. Instead, they should pause to reflect on their process, and uncover ways in which they can improve moving forward. As CEOs pace through a flat 2024 and r....
Sometimes people have years to plan for retirement. And sometimes they’re forced to cram a lot of big life decisions into just a couple of weeks. It might sound odd, but this happened last spring to a South Michigan couple in their 50s, when their company, a Big Three automaker, went through a restructuring plan and as a result offered a gr....
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) appealed a federal court decision that held the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), P.L. 116-283, which requires the reporting of beneficial ownership information (BOI) by businesses, is unconstitutional. On Monday, the DOJ filed its appeal of the March 1 decision b....
Confidence among U.S. small businesses weakened unexpectedly in February, as the future path of inflation returned as a top concern. The National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday that its small-business optimism index declined to 89.4 from 89.9 in January, flipping expectations of an increase to 90.2 in ....
(Reuters) - A key indicator of an oncoming recession implied by the U.S. bond market is no longer reliable, according to nearly two-thirds of strategists polled by Reuters. A persistent negative spread between 2-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields is a key input into many analysts' models as a reliable ....
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in February, while the core measure that excludes food and energy prices increased by the same amount, the government said on Tuesday. Why it matters: While inflation has plunged from its peak, the latest data shows that price increases, including for housing and insurance....
Bank of America Corp. sees little evidence to support the worriers on Wall Street who say the stock market has risen too far, too fast and is approaching bubble territory. The rally in US equities that began last year, as sharp as it has been, doesn’t reflect conditions seen in prior boom-and-bust cycles, s....
(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate in June, according to a stronger majority of economists in the latest Reuters poll, as the central bank waits for more data to confirm whether inflation is headed convincingly toward its 2% target. The survey also showed respondents ....
February's hotter-than-expected inflation data did little to change investors' rate-cut expectations for this year. That lifted stocks Tuesday. Read the day's full markets round-up here. The consumer-price index rose 3.2% in February from a year earlie....
Shamus Rae, founder and chief executive of the UK-based audit tech company Engine B, has a firm view on what artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to mean for accounting and finance in the coming years. “I think a major skills and culture change is going to take place — and it’s going to happen fast,” Rae said. Finance pr....
One year after Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion, the venture debt market has yet to crown a new king. When the bank, which held accounts for almost 50% of VC-backed tech and life science companies in 2022, collapsed on March 10, 2023, the impact saw widespread financial panic among startups and in related markets. VC-backed compan....
After several days of debate and discussion, the US House of Representatives has approved the legislation, the Expanding Access to Capital Act (HR 2799). The bill was sponsored by Representative Patr....
Strong U.S. growth is prompting investors to scoop up a broader set of stocks, rather than just the handful of giant technology companies that drove indexes to record heights. With heavyweights including Apple and Tesla sinking this year, a larger group of companies has helped power recent gains. The eq....
Eight months after raising interest rates to a two-decade high, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are moving closer to dialing back their inflation fight. In congressional testimony last week, Powell emphasized the central bank needs “just a bit more evidence” inflation is headed toward its....
President Biden in his State of the Union address Thursday laid out broad new policy goals for a second term, with aims to use tax hikes on major corporations and the wealthy to make new investments in child care and eldercare, affordable housing and education. The speech, and the debates over policy ov....
KEY POINTS Fed Chair Jerome Powell said inflation is “not far” from where it needs to be for the central bank to start cutting interest rates.“I think we’re in the right place,” Powell said of the current policy stance. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday indicated that inte....
Big technology stocks jumped Thursday and powered the S&P 500 to a fresh high, its 16th for the year. The benchmark index rose 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite leapt past its peers and added 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 130 points, or 0.3%. Traders have been focused on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome ....
President Joe Biden sought to breathe new life into his reelection rematch against Donald Trump, delivering a spirited and sharply political State of the Union speech that sparred with Republicans and targeted an opponent he didn’t ever name. Biden’s speech, lasting a little over an hour, laid....
As winter fades into the spring, optimism is on the rise — 43% of finance executives share a sunnier outlook on the U.S. economy, according to the latest quarterly survey released by AICPA & CIMA. Pessimism about the U.S. economy plummeted 20 points since the fourth quarter of 2023 and now st....
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalized a rule that limits the typical credit card late fee from $32, to $8. The rule, which was proposed in early 2022, closes a loophole exploited by large credit card issuers and applies to issuers with more than one million open a....
The SEC on Wednesday adopted a long-awaited rule for climate-related disclosures. The 3–2 vote by SEC commissioners to adopt The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors came nearly two years after the rule was proposed and after the commission had received nearly 24,000 comments, SEC C....
Analysts have upgraded their forecasts for the US economy this year, bolstering hopes of a soft landing and bets that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts until the summer. Strong growth in the final quarter of 2023 and the continued resilience of the US labour market in January h....
(Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, avoiding disputes over fiscal policy, energy, housing, Ukraine and other tangled issues, told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday he and his colleagues would “keep our heads down” in a charged presidential election year, with interest r....
The sharp rally in US stocks this year has left strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. divided about whether a market bubble is forming. To JPMorgan’s chief market strategist Marko Kolanovic, the dramatic rally in US equities and Bitcoin’s quick surge above the $60,000....
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he expects the Fed’s first interest-rate cut, which he has penciled in for the third quarter, will be followed by a pause the following meeting to assess how the policy shift is affecting the economy. Bostic, in a separate commentary published on th....
A federal district court in Alabama held that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), P.L. 116-283, which requires the reporting of beneficial ownership information (BOI) by businesses, is unconstitutional. The district court granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment Friday in the case of National Sm....
Sens. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Tom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced Thursday the Improving Disclosure for Investors Act of 2024, requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to write a rule allowing financial firms to deliver their documents in digital format. The House Financial Services Committee passed companion l....
The Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high Thursday for the first time since 2021. The tech-heavy index rose 0.9%, snapping a streak of 569 trading days without a new high. The S&P 500 advanced 0.5%, also setting a fresh record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%, or 45 points. January and February marked the best two mont....
Three Federal Reserve officials said the pace of interest-rate cuts will depend on incoming economic data, suggesting the path to lower borrowing costs may look different than in previous rate-cutting cycles. Boston Fed President Susan Collins and New York’s John Williams said the Fed’s first rate cut will l....
Over 125,000 high-income people who have not filed federal tax returns since 2017 will be mailed letters advising that they must file returns or explain why they don't need to file a return, the IRS said Thursday. The letters are being sent to over 25,000 people with more than $1 million in income and to over 100,000 people ....
Retirements are getting longer because people are living longer. Life expectancy is up across the globe. And that’s a great achievement for society. The challenge is that many people cannot fund that extended time in retirement. So, now, we’re trying to figure out how to make our money last so we don’t run out of m....
The simplified employee plan–individual retirement account (SEP-IRA) has long been the star option for sole proprietors seeking to reduce income taxes and save for retirement beyond the lower contribution limits of traditional individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). However, with discount brokerage firms' i....
(Bloomberg) -- The US economy expanded at a slightly slower rate at the end of last year as a downward revision to inventories masked stronger household spending and investment. Gross domestic product rose at a revised 3.2% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, compared with a prior estimate of 3.3%. Cons....
The U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates in 2024. But recent strong jobs numbers and potentially discouraging inflation data might delay any rate cuts until the summer. That’s based on market expectations, where an earlier cut was previously viewed as likely. Inflation is down signif....
In 2024, AI is shaping the business world at an unprecedented scale, promising to boost productivity and take operations to a new level. However, with the proliferation of new tools, it can be hard for entrepreneurs to grasp exactly how AI can benefit their business, especially since recent reports have pointed out multiple ....
Executive leaders are just like everyone else — aiming to stay current with today's ever-changing workplace. Keeping up with new technology is the top personal challenge for C-suite executives, followed closely by balancing career and personal life, and embracing change and innovation, according to a new survey. Chief, a networki....
Washington (CNN) — A public feeding frenzy over artificial intelligence may encourage some companies to make hyped-up claims about their use of AI or what the technology can deliver — but they do so at their own peril, according to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Publicly traded companie....
US stocks soared on Thursday, breaching record highs, powered by blockbuster earnings from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA). The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) shot up nearly 3% on the heels of the chipmaker's results, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) jumped about 2.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial ....
Financial surprises often seem to crop up at the most inopportune times — your car breaks down, you have an unexpected medical bill, your air conditioner needs to be replaced. All of these situations, paired with poor money habits or a lack of financial planning, can create a major hole in your budget,....
More Federal Reserve officials signaled concern at their meeting last month with cutting interest rates too soon and allowing price pressures to grow entrenched as opposed to the risks of holding rates too high for too long. “Most participants noted the risks of moving too quickly to ease the stance of policy,” said the minutes ....
The last time the American economy was posting surprising economic growth numbers amid rapid wage gains and moderating inflation, Ace of Base and All-4-One topped the Billboard charts and denim overalls were in vogue. Thirty years ago, officials at the Federal Reserve were hotly debating whether the economy could continu....
(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve will cut the federal funds rate in June, according to a slim majority of economists polled by Reuters, who also said the greater risk was the first rate cut would come later than forecast rather than earlier. Reuters surveys since September have consistently predict....
Just months after setting a 2024 target for the S&P 500 Index, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists have boosted their forecast for a second time, reflecting Wall Street’s optimistic outlook for earnings. “Increased profit estimates are the driver of the revision,” a team led by David Kostin wrote....
Take a look at almost any earnings press release and you’ll see that standard accounting numbers—for net income, earnings per share, and even revenue—are buried under an avalanche of alternative takes. Companies often say these alternative numbers, rather than those required under generally accepted accounting principles, the re....
NEW YORK (AP) — As some of the world’s biggest economies stumble into recession, the United States keeps chugging along. Both Japan and the United Kingdom said Thursday their economies likely weakened during the final three months of 2023. For each, it would be ....
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said there’s no rush to cut interest rates with the US labor market and economy still strong, and cautioned it’s not yet clear that inflation is heading sustainably to the central bank’s 2% target. “The evidence from data, our surveys, and ou....
When you picture your retirement, what comes to mind? You might envision yourself relaxing on a beach, spending time with family, traveling the world, or participating more in your favorite hobbies. It’s an exciting vision of a luxurious, enjoyable life. However, not everyone is excited about the idea of retirement. Some peop....
The shakeout in the $20 trillion US commercial real estate market has long been delayed for a simple reason: No one could figure out just how much properties were worth. And, more crucially, few wanted to. Since the Covid-19 pandemic upended the use of real estate around the world, lenders have had little incentive to get t....
The IRS alerted small businesses to seven warning signs that could indicate that their employee retention credit (ERC) claim is questionable and to help them resolve issues before a March deadline for a special disclosure program. The deadline for the ERC voluntary disclosure program for anyon....
Stocks finished in the red Tuesday after data showed inflation didn't ease as much as expected last month. The report showed consumer prices rose 3.1% in January from a year earlier. That was a cooldown from December, but more than the 2.9% increase economists polled by The Wall St....
Dive Brief: CEO optimism in the economy rose this quarter to the highest level in two years as inflation cooled and the Federal Reserve forecast that in coming months it will start trimming the highest borrowing costs in 23 years, the Conference Board and Business Council found in a survey.“CEOs are feelin....
A record-breaking 11,000 Americans are expected to retire each day in 2024, what the nonprofit Alliance for Lifetime Income has called the “year of Peak 65.” As Baby Boomers leave the workforce, it’s a reminder for anyone heading into retirement in the coming years to take stock and prepare for this exciting transi....
With the S&P 500 closing above 5,000 for the first time, there’s an inevitable question for investors with cash on the sidelines: Should I get in now — or is the milestone moment actually a reason not to invest? The right answer depends on your circumstances. But putting the record high into context can help you ....
Economists are starting to think the Federal Reserve is keeping money a little too tight. That’s the takeaway from results of a National Association for Business Economics poll published Monday, which showed 21% of respondents considered the US central bank’s current monetary policy stance to be “too restrict....
Late December and early January are one of the heaviest workload periods in the year for many organizations, as month-end, quarter-end, and year-end closing processes all come to a head. The reporting work doesn’t stop with the completion of the annual close, however — organizations still need to r....
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin reiterated policymakers have time to be patient about the timing of rate cuts, pointing to a strong labor market and continued disinflation. “No one wants inflation to reemerge,” Barkin said Thursday in prepared remarks at an Economic Club of New York....
(Reuters) - As the S&P 500 continues to hit fresh milestones with a first-ever break above the 5,000 level, its valuation is reaching new heights as well. The S&P 500's (.SPX), forward price-to-earnings ratio -- a commonly used metric to value stocks -- this week rose to 20.4 times, a le....
Wall Street notched a milestone, with the S&P 500 topping 5,000 amid a renewed rally in big tech and hopes the Federal Reserve will soon be able to cut rates — bolstering the outlook for corporate profits. Equities powered ahead to close at another all-time high, capping a fifth straight week of gai....
As if losing your spouse isn’t bad enough, the transition often comes with a dizzying amount of financial change. It is often a second shock, and working with retirees, I have had to help many of them navigate the challenges. Below are the most challenging changes that I see catch surviving spouses off guard. Change #....
The IRS could collect $561 billion in tax revenue over 10 years if it maintains its funding from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169, the Service said in a study released Tuesday. If it can maintain the funding through 2034 rather than the current 2031, as the Biden administration has proposed, that figure....
(Reuters) - U.S. central bankers want to hold off on cutting interest rates until they have more confidence that inflation is headed down to 2%, and on Wednesday gave a range of reasons for feeling little urgency to start easing policy soon or to move quickly once they do. Last week the Federal Reserve held the policy r....
Investors are more convinced than ever that interest rates are coming down later this year. Their record on these things, however, isn’t great. Wall Street has been caught offside in both directions while betting on the path of interest rates over the past few years. Few thought the Federal Reserve would get anywhere near 5% i....
(Reuters) - Wall Street's major stock indexes rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 registering a record closing high, as investors applauded overall strength in U.S. earnings and monitored Federal Reserve comments for clues on interest rates. Shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG.N), finished up ....
Corporate Erin invites you to "re-drill down, re-reset and stick to client logistics". Introducing herself as the "manager of managerial logistics for Management McManagement", she's a caricature – a TikTok persona created by actress Lisa Beasley – meant to poke fun at nonsense corporate jargon. Satire....
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in erratic price behavior for commercial real estate, with many markets quickly reaching new highs and others experiencing declines. The Federal Reserve’s Commercial Real Estate Price Index climbed over 20% in a little over a year from the third quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021.1 Sho....
Despite uncertainty about when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates —and Wall Street concerns over the Fed holding interest rates at a 23-year high weighing on stocks— earnings have come in above, on average, Wall Street's expectations. Through about two-thirds of the S&P 500....
Investors have a simple request for tech titans this earnings season: Nothing less than perfection. The “Magnificent Seven” group of tech companies has been the stock market’s biggest engine for growth and profits over the past year. But after five of the companies turned in strong quarterly results last week,....
Reliable sources of liquidity are at the top of traders’ minds as they brace for another year of turbulence, according to a JPMorgan Chase & Co. electronic trading survey. Volatile markets are predicted to be the greatest daily challenge for a second year in a row, the annual poll of institutional traders found.....
The pace and scale of content is intensifying as audiences lead brands onto more platforms and expect more relevant, even personalized, content. So, the ultimate doing-more-with-less scenario is the modern creative department. We’re creating exponentially more content in less time with the same or fewer pe....
When you’re considering investment advice, taking a tip from one of the world’s wealthiest people is probably a good place to start. That’s why Shaquille O’Neal says he turned to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for inspiration before deciding to ....
Last year saw the lowest level of startup funding in five years, witnessed valuations fall drastically, and offered little hope for IPO contenders. But is that all now in the rearview mirror? That’s certainly the hope from many of the startup investors and entrepreneurs we’ve spoken with recently, who say that even if things don’t ....
When you consider investing in the market, your mind probably goes to low-cost index funds. Even a small amount of money can be invested and gain exposure to a significant amount of diversification. In the words of Warren Buffett, “Diversification is only required when the investors do not understand what they a....
KEY POINTS Most adults want to stay in their homes as they age.But many don’t properly plan to do so.Here’s how experts say you can fix that. There’s no place like home — especially as you age. Most adults ages 50 and up — 77% — want to stay in thei....
When building a retirement plan, consider implementing a five-pillar approach that includes taxes, investments, income, health care and estate planning. 1. Tax planning Taxes, in my opinion, are the most significant expense for most retirees who have saved up a lot of money in tax-deferred investments (401(k)s ....
Stock funds’ performance in January—including a 3% gain for large-cap growth stocks but a flat performance for stock funds overall—paled in comparison with the year-earlier January rally. So why is the market mood happier? Hope. A year ago, despite the January rally, investors were still licking their wounds from a brutal full-year ....
As Jay Powell faced reporters on Wednesday following the US Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting of 2024, his mood was confident. Hailing “six months of good inflation” and predicting more to come, the Fed chair said: “Let’s be honest: this is a good economy.” Maybe a little too good. On Fri....
(Reuters) - The global economy is on course to hold up better this year than expected only a few months ago as an improved outlook in the United States offsets euro zone weakness, the OECD said on Monday. World economic growth is expected to ease from 3.1% in 2023 to 2.9% this year, better than the 2.7% expected in November in ....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview broadcast Sunday night that the Federal Reserve remains on track to cut interest rates three times this year, a move that’s expected to begin as early as May. Powell, in an interview recorded Thursday for the ....
The Federal Reserve signaled it was thinking about when to lower interest rates but hinted a cut wasn’t imminent when it held rates steady at its first policy meeting of the year on Wednesday. The central bank held its benchmark federal-funds rate steady in a range between 5.25% and 5.5%, the highest le....
The House voted on Wednesday evening to pass a $78 billion bipartisan tax package that would temporarily expand the child tax credit and restore a number of business tax benefits. The bill will next go to the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson currently oversees a razor-thin majority, but the b....
Questions about missed Sec. 83(b) elections can arise when a company’s founder or other employee receives stock or other equity that is subject to vesting. The default tax rule under Sec. 83 for stock subject to vesting is that income will be recognized when the stock vests, at the value at the time of vesting. Bu....
KEY POINTS An estimated 7 out of 10 people will require long-term care in their lifetime, according to a report from Health and Human Services.About 38 million family caregivers in the U.S. provide unpaid care valued at about $600 billion a year, according to AARP.Medicare provide....
The idea of retirement as a long vacation after 40 years on the job may be on its way out. More and more Americans are enjoying second acts and envisioning retired life as just a later phase of their working lives. According to new research from Empower, a financial services company, over half (58%) of Americans ....
If you envision the ideal retirement plan, you will likely imagine an exclusively tax-free income, but for many Baby Boomers who have for decades saved money in tax-deferred accounts, the opposite may be true. After many years of deferring taxes, retirees are facing a sizable tax bill on distributions taken from th....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve sent a tepid signal that it is done raising interest rates but made it clear that it is not ready to start cutting.The Federal Open Market Committee removed language that had indicated a willingness to keep raising interest rates until inflation had been brought under control and....
Improving market conditions are kindling hope that startup investment could improve somewhat this year after a dismal 2023. But a look at how deal volumes collapsed suggests it could be a while before any meaningful rebound. Investment into U.S. startups dropped for the second year in a row in 2....
The new rules for special-purpose acquisitions companies (SPACs) approved last week may further slow down the market for such vehicles and limit their use but SPACs will survive, said Timothy FitzSimons, a partner at King & Spalding. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s final rules guidance on SPACs and shell companies, app....
Workers called it quits less frequently in 2023, a sign confidence in the labor market is falling as the U.S. economy is expected to slow and Americans are taking longer to find new jobs. That is a turnaround from the years just after the pandemic took hold, when resignations surged and companies faced ....
Investors wondering where the S&P 500 is headed, at least for the next month or so, will want to pay attention to three key days this week. Between Tuesday and Thursday, five Big Tech companies with a combined market value of more than $10 trillion will report earnings: Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Meta P....
Federal Reserve policymakers may finally be right on the verge of cutting interest rates. Going into this week’s two-day policy meeting, which wraps Wednesday afternoon in Washington, investors are assigning roughly even odds to the prospect that the US central bank will start lowering borrowing costs at its next decisio....
In my coaching work with senior leaders, a common thread appears--personal identity closely linked to professional roles. For these leaders, work isn't just a job; it's a significant part of who they are. Particularly for those in leadership positions, being a leader becomes a ce....
The IRS has added a question about income from digital assets to four forms covering partnerships, corporations, S corporations, and estates and trusts for 2023 tax returns. The question appeared on 2022 returns for individuals, seniors, and nonresident aliens. The question was tweaked this year for the variou....
AI is already disrupting the way we value and interpret human skills at work. From generating ideas to organizing information to telling jokes, AI’s trajectory is intended to mimic the human mind. But what does this mean for the way we relate to AI now and in the near future? As AI simulates cognitive....
(Reuters) - U.S. blank-check companies and their acquisition targets will take on more legal liability for disclosures about projected earnings and other material information under new rules adopted by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The changes target deals involving "sp....
Inflation adjustments have significantly increased the civil monetary penalties for violating the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting rules and for the unauthorized disclosure or use of BOI. The rules requiring the reporting of BOI just went into effect this month. The penalties are included for the fi....
(Reuters) - The U.S. stock market's march to all-time highs is putting the spotlight on its large valuation premium over global equities, leading some investors to look abroad for outsize returns. The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab topped most key regional indexes in 2023 with a 24% gain, building on a decade ....
The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation cooled to an almost three-year low even with robust holiday spending, keeping the debate alive over whether officials will soon cut borrowing costs. The so-called core personal consumption expenditures price index, which strips out the volatile food and e....
The law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, P.L. 115-97, included some major changes to the Code, but not all of them are here to stay. A number of significant provisions are set to expire after 2025. Although Congress may act to extend some or all of them, it is important to know which provisions are expiring so taxpayers can ....
In my first article of 2024, I listed thoughts from financial experts about last year and some of their predictions and concerns for retirement issues going forward into 2024. In their view, for example, artificial intelligence will grow and have an even bigger impact on our lives. The effects of COVID are waning ....
When the IRS sent a simpler version of a notice that asks taxpayers to take certain steps to prevent fraud, the result was a 16% decrease in taxpayers who called the IRS as their first action and a 6% increase in those who used the online option — when compared with those who received the more complicated form. Sixty thousand taxpayers receive....
Big tech is powering the stock market higher. Again. The largest tech stocks, which dominated the stock market last year, have once again rallied. The group has pulled the S&P 500 back to record highs for the first time in two years. Investors are once again pouring money into tech shares in a bid to keep pace. ....
Forecasters who follow the U.S. economy found themselves in a familiar place after a recent retail sales report: revising up their estimates for GDP. Quarterly data on gross domestic product due Thursday from the Bureau of Economic Analysis is expected to show the economy expanded at a 2% annual rate in the final ....
(Reuters) - A strong U.S. economy and pushback from central bank officials is leading some investors to rethink their bets on how quickly the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year, a shift that is rippling through Treasury and foreign exchange markets even as stocks sit near record highs. Expectations that the Fed woul....
“But other than that, I am in perfect health!” I heard these words from my 95-year-old grandmother when I called her recently. She is, in fact, in remarkably good health for her age, but her diagnosis of macular degeneration about 20 years ago and her acute hearing loss have dramatically changed how she now....
Merely paying or incurring an expense is not sufficient to entitle a taxpayer to a deduction under Sec. 162(a). The recent Tax Court case Sherman, T.C. Memo. 2023-63, highlights the fact that taxpayers bear the burden of substantiating not only the amount of the deduction but also that the purpose underlying t....
The Federal Reserve will lower interest rates starting in March for a total of four times this year and inflation will hit the central bank’s 2% target, according to Joshua Schiffrin, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s global head of trading strategy. The trading executive, who last year correctly predicted a so....
Gains in everything from technology heavyweights to Goldman Sachs shares pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average past 38000 for the first time. The Dow industrials added 0.4% to 38001.81, a record. The S&P 500 added 0.2%, kicking off the week with another high, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%.....
Wish I could take credit for this article, but I must admit this concept came from something a client sent me the other day. I know a lot of people struggle with when to take Social Security. There are many things to consider when collecting Social Security. Although today’s article focuses on one specific strategy, it is i....
Wall Street entered 2024 betting the year would go perfectly, but an up-and-down start for stocks and bonds suggests the going won’t be easy. Stocks have climbed to records, driven by cooling inflation that has spurred investors to anticipate as many as six interest-rate cuts. Falling rates often boos....
Obsessing over “vintage” isn’t just for wine enthusiasts or hipsters. It is also a crucial part of understanding what is happening in credit. And it may help tell a more constructive story about American spenders. Many measures of credit performance for things such as credit-card or auto loans are moving i....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress sent President Joe Biden a short-term spending bill on Thursday that would avert a looming partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies into March. The House approved the measure by a vote of 314-108, with opposition coming mostly from the more conservative....
US consumers rang in the new year with a good dose of optimism about the economy, their incomes and the inflation outlook, driving a gauge of confidence to a more than two-year high. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose 9.1 points, the biggest monthly advance since 2005, to 78.8. The prel....
(Reuters) - Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Thursday he was open to reducing U.S. interest rates sooner than he had anticipated if there is "convincing" evidence in coming months that inflation is falling faster than he expected. Bostic had previously said he expected it wou....
US workers are getting smaller bonuses, a sign that belt-tightening employers aren’t as concerned about losing talent as in recent years. The average cash bonus paid to employees last month was $2,145, down 21% from the previous year, according to payroll software company Gusto, which tracks payments made ....
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in more than a year, underscoring the resilience of the labor market despite elevated interest rates that are intended to cool the economy. Jobless claim applications fell to 187,000 for the week ending Ja....
Most people have the idea that as soon as you leave school and start working, you should save for retirement. You keep saving until it’s time to retire, at which point you (hopefully) have enough money stashed away to start your permanent vacation. That’s an overly simplistic view, however, that fails to take int....
Businesses do not have to report the receipt of digital assets as cash in determining whether cash received in a single transaction is over the $10,000 threshold for purposes of reporting under Sec. 6050I until the IRS issues final regulations, the Service said Tuesday in Announcement 2024-4. The Infrastr....
Let’s say that your retirement is now around the corner. You’ve heard theories on what you should do in retirement. You have saved and saved and now … You have to make a change and start spending. Dick Van Dyke has been quoted as saying, “I found out retirement means playing golf, or I don’t know what it means. But....
A new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rule offers guidance for employers related to determining whether to classify a worker as an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The DOL said the new regulation (RIN 1235-AA43), published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, r....
Federal regulators on Wednesday approved a new financial product that tracks the price of Bitcoin, a landmark moment for the cryptocurrency industry that proponents hope will increase investment in the technology. The Securities and Exchange Commission authorized 11 applications to offer e....
(Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve officials took little fresh signal from consumer price data published on Thursday as they gauge whether inflation is headed firmly enough back to the central bank's 2% target to allow them to reduce interest rates in coming months. Overall consumer price inflation on a 12-month bas....
KEY POINTS The producer price index, a gauge of wholesale prices, fell 0.1% for the month and ended 2023 up 1% from a year ago, the Labor Department reported Friday.Excluding food and energy, core PPI was flat against the estimate for a 0.2% increase. Excluding food, energy and trade services, PPI ....
Less than half of finance leaders in North America rate current economic conditions as "good or very good," according to a recent survey, and more CFOs are negative about the coming 12 months. Deloitte's 4Q23 North American CFO Signals survey found that 47% of CFOs feel good about the economic conditions, possibly becau....
The global economy is on track for its worst half-decade of growth in 30 years, the World Bank has warned in its latest projections for 2024, as higher borrowing costs and geopolitical tensions weigh on output. In forecasts published on Tuesday, the multilateral organisation said gross domest....
KEY POINTS As Congress negotiates federal funding for the 2024 fiscal year, Social Security beneficiaries’ checks won’t be interrupted, expert says.But budget negotiations may have an impact on the quality of the services the Social Security Administration can provide. ....
Dipping your toes in the fresh waters of an exotic beach. Enjoying a gorgeous sunset and your favorite drink as you relax on the back patio. Getting lost in a painting because you have all the time in the world to perfect every brushstroke. Spending more time with family and friends. These are the types of things you dre....
The IRS promised "marked improvement" for the upcoming tax season, saying Monday that Jan. 29 will be the date that it begins accepting and processing 2023 tax returns. In a news release, the IRS said it expects almost 129 million individual tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline. The IRS said....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen declared Friday the US economy had achieved a long-sought soft landing, a historically unusual event in which high inflation is tamed without significantly damaging the labor market. “What we’re seeing now I think we can describe as a soft landing, and my hope is that it will continue,”....
KEY POINTS Seven states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon and Virginia — had created “auto-IRA” programs by the end of 2023. Others are slated to come on line.These programs require companies to offer a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k) or facilitate worker contri....
The journey toward achieving financial stability and reaching long-term goals can often seem overwhelming. However, I advocate for an approach centered on small, manageable steps. This method is not about overnight transformations; it's about cultivating consistency, patience and setting achievable short-term objectives that....
It was mid-summer 2020, and Ginni Rometty, the chairman and CEO of IBM, had six months remaining on her nearly 40-year career with the company. Her longtime mentor, the revered former CEO of IBM, Lou Gerstner, had reached out to request a meeting. “He wanted to see how my retirement planning was coming along. Truth be told, I ....
Many companies provide stock (i.e., equity) compensation packages to employees. From an employer's perspective, there are many benefits. First, it helps the company avoid paying higher cash salaries. Second, stock compensation can assist with retention, because employees are more likely to stay at a company to avoid forfeiting....
KEY POINTS December’s jobs report showed employers added 216,000 jobs for the month while the unemployment rate held at 3.7%. That compared with respective estimates of 170,000 and 3.8%.The hiring boost came from a gain of 52,000 in government jobs and another 38,000 in health care-related fields such....
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), enacted Jan. 1, 2021, requires many entities to file a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) beginning in January 2024. Its goal is to increase transparency about who owns or controls an entity and deter ....
KEY POINTS Retirees can expect to see a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment starting this month.Other factors may also influence how much benefit income they receive in 2024. If you’re a retiree who relies on Social Security benefits for income, you will see some change....
Account balances get the bulk of attention when people approach retirement and are meeting with their financial planners — will the clients have enough to fund those long-desired vacations or to pay for living expenses over the next 20, 30, or 40 years? But one area not discussed enough is where and in what type of housing cli....
U.S. job openings dropped in November to the lowest level in more than two years, the latest evidence that the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hike campaign is continuing to cool the labor market. The Labor Department said Wednesday there were 8.79 million job openings in November, a decrease from the upwardly revised 8.85 mil....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s policymakers concluded last month that inflationary pressures were easing and that the job market was cooling. In response, the officials chose to leave their key interest rate unchanged for the third straight time and signaled that the....
(Reuters) - U.S. bankruptcy filings surged by 18% in 2023 on the back of higher interest rates, tougher lending standards and the continued runoff of pandemic-era backstops, data published Wednesday showed, although insolvency case volumes remain well below the level seen before the outbreak of COVID-19. ....
A rallying cry is a quick reminder of what you believe needs to be done to achieve your goals. It keeps you focused and on track. It creates an emotional response that motivates you to keep moving forward. Do your job! (New England Patriots) Just do it! (Nike) Here are some other examples: ....
Traders hoping that a pan-markets year-end rally would pick up where it left off got the opposite on 2024’s first trading day, a session that featured one of the worst-ever concerted drops in stocks and bonds to start a year. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker SPY) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TL....
Last year the Great Resignation left many employers to deal with sky-high turnover as the rate of workers quitting their jobs peaked, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the past six months though, that staff churn has settled, returning to pre-pandemic levels. And with fewer (and....
This is a story of happenstance evolving into a meaningful connection — and what two executive coaches learned about having a peer accountability partner. Our paths crossed in 2021 during a 10-minute virtual breakout session of a business development course for coaches taught by Dorie Clark and Alis....
It's a lot easier to start things than to stop them. Starting feels like growth and adventure, and things feel alive. Stopping can feel like loss and failure, but it shouldn't be. When you start something: Always couch it as a trial. That'll make it easier to stop w/o that sense of failure.Try to estimate a duration. "Let's do....
Companies weighed down with too much debt may be able to avoid bankruptcy in 2024, thanks to an easing in monetary policy the Federal Reserve is expected to unroll in coming months. Companies in the U.S. borrowed some $1.7 trillion after the Fed cut interest rates to near zero in 2020. But after rates rose quick....
Imagine taking a Bird scooter to Rite Aid before heading to a WeWork, where you read a news article on Vice and then buying a gift on Bed Bath & Beyond's website. What is this, 2018? No, this is 2023, and you've just interacted with five of the hundreds of companies that filed for bankruptcy this ....
Global stock markets recorded their strongest year since 2019 following a blistering two-month rally, as investors bet that big central banks have finished raising interest rates and will cut them rapidly next year. The MSCI World index, a broad gauge of global developed market equities, has surged by 16 per cent since late Oc....
Between the rapid ascendance of AI and the often dramatic downfall of startups large and small, 2023 was an action-packed year for tech and venture. In many ways, we expect 2024 to be the year when things settle down a bit. The buzz around AI will likely wane, but so, hopefully, will la....
A few years ago I wrote an article for CSQ – 50 Cynical Points of Advice on Travel (That You Can Only Admit to Yourself Are True). Following that up is my New Year’s list. I made a New Year’s resolution to drink more water, but so far I’ve only gotten as far as “drink m....
Amid strong signals of improvement in the U.S. economy, companies aren’t getting quite so confident that they’re indulging in a holiday spending spree this season. In fact, companies overall seem to be pulling back from good cheer. According to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas survey released on Monday, fewer employers a....
As Wall Street rallies on hopes for interest rate cuts in 2024, the real world is still coming to terms with the full weight of central bank tightening. Over the past two years, money has been squeezed out of the market by central banks fighting to get an inflation surge under control. That’s made borrowing more e....
New York (CNN) — After three-plus years of prices steadily — and sometimes sharply — increasing month after month after month, they fell in November. Last month, for the first time since April 2020, prices fell on a monthly basis, according to a closely watched report released Friday by the Commerce Depar....
Heading into 2024, analysts say the U.S. recession they'd been forecasting for two years isn't coming anymore. Everyone else, from companies to investors, is still bracing for a slowdown caused by tepid consumer demand. Dissonance between the habitually bullish investment bank analysts and the more circumspect m....
Not only can taxes, inflation and health care costs catch you unprepared in retirement, but so can the costs of supporting others and paying for the fun stuff. Forecasting expenses in the distant future, particularly over the span of several decades, poses a considerable challenge. As we funnel funds into our IRAs or 401(k)....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was asked at a recent gathering what he does for fun. He paused, then grinned. “For me, a really big party—this is as fun as it gets—is a really good inflation report,” he said to laughter at Spelman College in Atlanta earlier this month. Powell is finally gettin....
Many VCs and startups will be happy to see the back of 2023; a year of uncertainty, rising interest rates, and slow or non-existent growth, which have dampened investor confidence. VC and startup funding has dropped from the highs of 2021 and 2022 and that has meant a nervous time for many founders,....
Roughly one-in-five Americans ages 65 and older (19%) were employed in 2023 – nearly double the share of those who were working 35 years ago. Not only are older workers increasing in number, but their earning power has grown in recent decades. In 2022, the typical worker age 65 or older earned $22 per hour, up fro....
2023 was the year of artificial intelligence. There were certainly highs around the technology — companies rapidly deployed AI tools to speed up work processes, new capabilities were unlocked, and unique roles around AI were created. But, there were also some major lows. As people began using generative AI over the p....
The IRS announced Tuesday in Notice 2024-7 that it will provide about $1 billion in penalty relief to almost 5 million taxpayers who did not receive automated collection reminder notices during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also announced that in calendar year 2024 it will fully resume the normal process of iss....
Goldman Sachs raised its 2024 S&P 500 target by 8% to 5,100, forecasting a tailwind for U.S. stocks from falling inflation and declining interest rates. Unlike 2023, when the so-called Magnificent Seven group of mega-cap growth and technology stocks have powered the majority of the year's advance in ....
Are you always stressed and hurrying at work? Our culture is obsessed with rushing, and it negatively affects not only your ability to lead but also your ability to live a healthy and happy life at home or work. If you want to improve your mindset and productivity, you must learn to break your rush synd....
Individual partners of partnerships and individual shareholders of S corporations can now open IRS business tax accounts, which previously were available only to sole proprietors, the IRS said Monday in launching the second phase of a new online self-service tool for businesses. The new business tax account is part of....
High-net-worth families have time to take advantage of higher estate and gift tax exemptions before they’re significantly reduced if provisions of the Tax Cuts and Job Act are allowed to sunset. Unless Congress acts, on Jan. 1, 2026, the estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption amounts will be cut i....
When a Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. affiliate bought Summit Health-CityMD around a year ago, the pharmacy group’s management hailed the deal as transformational for its push into primary health care. Twelve months later, the $8.9 billion takeover has struggled to deliver cost synergies and Walgreens’s cre....
S&P 500 2024 estimates hover at $247 per share, same as in MayAnalysts making more cuts to year-ahead views: Morgan Stanley The financial world is moving fast, as the Federal Reserve prepares to start cutting interest rates and stock indexes are at or near all-time highs. But one thing hasn’t cha....
The IRS increased the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating a vehicle for business to 67 cents per mile driven, up 1.5 cents from 2023. The increased rate is effective as of Jan. 1, 2024 (Notice 2024-08). The notice, released Thursday, sets the 2024 standard mileage rates at 21 cent....
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.95% from 7.03% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The decline, announced a day after the Federal Reserve said it might cut interest rates three times next year now that inflation is cooling, marked the first time since August that long-term mortgage rates drop....
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key interest rate steady for the third straight time and set the table for multiple cuts to come in 2024 and beyond. With the inflation rate easing and the economy holding in, policymakers on the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to keep the benchmark overnight ....
FASB has published an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) aimed at improving the disclosure of certain fungible cryptoassets. The amendments in the ASU, Intangibles — Goodwill and Other — Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60): Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets, require entities to measure certain cryptoassets at fair value e....
Sec. 162(a) authorizes business entities to deduct all ordinary and necessary expenses that are paid or incurred during the tax year. This seems simple and straightforward and leads many companies to claim deductions for expenses that they believe are related to their business operation, only to find that the expenses are not deduct....
WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy is on the path toward taming inflation without a deep economic slowdown, achieving a so-called soft landing. “To me a soft landing is the economy continues to grow, the labor market remains strong and inflation comes down. And I believe that’s the path we’....
The Federal Reserve will likely hold interest rates steady for a third straight meeting, while pushing back against market expectations of rate cuts as soon as March. The Federal Open Market Committee is poised to keep rates in a range of 5.25% to 5.5% at its two-day policy meeting ending Wednesday, a 22-year high first ....
CFOs forecasting next year’s growth goals must also considering the broader economy’s condition as well. The economy’s health — and the possibility of a recession — will undoubtedly impact organizational outlook. CFO confidence in the economy remains shaky, according to new data. BillTrust’s 2023 CFO ....
A monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics report due Tuesday is set to show consumer prices were unchanged again in November, giving the Federal Reserve room to consider lower interest rates in the months ahead, according to Bloomberg Economics. The consumer price index should benefit from a decline in energy prices las....
The victory dance on inflation will have to wait. Inflation has stabilized late this year at well below last year’s high but still above prepandemic levels, tempering hopes for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts and maintaining price and interest-rate pressures on weary Americans. The consumer-price index rose 3.1% i....
Inheriting wealth can be a life-altering event. While it may seem like a straightforward financial boon, it comes with its own set of complexities and emotional nuances. Whether it's a modest sum or a significant estate, managing an inheritance responsibly requires careful thought and planning. Here are three key considera....
The labor market proved unexpectedly solid in November, with both payrolls and pay increasing — elevating hopes of a soft landing for the U.S. economy. Nonfarm payrolls rose 199,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell to 3.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The monthly j....
WeWork raised more than $11 billion in funding as a private company. Olive AI, a health care start-up, gathered $852 million. Convoy, a freight start-up, raised $900 million. And Veev, a home construction start-up, amassed $647 million. In the last six weeks, they all filed for bankruptcy or shut dow....
A gradual cooling of the still-solid labor market extended into November, renewing optimism the economy is still on a glide path for a soft landing. Employers added a seasonally adjusted 199,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, slower than earlier in the year but consistent with ga....
From maximizing tax-advantaged savings accounts to donating to charity, here are strategic tax moves to consider before year-end. Tax Day may still be months away, but there are plenty of actions you can consider taking before then to help manage your tax bill. In fact, certain tasks should not—or in some cases cannot—wai....
Following a partly sunny summer forecast for the U.S. economy, the outlook among CPA decision-makers again clouded in the latest quarterly survey released Thursday by AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Forty-three percent of respondents ar....
The IRS is advising over 20,000 taxpayers that their claims for the employee retention credit are being disallowed because entities either did not exist or did not have paid employees during the period of eligibility for the pandemic-era credit. An initial review this fall showed that a large group of taxpayers did not meet thes....
The US central bank will hold off on interest rate cuts until at least July 2024 and deliver less relief than financial markets expect, according to leading academic economists polled by the Financial Times. While most of those surveyed thought the rate-raising phase of the Federal Reserve’s historic mo....
U.S. applications for jobless benefits ticked up last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits fell after hitting its highest level in two years last week. Unemployment benefits claims rose by 1,000 to 220,000 for the week ending Dec. 2, the Labor Department reported....
1. Southern Gaza fighting escalates Israeli forces intensified their ground and air assault in southern Gaza on Monday in a new phase of their war against Hamas. The United Nations warned that the fighting was forcing civilians already displaced from northern Gaza to flee again, creating "an even more hellish scenario." ....
As the year draws to a close, practitioners have an opportunity to reach out to clients and discuss possible financial steps. The following highlights some of the more important year-end considerations. Inflation Reduction Act credits, deductions, and rebates As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169, a su....
(Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve officials appear on track to end the year with interest rate hikes as a thing of the past but with a coming challenge over when and how to signal a turn to rate cuts that investors, politicians and the public may demand before the central bank is ready. The issue may se....
After a historic run-up in inflation, Americans are now starting to see something they haven’t in three years: deflation. To be sure, deflation—that is, falling prices—is largely confined to appliances, furniture, used cars and other goods. Economywide deflation, when prices of most goods and services ....
Profits have been making a comeback. That makes a comedown for the U.S. economy seem less likely. The Commerce Department on Wednesday reported that before-tax corporate profits rose 1.1% from a year earlier in the third quarter. This compares with a decline of 6% in the second quarter. Moreover, that profit figure ....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she sees a good chance of the US economy achieving a soft landing, with the unemployment rate — which has ticked up in recent months — averting a sharp increase. “Signs are very good that we’ll achieve a soft landing, with unemployment stabilizing more or less where it....
Global stocks have closed out their biggest monthly rally in three years, as investors pile into risky assets in the growing belief that the Federal Reserve and other big central banks are close to winning their battle with inflation. The MSCI All-Country World index rose 9 per cent over the course of N....
The numbers: Initial jobless claims rose 7,000 to 218,000, in the week ending Nov. 25, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would rise 11,000 to 220,000. Last week, claims rose a revised 22,000 to 211,000. ....
KEY POINTS The personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy prices, rose 0.2% for the month and 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, both in line with expectations.Personal income and spending both rose 0.2% on the month, also meeting estimates and indicati....
(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said she expects to support additional tightening of monetary policy to return inflation to the central bank’s goal. “My baseline economic outlook continues to expect that we will need to increase the federal funds rate further to keep policy sufficientl....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shrugging off higher interest rates, America’s consumers spent enough to help drive the economy to a brisk 5.2% annual pace from July through September, the government reported Wednesday in an upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the econom....
The rally that led the S&P 500 to one of its best November gains in a century is now running out of steam, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists. The team led by Chris Montagu said futures flows last week were “mixed,” leaving net positioning in the benchmark index looking “slightly bearish.” Pos....
KEY POINTS Consumers eager to purchase last-minute holiday gifts may be more susceptible to fraud.Plus, other scams tied to AI and gift cards may be more prevalent this year. Holiday shopping this year is expected to reach record spending levels, according to th....
OpenAI's leadership crisis demonstrated the indirect influence wielded by tech giants in the generative AI startup ecosystem. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella helped broker an overhaul of the board to preserve Sam Altman as CEO, resulting in former Salesforce co-CEO and ex-Twitter chairman Bret Taylor's appointment as O....
Wall Street is gearing up for rate cuts. Twenty months after the Federal Reserve began a historic campaign against inflation, investors now believe there is a much greater chance that the central bank will cut rates in just four months than raise them again in the foreseeable future. Interest-rate futures indic....
(CNN) — Whether they jostled through brick-and-mortar stores or toggled between tabs and virtual carts, holiday shoppers were eager to participate in Black Friday this year. Both in-store and online retail sales increased year-over-year unadjusted for inflation, according to Mastercard’s SpendingPulse insights, ....
Stocks and bonds have surged in November. With record investor balances in money-market funds, some analysts are optimistic that they have more room to run. Everything from technology stocks to junk-rated company debt has been rising after an encouraging inflation report reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve can ....
(Reuters) - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials have told lobbyists and corporate executives in recent days that the agency's long-anticipated climate rules may scale back some of the most demanding greenhouse gas emissions disclosure requirements that it had proposed. At issue a....
The S&P 500 is set for a fresh high in 2024 because US companies have adapted to higher rates and weathered macroeconomic jolts, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists who join a growing chorus of optimistic Wall Street forecasters. The team led by Savita Subramanian is bullish on US equities for nex....
Federal Reserve officials at their most recent meeting expressed little appetite for cutting interest rates anytime soon, particularly as inflation remains well above their goal, according to minutes released Tuesday. The summary of the meeting, held Oct. 31-Nov. 1, showed that Federal Open ....
The year's top venture capital story has been The Next Great Platform Shift, as every tech startup is either incorporating, or trying not to get run over by, artificial intelligence. But, but, but There's also been a second sea change building in 2023: The rise of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy,....
(Reuters) - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials have told lobbyists and corporate executives in recent days that the agency's long-anticipated climate rules may scale back some of the most demanding greenhouse gas emissions disclosure requirements that it had proposed. At issue a....
Wall Street believes its soft-landing dream is on the verge of coming true. That is prompting a fresh wave of demand for stocks. Markets have rallied since last week’s consumer-inflation report came in softer than expected. Many analysts and portfolio managers said they expect the gains to pick up heading into year-....
KEY POINTS This year, a 16-pound frozen whole turkey averages $27.35, a 5.6% decrease from 2022, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.Yet, Americans are still bracing for high prices across the supermarket aisles.“Inflation is s....
(Reuters) - The U.S. central bank must steer between the risk of doing too little and taking the fight against inflation too far, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said on Thursday, a task made particularly delicate because other global central banks have also tightened monetary policy quickly o....
(Reuters) - Some of the major banks in the world expect global economic growth to slow further in 2024, squeezed by elevated interest rates, higher energy prices and a slowdown in the world's two largest economies. The global economy is forecast to grow 2.9% this year, a Reuters poll showed, with next ye....
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs investment strategists said on Wednesday that they now expect the S&P 500 to end 2024 at 4700, implying a roughly 6% gain including dividends. The estimate, from a research note led by chief equity strategist David Kostin, is based on modest economic expansion, an increase in earnings of 5....
Investors have been dumping cash and piling into bonds and equities as conviction grows that big central banks have finished their cycle of interest rate rises, according to a closely watched survey of fund managers. Bank of America’s monthly poll, published on Tuesday, showed that in November fund manag....
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices fell sharply last month as inflationary pressure continued to ease after a year and a half of higher interest rates. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — dropped 0.5% in October f....
There’s a lot of quiet action taking place under the radar in today’s business world. Quiet culture workplace trends—such as quiet firing, quiet quitting and quiet hiring—were intended to assuage the immediate and acute needs of businesses. Instead, they have backfir....
KEY POINTS Many individuals find it difficult to save for retirement because of their financial circumstances.It turns out that whether or not you have a combination of certain behavioral traits can also make or break your investment goals, new research finds. Peop....
The IRS received billions of dollars in funding to spend over 10 years, but high expectations for improvement mean that the agency has much less time to get the job done, Commissioner Danny Werfel said Tuesday at the AICPA National Tax & Sophisticated Tax Conference in Washington, D.C. "Now the inflati....
The reopening of the IPO market is, once again, delayed. For a moment this fall, it looked like the window for initial public offerings would be pushed open. Four big companies, three of them in the technology sector, moved forward with their plans to sell stock in blockbuster IPOs. Chip designer Arm HoldingsARM 1.34....
The taxpayer’s road to a claim for refund of income tax is littered with various requirements that may produce sinkholes that can swallow and destroy the claim’s successful outcome. Moreover, an adverse outcome for a client may result in a claim for damages against the refund claim’s preparer in the amount of the lost refund or more. C....
By the time a person approaches retirement age, they have enough life experience to know that change and the unexpected are, well, expected. On the other hand, human beings also tend to focus on what’s right in front of them, and retirees and those approaching retirement are no different. Studies have found that many people at or nea....
Consumer prices were unchanged from the prior month in October as a drop in oil prices dragged down headline inflation while "core" inflation rose at the slowest annual pace since September 2021, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistic....
FOMO in the stock market is back. A lightning-fast rebound has driven the S&P 500 up in nine of the past 10 sessions and 7.2% over the past two weeks, the best such stretch of the year. Now, many investors are betting the rally has legs. Some have piled into funds tracking U.S. stocks, while others have abandoned trades that....
2023 has proven to be a formidable period for the US venture ecosystem. Dealmaking and valuation metrics have either plateaued or declined across nearly all stages, while the current investing climate remains the most investor-friendly it's been in nearly a decade. The IPO landscape remains relatively frozen, with just 27....
Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it was revising the outlook on the U.S. government's ratings to negative, while affirming the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at Aaa. Moody's said a key driver to the outlook change was its assessment that downside risks to the nation's fiscal strength have increased "....
(Bloomberg) -- There’s a stark divide among Wall Street banks over how aggressive they think the Federal Reserve will be in cutting interest rates next year. On one side are UBS Group AG and Morgan Stanley, each of which anticipate deep interest-rate cuts in 2024 as inflation cools and the economy stalls. On th....
Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, on Thursday expressed little urgency to make another interest rate increase imminently — but he reiterated that officials would adjust policy further if doing so proved necessary to cool the economy and fully restrain inflation. Mr. Powell and hi....
Company leaders have learned a lot over the past year returning to offices, like the fact that they don’t need nearly as much physical office space as they did pre-pandemic. Some 75% of businesses plan to reduce office square footage next year, according to a survey from hybrid work platform Robin, including....
This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Anderson Cooper reports on what happens when Social Security overpays people who receive benefits. Beneficiaries may find out years later that they owe tens of thousands of dollars—even if it was not their fault. During the 2021 fiscal year alone, the agency estimates i....
China’s deflation pressures worsened in October as consumer prices dipped back below zero and producer cost declines deepened, adding to expectations the economy needs more stimulus to shore up growth. Consumer prices fell 0.2% last month after hovering near zero in the previous two months, according to data f....
Citadel founder Ken Griffin said the world is facing unrest and structural changes that are pushing it toward de-globalization and causing higher baseline inflation that may last “for decades.” “The peace dividend is clearly at the end of the road,” Griffin said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Thur....
What distinguishes true leaders from managers is their commitment to innovation. Indeed, managing any business is challenging and complex work. It includes facilitating transactions, meeting quality standards, ensuring team productivity and setting and achieving goals — all of which are a manager’s responsibility.....
One common concern among folks in their 60s is determining a prudent time to retire. After decades in the workforce, many people are understandably uncomfortable with the idea of no longer receiving a paycheck. While the top concerns are usually related to finances, there are also lifestyle adjustments that must be co....
Come 2024, the Social Security system will be in its 89th year of operation, and in many ways, the key federal retirement income insurance program is showing both its age and its continuing importance to the U.S. retirement landscape. On the one hand, there is the program’s shaky financial future to consider, with an insolvency ....
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the US labor market is cooling this year without there being a big spike in unemployment as the economy has returned to a better balance between the supply and demand for workers. “It’s slowing down,” Waller said in a speech in St. Louis. “We’re lookin....
Minneapolis (CNN) — The resilient consumer has kept the US economic engine running, but it’s coming at a big cost: Americans are piling up record credit card balances, and more and more are falling behind on those payments. During the third quarter, credit card balances hit a fresh high of $1.08 trillion, rising....
New York (CNN) — Wall Street gained Tuesday as the continued slide in Treasury yields helped propel stocks higher. The S&P 500 index climbed for the seventh day in a row, its longest streak of gains since November 2021, when the benchmark index rose for eight straight sessions. The Nasdaq Com....
While the US banking sector is stable, growing vulnerabilities leave at least some institutions under a near-term threat of funding pressure and capital shortfalls, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York staff. The risks to the system are rising, albeit modestly, and those weaknesses are still below the levels....
The US economy may be growing much faster than pessimists had predicted, but business is still brisk for bankruptcy lawyers. “Things have really accelerated,” says Thomas Lauria, global head of restructuring at White & Case. His team is on track for record-breaking revenues this year. Meanwhile, hedge funds are spyi....
Most investors understand that they need diversification in their portfolios. As a result, they are fairly good about settling on a mix of aggressive, moderate-risk and low-risk investments. But one area people often fail to account for — especially when saving for retirement — is diversification of the tax s....
The law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, eliminated the option to currently deduct research and experimental (R&E) expenditures. For tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2021, taxpayers are required to capitalize and amortize all R&E expenditures paid or incurred in connection with their trade or business under Sec....
(Reuters) - The dollar fell to a six-week low on Friday after data showed the world's largest economy created fewer jobs than expected last month, reinforcing expectations the Federal Reserve is likely to hold interest rates steady again at its December meeting. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's value against s....
US stocks recorded their best day in six months as bond yields tumbled after the Federal Reserve and other central banks signalled a possible end to the interest rate rise cycle that has hammered financial markets for more than a year. Thursday’s rally for stocks and bonds — whose prices move inve....
Thanks for joining us. Here are five key takeaways from the US employment report for October: Employers added 150,000 jobs last month, below forecasts for 180,000. That’s a slower pace but still showing a healthy labor market. Revisions also cut 101,000 jobs from the prior two months, though the number....
KEY POINTS Almost half, 46%, of retirees in 2023 said they stopped working earlier than planned, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.This often happens due to unforeseen circumstances such as job loss or health complications.Retiring early can have negative financial effects, like drawing down savings and claiming S....
KEY POINTS ADP reported that companies added 113,000 workers for the month, higher than the 89,000 in September but below the estimate of 130,000.Education and health services led with 45,000 new jobs. Other notable gainers included trade, transportation and utilities, financial activities, and leis....
The IRS announced the 2024 benefit and contribution limits for qualified retirement plans, including contributions limits for Sec. 401(k) plans and individual retirement arrangements (IRAs), Wednesday, increasing the limits on both by $500. Notice 2023-75 includes updates to dollar limits for a range of q....
There’s a bright side for investors reeling from a rare three-month slide in US stocks: The gloom is setting the stage for gains ahead, if history is any guide. A contrarian indicator from Bank of America Corp. that compiles Wall Street strategists’ recommended allocation to stocks is getting cl....
(Reuters) - U.S. job openings increased in September, pointing to persistent labor market tightness that is underpinning the economy and likely to see interest rates staying high for some time. Job openings, a measure of labor demand, were up 56,000 to 9.553 million on the last day of September, the Labor Department said in its mon....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a second straight time but left the door open to further rate hikes if inflation pressures should accelerate in the months ahead. The Fed said in a statement after its latest m....
A measure of pay and benefits that officials at the Federal Reserve have been watching closely as they try to gauge the heat of the labor market grew at a moderate pace over the summer. The Employment Cost Index, a quarterly measure from the Labor Department that tracks changes in wages and benefits, climbed 1.1 ....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is poised to leave its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday at a time when the Fed faces an economy that has proved resilient but is nevertheless under pressure from surging interest rates, overseas turmoil, and anxious investors. U.S. economic....
(Bloomberg) -- Despite roaring growth and a resilient job market, more middle-class Americans are worried about the state of the economy than a year ago, a Harris Poll for Bloomberg News has found. One big reason: The rapid increase in interest rates deployed by the Federal Reserve to rein in inflation, whi....
(Reuters) - The tentative agreements reached between the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers mark another major victory for labor unions that have turned up the pressure on big corporations to put better deals on the table. Unions have taken an aggressive approach to camp....
A phantom stock plan is a tool that may be used to transfer equity to key employees or valued team members while maintaining complete dictatorial control over your company. Virtually absolute protection is available from claims against the issuing corporation or company for claims related to management or operations by participants i....
Retirement can be ruthlessly final for some. And while ageism remains alive and well within workplaces, losing the most experienced workers can be a loss to the company that’s employed them too. But the goalposts around what retirement looks like, are shifting. Roughly 1 in 6 retired Americans are considering returning to work, acco....
Investors hoping for a boost to stocks by the end of the year will be disappointed, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson. “Chances of a fourth-quarter rally have fallen considerably,” said Wilson, who was once again named as the best portfolio strategist by the latest Institutional Investor survey. ....
Since Federal Reserve officials last raised interest rates in July, the economy is doing two things that central bankers don’t think it can sustain much longer: revving up activity and at the same time slowing inflation. It has set off a debate within the central bank about how closely it should....
President Biden signed a sweeping artificial intelligence executive order Monday, wielding the force of agencies across the federal government and invoking broad emergency powers to harness the potential and tackle the risks of what he called the “most consequential technology of our time.” The s....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced in the U.S., rose at a 4.9% annualized pace in the third quarter, ahead of the 4.7% estimate.The sharp increase came due to contributions from consumer spending, increased inventories, exports, residential investment, a....
WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve showed price increases remained elevated in September amid brisk consumer spending and strong economic growth. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that price....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product, a measure of all goods and services produced in the U.S., rose at a 4.9% annualized pace in the third quarter, ahead of the 4.7% estimate.The sharp increase came due to contributions from consumer spending, increased inventories, exports, residential investment, a....
Dealmakers are suddenly busy again, as consolidation in the energy patch helped make this one of the busiest months in years for US mergers and acquisitions. Corporate chieftains are pushing ahead with major deals even as geopolitical uncertainty worsens and the market digests the escalating Israel-Hama....
Budgets for employee salary increases have grown by an average of 4.4% in 2023, the highest increase in more than two decades, according to a long-running survey. US Salary Increase Budgets, a survey conducted annually since 1985 by The Conference Board, also found that the 409 companies surveyed are forecasting another 4.1%....
The IRS will continue its pursuit of money owed to the U.S. government by sending letters to about 150 U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations, reminding them of their tax obligations; initiating audits of 60 large corporations; and proceeding with its investigations of high-wealth individuals who do not pay their taxes, IRS....
Earnings season typically is the time when investors can look past macroeconomic forces and focus on company-specific news moving stocks. This quarter, however, is turning out to be anything but typical. Individual shares have, of course, reacted to earnings announcements in the week or so since Corporate Americ....
A deepening selloff in the U.S. bond market drove the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note to 5% for the first time in 16 years, marking a milestone that has rattled stocks, lifted mortgage rates, and fueled persistent fears of an economic slowdown. A critical driver of U.S. borrowing costs, the 10-year yield rose as high as ....
Certain employers concerned about the accuracy of an employee retention credit (ERC) claim they filed now have a way to withdraw their claim and avoid future repayment, interest, and penalties. The IRS on Thursday released details of a special process for eligible employers to withdraw ERC ....
Economists boost 3Q growth projections on stronger consumerBloomberg survey respondents see higher rates for longer Economists raised their US growth projections through early 2024 and trimmed recession odds to a one-year low as consumers continue to spend. The economy probably expanded at an annualize....
In a few short months, the IRS will pilot a tax prep and filing service where taxpayers can bypass accountants and popular software and file their federal tax returns directly with the agency — for free. The IRS Direct File limited program pilot will be available to selected taxpayers in 13 states. Nationwide, se....
The projected gross tax gap jumped to $601 billion in tax year 2020 and $688 billion in tax year 2021, the IRS said in Publication 5869, released last week, adding that the figures do not cover areas such as corporate income tax and noncompliance with pandemic credit rules. The projections marked the first year th....
An IRS pilot program will let eligible individuals in 13 states electronically file their federal tax returns directly with the IRS for free next year. The IRS Direct File pilot for the 2024 filing season will have strict limits on eligibility, but the IRS anticipates that several hundred thousand taxpayers will participate. ....
Any potential equity market rally is at risk if geopolitical uncertainty escalates further, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Their outlook comes as an extension in the Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to hit the supply of oil and crimp appetite for risky assets. At the same time, investors remain concerned abo....
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as businesses continue to retain workers despite elevated interest rates meant to cool the economy and labor market. Jobless claim applications fell by 13,000 to 198,000 for the week ending Oct. 14, th....
The SEC recently adopted a series of rules and amendments aimed at strengthening transparency around securities in the capital market. The SEC adopted Rule 13f-2 requiring institutional investment managers that reach certain thresholds in the equity markets to report certain short sale data on new....
The complexities of Social Security calculations can cause some confusion around when someone eligible should file and claim their benefit. The best place to begin is understanding your eligibility. Like most government programs, Social Security has many layers, and it is not always clear when and how some shou....
(Reuters) - A rally in the S&P 500 in the fourth quarter of 2023 "is more likely than not", Morgan Stanley's Michael Wilson said in a note. Wilson and other strategists said a majority of investors believed in a potential rally if current levels hold in the short run, desp....
The outlook for earnings is weakening and could remain subdued, according to strategists from Morgan Stanley to JPMorgan Chase & Co. As the reporting season kicks off, Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson said the earnings revisions breadth — referring to the number of stocks seeing upgrades versus downgrades —....
Hitting a six-figure salary used to be a career milestone for many. Making $100,000 or more was something to celebrate over dinner and drinks. Today that celebration isn’t quite as big. Minimum salary requirements are changing for a lot of people as they deal with rising costs of living and inflation. For ex....
KEY POINTS According to a recent report by the National Institute on Retirement Security, the typical Gen X household only has $40,000 in retirement savings in private accounts, and most Gen Xers are failing to meet retirement savings targets. When broken down by generation, Gen Xers are most likely ....
If you have successfully transitioned into retirement, congratulations! While it’s an exciting new chapter, it’s important to avoid taking shortcuts and to set yourself up for success through scenario planning to ensure that your monthly income and overall savings will cover you through all possible events. Runn....
Economists are turning optimistic on the U.S. economy. They now think it will skirt a recession, the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates and inflation will continue to ease. In the latest quarterly survey by The Wall Street Journal, business and academic economists lowered the probability of a recession within the next year,....
Individual taxable earnings of up to $168,600 annually will be subject to Social Security tax in 2024, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Thursday. The amount, an increase from $160,200 in 2023, is the wage base limit that applies to earnings subject to the 6.2% OASDI tax (old age, survivors, and disabilit....
Most of us seem to know that the average American lives between 70 and 80 years: 73.5 years for men, and 79.3 for women, to be exact. Fewer of us understand that life expectancy rises with age. An American man who turns 70 today will live to 85, on average. A woman of 70 will live to 87.&....
Americans didn’t pay an estimated $688 billion in taxes due on their 2021 returns—the largest shortfall ever. Audits and other enforcement will be stepped up to reduce the gap, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday. The number includes $542 billion due to underreported income, with....
We are bombarded with financial advice from various corners, be it the internet, family, or friends. While some tidbits may seem sound, they often lack depth and long-term vision, focusing more on immediate gains rather than comprehensive wealth building. Conventional wisdom such as paying off mortgages quickly, maxing out 401(k)....
Federal Reserve officials at their September meeting differed on whether any additional interest rate increases would be needed, though the balance indicated that one more hike would be likely, minutes released Wednesday showed. While there were conflicting opinions on the need for....
Wall Street analysts are boosting US earnings forecasts even before results start rolling in, signaling that the worst of the profit slump is likely over as ebbing inflation eases the pressure on a broad swath of industries. That’s pushed an indicator known as earnings-revision momentum — a guage of u....
US inflation was higher than forecast in September, raising the prospect that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates following similarly robust recent data on the strength of the jobs market. The consumer price index rose 3.7 per cent year on year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the same pace as the previous ....
(Reuters) - Wall Street's top regulator on Tuesday said it has tightened the timeline for investors to disclose 5% ownership stakes in companies they intend to control, shortening the allowed window from 10 calendar days to five business days. The five-member U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted 4-1 to....
"Price stability is a primary responsibility of the Federal Reserve. This is why we have taken forceful steps aimed at reducing inflation — and why we will stay on the job to achieve our objective," Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday at conference at ....
(Reuters) - U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in September amid higher costs for energy products and food, but underlying inflation pressures at the factory gate continued to abate. The mixed report from the Labor Department on Wednesday was published ahead of the release on Thursday of Septe....
Friday’s sizzling jobs report is bolstering the probability of another Federal Reserve rate increase this year, adding to pain in credit markets that are already getting hurt by a year-long jump in yields. The strength of the US labor market increases the likelihood that the central bank won’t pivot....
The accounting and finance talent shortage has prompted many CFOs to reevaluate their approach to staffing. The search for quality talent, something that nearly every industry has had issues with over the last few years, continues to hinder finance leaders and their teams. As younger people are no longer seeking to ....
US stocks reeling from the impact of high bond yields are facing a new threat from an expected slew of profit warnings, triggered by fading US consumer spending trends. Concerned that Americans might be pulling back, 80% of 567 respondents in the Bloomberg Markets Live Pulse survey said that some sectors are li....
For me, the dread of tax season truly arrives when I start receiving 1099s, W-2s, 1098s, etc., in February. It’s time to gather everything, fill out a painful spreadsheet and write a check to my CPA. The fourth quarter, on the other hand, is fun. This is when you can be strategic. A tax puzzle emerges with, sometimes, very....
Minneapolis (CNN)— Fall is here, pumpkin spice lattes are flowing, and in some states, there’s a bite in the air from the first cold snap of the season. But not for the US jobs market: September was a scorcher. The US economy added an estimated 336,000 jobs last month, blowing expectations out of t....
As global financial markets grapple with the possibility of 5% benchmark Treasury yields, the question on investors’ minds: how much worse could it get? Ten-year US yields, the reference rate for the global cost of capital, are fast closing in on the 5% milestone, a level not seen since the months before markets wer....
Stock bulls reeling from the worst month of 2023 have at least one reason for optimism: Corporate profits are set to rebound sharply in the fourth quarter. Net income at S&P 500 companies is projected to grow about 7.6 per cent year over year in the period, snapping a run of four straight contractions, accordi....
No one needs to tell you why you should have life insurance: If you die and your family or anyone who depends on you for support could no longer count on your income, life insurance would replace that income — assuming you choose a policy with the amount of coverage that is right for you. Use these three easy steps t....
Over the past several years, health savings accounts (HSAs) have grown in both interest and popularity — so much so that there were $104 billion in HSA assets held among 35.5 million accounts at the end of 2022, according to Devenir Research. It’s easy to understand why this interest is on the rise, as HSAs can be a great....
Most financial advisors recommend that clients wait to claim Social Security retirement benefits until full retirement age or up to age 70. That is sound advice. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, more baby boomers are electing to start benefits earlier. When claiming before age 6....
Minneapolis (CNN ) — The number of job openings at US employers unexpectedly jumped in August, a testament to the continued resilience of the labor market, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were an estimated 9.61 million open jobs in August, according to seasonally adjusted data fro....
KEY POINTS Like the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.”But while your Social Security benefits stop when you die, your surviving loved ones may still be able to claim checks on your record.Here’s how your Social Security benefits may continue after your ....
It has always struck me as ironic that planning for retirement takes so much work. And the closer you get to leaving your reliable paycheck behind, the more intimidating the prospect becomes. As someone who works with retirees and soon-to-be retirees every day, I was not surprised when one survey, by....
The PCAOB adopted a new standard relating to the auditor's requirements for the use of confirmation. Effective for financial statement audits for fiscal years ending on or after June 15, 2025, the standard will replace a 1991 AICPA standard adopted by the PCAOB on an interim basis shortly after the board's forma....
Investors have shown few signs of panic during a stock market slump that’s pushed the S&P 500 Index into its first losing quarter in a year. But beneath the surface, signs of stress are emerging that go far beyond the just averted US government shutdown. It’s not the intensity of the drop that’s weighi....
US stocks registered their first negative quarter of 2023 on Friday, ruling off on a bumpy three months for equities and bonds as investors shifted to the likelihood that although inflationary pressures may be easing, interest rates will probably remain higher for longer. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 50....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The threat of a federal government shutdown suddenly lifted late Saturday as President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open with little time to spare after Congress rushed to approve the bipartisan deal. The package drops a....
1. GOP candidates fight for spotlight in 2nd debate Seven Republican candidates clashed in their second 2024 presidential primary debate Wednesday, battling for attention as they trail far behind front-runner Donald Trump. Trump skipped the forum and tried to upstage it with an event in Michigan. Florida Gov. Ron DeSan....
Calls will go unanswered and mail will get no response under the IRS contingency plan for the first five days of a federal government shutdown. The plan, released Thursday, calls for furloughs of two-thirds of IRS staff if the government shuts down, resulting in "significant harmful impacts" on millions of taxpa....
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge increased by 0.1 percent in August and fell to a 3.9 percent annual increase, continuing a steady fall since April, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The “core” personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index is down from a 4.3 percent increase in Jul....
A thorough financial analysis and risk assessment of debt security assets and bank equity values shows the threat of bank failures was in plain sight. Interest rate increases result in unrealized losses for held-to-maturity debt security investments, but these losses do not appear in the financial statements (a....
Conventional wisdom about putting money in qualified accounts (401(k), 403(b) and IRA are examples) for decades has been to defer your tax liability on those assets for as long as possible and get growth in those accounts unhindered by taxes. If you can wait and pay Uncle Sam later, why pay him now? As the qualifi....
The government is threatening a shutdown this week, leaving many to wonder how Social Security would be affected, one of the many questions of how a government shutdown could affect you. One answer is simple: You will continue to receive your Social Security checks even if the U.S. government shuts down....
The special per diem rates that a taxpayer uses in substantiating the amount of ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home under the per diem substantiation method (set out in Rev. Proc. 2019-48) will be higher starting Oct. 1, as provided by the IRS in Notice 2023-68. In general, ....
Credit rating firm Moody's warned that a shutdown of the U.S. federal government would be "credit negative" for the U.S. Why it matters: Moody's is the last of the big three credit rating firms that still bestows the cherished "triple-A" rating on the U.S., which indicates U.S. government bonds are am....
Last year, we witnessed a significant year-over-year increase in CPI inflation, reaching a high of 9.1% in June — the highest in four decades. Since then, we have observed a consistent decline in inflation for the past 12 months. Although it’s improving, inflation remains a common phenomenon in most economies. That i....
The IRS is developing a contingency plan for a probable government shutdown, the union that represents the Service's workers said in a statement Friday. One potential concern of a partial or full IRS shutdown is how taxpayers who received an extension in April would file their returns before the Oct. 16 deadline. ....
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, marked by technological advancements and global market shifts, many companies seek innovative ways to remain agile and cost-effective. One of the surprising answers to this call is the emergence of the fractional executive. As companies big and small grapple with the unce....
About the Leading Economic Index and the Coincident Economic Index: The Leading Economic Index provides an early indication of significant turning points in the business cycle and where the economy is heading in the near term. The Coincident Economic Index provides an indication of the current state of the economy. Additional details....
The US Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged while signalling borrowing costs will likely stay higher for longer after one more hike this year. The US central bank’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), in a post-meeting statement published Wednesday in Washington, repeated langu....
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as the labor market continues to show strength in the face of elevated interest rates. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 201,000 for the week ending Sept. 16, the Labor Department rep....
As the popularity of short-term rentals through services such as Airbnb and Vrbo continues, CPAs more often face questions from their tax clients of how rental income and expenses are treated for tax purposes. Those with losses from the activity may expect it will offset other taxable income. Thus, it is critical for tax practitione....
The IRS will set up a new unit to focus on large or complex passthrough entities as it continues to pay closer attention to high-income compliance issues, the Service said Wednesday in a news release. The unit will be housed in the IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) division and will i....
"You could receive up to $26,000 per employee." "Did your CPA say you're not eligible? You should get a second opinion from us because we're the experts." "Act before it's too late. Don't miss out." This is the type of language used on websites and in TV ads to get small businesses to apply for t....
Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published a guide to help small businesses navigate the new rules for reporting beneficial ownership information (BOI), which will begin on Jan. 1, 2024. The Small Entity Compliance Guide, which FinCEN posted Monday, describes each of the BOI report....
The world economy is set for a slowdown as interest-rate increases weigh on activity and China’s pandemic rebound disappoints. Growth will ease to 2.7 per cent in 2024 after an already “sub-par” expansion of 3 per cent this year, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) la....
The US Federal Reserve is set to conclude the year with two high-stakes meetings as it prepares to hold rates on Wednesday and defer any further tightening amid mixed signals from the world’s largest economy. The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected on Wednesday to keep its benchmark inte....
The world economy’s debt pile hit a fresh high in the first half of this year, while borrowing as a share of gross domestic product is rising again after nearly two years of declines, according to the Institute of International Finance. Total debt — spanning sovereigns, corporates, and households — rose by $10tn to about $307t....
KEY POINTS The retirement security score for the U.S. has improved this year, according to new research from Natixis.Yet, many Americans’ retirement confidence has been shaken due to high inflation, a survey finds.The survey results come as the consumer price index posted its b....
The IRS will take several aggressive steps against fraudulent claims for the employee retention credit (ERC), including an immediate moratorium on the processing of new ERC claims; allowing taxpayers to withdraw unpaid claims; and the offer of a settlement program for those who have received the pandemic-era benefit in....
(Reuters) - The number of new corporate defaults globally reached 16 in August, the highest August monthly number since 2009, S&P said in a report released on Wednesday, the latest sign that corporate stress is building. While defaults tend to slow down during the summer, last month's number w....
KEY POINTS The retirement security score for the U.S. has improved this year, according to new research from Natixis.Yet, many Americans’ retirement confidence has been shaken due to high inflation, a survey finds.The survey results come as the consumer price index posted its b....
Producer price index climbs 0.7% in August The numbers: Fueled by higher energy costs, U.S. wholesale prices jumped 0.7% in August to mark the largest increase in 14 months and signal that inflation is likely to persist for a while. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.4% ....
The IRS intends to issue proposed regulations governing the capitalization and amortization of specified research and experimental (SRE) expenditures under amendments to Sec. 174 made by the law known as the Tax Cuts and Job Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, the treatment of SRE expenditures under Sec. 460, and the ....
CFOs haven't felt this good about the economy in more than a year. Fifty-seven percent of North American CFOs rate current economic conditions as good or very good — up from 34% last quarter — according to Deloitte's 2023 Q3 CFO Signals survey. That's the highest mark since the first quarter....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index rose 0.6% in August, its biggest monthly gain of 2023. The inflation gauge rose 3.7% from a year ago.The core CPI increased 0.3% and 4.3% respectively, against estimates for 0.2% and 4.3%. Fed officials focus more on core as it provides a better indication of ....
FASB voted Wednesday to issue a cryptoassets standard that will require entities to report on fungible crypto holdings using the fair value measurement standard. After reviewing shareholder feedback received on the exposure draft of Accounting for and disclosure of crypto assets during Wednesday's meeting, the board voted to ....
Chicago Fed study finds impact of past rate hikes yet to comeInflation may return to 2% target next year without recession The Federal Reserve’s 5.25 percentage points of interest-rate increases over the past 18 months may be enough to bring inflation down to the US central bank’s 2% target and avoid a reces....
The US economy has been looking so solid lately that Federal Reserve officials will probably need to double their projection for growth in 2023 when they publish an updated outlook later this month. Following a string of stronger-than-expected reports on everything from consumer spending to residential invest....
Many of us are walking around much of the time in a mild state of anxiety, frustration, or negativity, and it colors almost everything we think and do. Our thought-streams are heavy with negative self-talk, worrying, rumination, and harsh self-judgment from our unhealthy propensity to engage in flawed and superficial co....
With each cohort that graduates from Y Combinator, the same debate emerges: How can such early-stage startups justify such high valuations? According to YC President Garry Tan, 75% of the current summer cohort is pre-revenue and 81% are looking at raising their first external capital. Many of the founders will have entere....
For expert advice on identity theft risks, Kiplinger interviewed Raj Ananthanpillai, founder and CEO of Trua, an identity verification and screening company. He has over 30 years of experience as a tech entrepreneur, and one of his companies helped develop TSA-Precheck for air traveler security. Why is this a golden age of i....
US stock investors have gotten so confident that it’s concerning strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “There is complacency in sentiment evident, VIX is near record low and positioning has increased” to above-average levels, a team led by Mislav Matejka wrote in a note. “There is no more safet....
Persistently higher interest rates in major economies mean global growth is likely to slow next year after outperforming expectations so far in 2023, economists say. Output will expand 2.1 per cent in 2024, according to an aggregation of forecasts by the consultancy Consensus Economics, down from the 2.4 per c....
A new docuseries debuts today (Aug. 30) on Netflix that examines the formula for longevity. Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones features the work of bestselling author Dan Buettner, a man who has traveled across the globe investigating the diets and lifestyles of those living in communities with the highest concentr....
CPA decision-makers' optimism about their own organizations and the U.S. economy has been unsteady the last three years — cruising up and down and hitting a historic low in the fourth quarter of 2022. After high inflation and other factors caused optimism to drop last quarter, opinions are reboundin....
Profits rose 4.5% in second quarter after year-long slide‘Labor is spoiling for a fight,’ Santander’s Stanley says US corporate profits are on the rise again following four straight quarters of declines, according to government data out Wednesday. After-tax profits for nonfinancial firms rose 4.5% in the se....
Minneapolis (CNN) — US inflation may have remained elevated in July, but consumers just wanted to have some fun. New Commerce Department data released Thursday showed that consumer spending jumped 0.8% last month as shoppers shelled out for restaurants, live shows, toys, ....
BofA’s measure of China reflation near 2022 lows as fears growDollar to outperform against euro, pound, franc on China risks The chances of the dollar adding to its nearly 3.5% advance since mid-July depend more on the fate of economic growth in China rather than changes to interest rates from the Federal Re....
U.S. stocks rose for a third consecutive session, cutting into major indexes’ August losses as shares from technology to industrials and financials advanced. The S&P 500 notched its largest three-day gain since March, paring its decline this month to 2%. A drop in government bond yields, which have climbed lately, eased pressure....
Long-awaited proposed regulations for digital asset reporting under Sec. 6045 would require brokers to report sales and exchanges of digital assets to the IRS and customers as part of Treasury's broader effort to close the tax gap and crack down on tax evasion. In the preamble to REG-122793-19, poste....
Major U.S. stock indexes kicked off the week with gains, rising for a second consecutive session and recouping some losses from the summer stock-market slide. The gains were broad-based, with 10 of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors closing in positive territory. The S&P 500 notched its first back-to-back gain of the month ....
Index Erases Early Summer Gains, as Hot Labor Market Cools and High Interest Rates Bite The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® declined in August to 106.1 (1985=100), from a downwardly revised 114.0 in July. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market condi....
Stocks blasted higher in afternoon trading Friday, even after Federal Reserve Chair Powell warned in comments in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that central bank officials were "prepared to raise rates further." Traders appeared to shake off fears of future rate hikes, and instead focused on the positive parts of Powell's....
KEY POINTS These days, fewer Americans, including millionaires, feel confident about their financial standing.Even highly paid professionals said they don’t feel well off at all, according to a recent report by Bloomberg.Persistent inflation has made everything more expensive. Earning a good salary&nb....
Included within the numerous provisions of P.L. 115-97, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), were amendments to the federal income tax expensing rules for research and experimentation (R&E) costs. Although the TCJA was enacted in 2017, these changes did not become effective until tax years ....
Some of the traits that separate affluent households from those that struggle might surprise you. It's not necessarily a high-paying job, an Ivy League college degree or even the best Wall Street advice that distinguishes financial haves from have-nots. It's often more about getting the basics right and....
Getting to retirement is only half the goal. That’s why having a cash cushion, minimizing taxes and more are so important to having a successful retirement. Investing during retirement isn’t the same as when you’re working. In retirement, the time horizon is different: Without a paycheck, you may need to sell an inve....
Code development, content creation and analytics are the top generative AI use cases. However, many enterprise users don't trust gen AI to be private. Forty percent of data analysis leaders currently use generative artificial intelligence in their work, including to write code, analytics platform company Alteryx ....
Chair Erica Williams has tried to set the troubled PCAOB on a new course. The ambitious shift has been marked by policy divisions and onerous work demands, but also a bounce in morale. When Erica Williams took over the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, she had her work cut out for her: mend ....
This week has been marked by a raft of good economic news: Retailers are selling a whole lot of stuff to consumers, builders are starting a whole bunch of new houses and unemployment claims are falling. But on Thursday, we got a data point — actually, it’s 10 data point....
Since even before the global coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of thousands of employees have shifted from the traditional nine to five job structure, instead embracing the flexibility and adaptability of the gig economy. Since the coronavirus pandemic led to record numbers ....
As Social Security commemorates its 88th year, here are a few things to keep in mind when you start thinking about claiming benefits. As today (Aug. 14) marks the 88th anniversary of our national Social Security system, we can revel in the fact that millions of Americans have been afforded financial ....
(Reuters) - Pessimists watching the Federal Reserve battle inflation have focused on the so-called "last-mile" problem, convinced a full return to the U.S. central bank's 2% inflation target will require a recession and significant job losses to cool ongoing price rises. History is on their side, wi....
The IRS is uncertain about what happened to millions of tax records with sensitive information that could be used "to commit tax refund fraud identity theft," the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said in a report posted Tuesday. At least 8,500 microfilm cartridges that were....
Actually retiring may be the hardest part about retirement. If you’ve got cold feet, here are some ideas to make retirement the next step in a journey, not a final destination. I am seeing an interesting pattern in discussions with my clients about retirement — and it’s certainly not one I was expecting. Instead of....
(Reuters) - Barring any abrupt change in the direction of recent economic data, the U.S. Federal Reserve may be at the stage where it can leave interest rates where they are, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Tuesday. “Absent any alarming new data between now and mid-September, I believe we ....
KEY POINTS Total credit card indebtedness increased by $45 billion in the April-through-June period, a rise of more than 4% and just above $1 trillion.The Fed’s measure of credit card debt 30 or more days late rose to 7.2% in the second quarter, the highest rate since the first qu....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index rose 3.2% from a year ago in July, slightly below expectations. The core CPI ran at a 12-month rate of 4.7%, also below the estimate. Both measures were up 0.2% on the month.Almost all of the monthly inflation increase came from shelter costs, which rose 0.4% and were up 7.....
Learning to ask the right questions in the right way is a key technique for surfacing blindspots that can easily be overlooked. The best leaders know that the questions they ask are as important as the answers they provide. Leaders are faced with two conflicting needs. The first is to act with a deep confidence in their abilities....
Navigating economic downturns can be as crucial as riding the waves of prosperity. In a slow economy, where revenue streams may shrink, savvy entrepreneurs look inwards, seeking ways to unearth hidden profits through cost-cutting and efficiency-boosting strategies. Reducing expenses without ha....
With Corporate America’s earnings season nearing an end, the takeaway is clear: Challenges remain, but for a broad swath of companies the worst of the profit pain is likely over as margin-shredding inflation pressures ease. The bad news: S&P 500 Index companies are on track to notch a third straight quarte....
For tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2021, taxpayers must charge specified research or experimental (R&E) expenditures to a capital account. An amortization deduction is allowed ratably over a five-year period (a 15-year period in the case of such expenditures attributable to research conducted outside the United States, within the meani....
It can be frustrating when your children complain about having nothing to do — especially during the summer. So, why not hire your child or your children to work for your business? Doing so can keep them productive and teach valuable skills while potentially lowering your tax bill. However, as you probably wou....
When you’re a financial adviser, you soon realize that half of the job is math; the rest is loopholes and therapy. These words ring truest when deciding on when to activate Social Security, which can be a tough decision. You may decide to delay starting Social Security income upon retirement because the....
Former IRS Commissioner Mark Everson compares the efforts of the IRS to go paperless to the interstate highway system of the 1960s, when he was a child. "You would drive from New York, where we lived, and I-95 ended in Providence," he said in an interview with JofA. "You'd be doing great and then, all of the sudden, bi....
FASB is seeking comments on a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that is intended to provide investors with more decision-useful information regarding a public business entity's expenses. The ASU proposes changes to Subtopic 220-40, Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive Income — Expense Di....
There’s a shift in tone happening across Wall Street. Oppenheimer Asset Management’s chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus lifted his target on the S&P 500 index to a Street high, a day after Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson, one of the market’s leading doomsayers, sounded less bearish than usua....
US stocks have recorded their longest monthly winning streak in two years, as optimism about falling inflation and resilient growth encourages increasingly broad market gains. The S&P 500 rose 3.1 per cent in July, including a 0.2 per cent gain during the final session of the month on Monday. The increase marked ....
KEY POINTS Fitch Ratings cut the United States’ long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA.The agency had placed the country’s rating on negative watch in May, citing the debt ceiling fight in Washington.“The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confid....
(Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve said that banks reported tighter standards and continued weak demand for loans in the second quarter, extending a trend that began before recent stresses in the banking sector emerged. The proportion of US banks tightening terms on commercial and industrial loans for medium and l....
The inflation outlook in the US is “quite positive,” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said, though the central bank’s aggressive monetary tightening campaign to tamp down price surges will likely result in some job losses and slower growth. Kashkari’s comments Sunday come on....
All the chatter back in December was that 2023 was to be the “year of the bond.” And for a brief moment or two in the winter, that call — and the economic doom-and-gloom that underpinned it — looked right. It is now being overrun, though, by an avalanche of demand for equities that has unleashed a ....
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday to the highest level in 22 years as it left the door open to further increases this year. The Federal Open Market Committee lifted the federal funds rate to a new target range of 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per c....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product rose at a 2.4% annualized pace in the second quarter, topping the 2% estimate.Consumer spending powered the solid quarter, aided by increases in nonresidential fixed investment, government spending, and inventory growth.A Commerce Department inflation ....
A strong majority of business economists now say the odds of the United States entering a recession in the next 12 months are 50% or less, according to a National Association for Business Economics survey. Some 71% of respondents reported such an outlook in results of the poll, published Monday. That marks a sharp ....
Summertime, and the scamming is surging. That is according to the IRS, which issued a warning Friday for taxpayers to be wary of offers promising tax refunds or to "fix" tax problems. Many of these offers center on promises of a third round of economic impact payments. The IRS said it was receiving hundreds of complaints daily ....
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence shot to the highest level in two years this month as inflationary pressures eased and the American economy continued to show resilience in the face of dramatically higher interest rates. The Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence....
Wall Street is so convinced that the Federal Reserve’s restrictive policies are nearing an end that money managers are already trading as if rate hikes were a thing of the past. JPMorgan Asset Management is plowing into equities and at least one Invesco fund has done an about-face from its previous cautious positi....
Rising hopes of a soft landing for the US economy likely hinge on the Federal Reserve’s willingness to tolerate inflation markedly higher than it would prefer. After taking a break from tightening credit last month, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues look locked in to raising interest rates by a ....
Summer vacation season is in full swing. As you relax on your favorite beach, lake or mountain trail, you might think, “This is such a great place to visit. What if we lived here?” Ian Katz, a real estate agent in New York City, sees more interest from retirees for second homes since the COVID-19 crisis. “The pan....
Almost 50 percent of U.S. adults report being able to save some for retirement, according to a new Axios/Ipsos poll. The poll asked 1,238 people if they felt they were “just getting by right now” and unable to save for retirement and the future. And 49 percent of respondents....
KEY POINTS Use the slower summer months to check up on your finances, so you can make adjustments for the remainder of the year.Check your pay statements to make sure you’re paying the right amount in taxes.Now is a good time to rebalance investments in your retirement plan and make sure you....
(Bloomberg) -- Most economists expect the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates one more time next week as it ends a 16-month hiking cycle that has been the most aggressive fight against US inflation in 40 years. The Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates a quarter point at its July 25-26 meeting to a r....
The Federal Reserve launched its much-anticipated real-time payments system on Thursday. The FedNow Service will settle payments between banks and other financial institutions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with transactions clearing in seconds. The system went live with 35 banks and credit unions set up....
You've probably heard a lot about the benefits of ChatGPT lately. There is no doubt that it's everywhere now. Individuals use it regularly to streamline daily tasks in their personal and professional lives. And more and more companies across industries are finding new applications....
New York (CNN)— A recession could be miles away — or it could be just around the corner. It’s the storm that just keeps getting delayed further, but someday in the near future a mild recession will hit, economists predict. If that “someday” were today, how would the average American hold up financially? Fairly....
The Big Four accounting firms are trimming their consulting ranks—sometimes months after a promotion—after forecasting slower growth as more businesses scale back on third-party help in certain areas. The firms—Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers—are facing t....
Big investment banks are turning more bearish on the dollar as expectations grow that a “soft” economic landing will reduce the need for the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates much further. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and HSBC are among the lenders to have either scrapped ....
(Bloomberg) -- Americans are increasingly likely to get turned down when they apply for credit, according to a new Federal Reserve survey that shows the combined impact of high interest rates and a cautious turn among the country’s lenders. The rejection rate for loan applicants jumped to 21.8% in the 12....
Washington, DC (CNN) — Some Federal Reserve officials are already advocating for two consecutive rate hikes starting this month to ensure inflation’s defeat, but will their sway hold amid a shakeup at the Fed committee that decides interest rates? Probably. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, the Fed’s....
The US economy has a better chance of avoiding a recession in the next 12 months following recent positive data on economic activity and inflation, according to Jan Hatzius, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “We are cutting our probability that a US recession will start in the next 12 mont....
The numbers: The University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer sentiment rose to a preliminary July reading of 72.6 from a June reading of 64.4. It is the largest gain since December 2005. Sentiment is at its highest level since September 2021. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expe....
Wall Street is more convinced than ever that inflation is subsiding. That’s giving investors hope that the Federal Reserve might be able to pull off what once seemed impossible: containing pricing pressures without tipping the economy into recession. The economic data that came out this past week could hardly h....
Dive Brief: The U.S. economy will likely sidestep a downturn in the next 18 months but sputter in a “slowcession,” with weak growth, rising unemployment, and inflation persisting above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said Tuesday.“It’s the economy struggling,” Zandi ....
Dive Brief: The total number of U.S. commercial bankruptcy filings rose 18% to 12,107 in the first half of 2023 compared to the period earlier, with one of the biggest jumps seen in Chapter 11 filings that soared 68% in the period to 2,973, according to a release from Epiq Bankruptcy. Small business bankruptcies, captured as Subchapter V....
Says bar is ‘exceptionally low’ for upcoming earnings seasonNotes market bottom coincided with growth trough ex-energy With the S&P 500 up 25% in nine months and sitting at its best level since April 2022, people want to know: is an all-time high next? John Flood, a partner at Goldma....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices in the United States decelerated again last month, the latest sign that inflationary pressures are easing in the face of the Federal Reserve’s streak of interest rate hikes. The government’s producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches co....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index rose 0.2% in June and was up 3% from a year ago, the lowest level since March 2021.Excluding food and energy, core CPI increased 0.2% and 4.8%, respectively.Soft gains in food prices and declines in used vehicle and airline prices helped keep ....
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will likely need to raise interest rates further to bring down inflation that is still too high, but the end to its current monetary policy tightening cycle is getting close, several U.S. central bank officials said on Monday. The Fed has raised interest rates by 5 percentag....
‘Better than feared’ — a theme that fueled stock gains for the past two earnings seasons — is not going to be enough this time around. That’s according to a growing chorus of strategists, who say the bar is now much higher for US stocks to extend a first-half rally, because valuations have soared so much r....
Americans are not feeling very confident about their money these days. In fact, fewer than 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. say they are completely financially secure, according to a new Bankrate survey of more than 2,500 adults. To feel comfortable or financially secure, Americans need a salary of r....
When a person retires with a company retirement plan, it’s important to know the pros and cons of rolling over to an IRA vs. leaving your money in the plan. And you won’t come up with the same answer for everyone. For example, if you retire between the ages of 55 and 59½, and you need to take money out of your re....
The surge in Americans quitting their jobs has abated since peaking during the pandemic, another sign that the labor market is cooling from ultrahot levels as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. Americans voluntarily left four million jobs in May, the Labor Department said Thursday. That marked a drop of around 500,000 from 4.5 m....
The COVID-19 pandemic, along with turbulent markets in the past years, have heavily shaped consumer sentiment on financial wellness and have vastly shifted how investors envision future retirement. So much so that new research by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, in collaboration with Transamerica....
Going back to work after retiring isn’t something many retirees think about when they enter their golden years, but given the current state of our economy, leaving retirement is becoming more common. Due to high inflation and rising interest rates, many retirees are withdrawing more from their r....
Deandrea Rahming was eager to go back to work when her youngest child started school, but after more than a decade of being out of the workforce, she wasn't certain employers would want her. "I was very apprehensive," Rahming says. "With a woman, it's always, 'Do you have kids? Do you have day....
The Nasdaq Composite recorded its best first half of the year since 1983, after investors flocked to companies in the tech-heavy index that they expect will benefit from the growth of artificial intelligence. The index gained 32 per cent for the first six months of 2023 as markets closed on Friday, the last day of June. For an....
The nation's biggest banks are healthy enough to keep lending in the face of a severe economic shock, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday as the central bank and other regulators prepare to propose harsher regulations for the financial sector. Why it matters: The results of the Fed’s annua....
Projections show Fed officials see rates rising more this yearFed chair makes remarks at ECB forum in Sintra, Portugal Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled policymakers could potentially raise interest rates in July and September to curb persistent price pressures and cool a surprisingly resilient US lab....
KEY POINTS The U.S. economy grew at a 2% annualized pace in the first quarter, according to a final revision to the figure released Thursday.That was well above the previous estimate of 1.3% and the 1.4% Dow Jones consensus forecast.Upward revisions in consumer spending and invent....
KPMG is cutting 5 per cent of its workforce in the US, its second round of job cuts this year, as it struggles with the slowdown in demand for consulting and other services. The firm, which was the first of the Big Four to axe staff in February, said in an email to staff seen by the Financial Times that continuing ....
The world’s central banks raced at an extraordinary pace over the past year to cool inflation, but it hasn’t proved enough—yet. Economic growth remains mostly solid and price pressures strong across affluent countries despite sharply higher interest rates. Why haven’t growth and inflation slo....
KEY POINTS Having a cash cushion can prevent a financial catastrophe in the event of an unexpected expense or job loss.A new survey finds many people are uncomfortable with the level of emergency savings they have.Here’s how much respondents say it would take to mak....
In a milestone moment for the creation of a global common language for sustainability reporting, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) on Monday issued its first two standards. IFRS S1, General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2....
Smaller, speculative stocks have endured a historically weak stretch. Investors are betting that a turnaround is finally in the works. Investors poured $1.6 billion into exchange-traded funds focused on small-cap stocks last week, according to data compiled by Jefferies. About $3.5 billion has flowed into sm....
(Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Thursday the central bank would move interest rates at a "careful pace" from here as policymakers edge towards a stopping point for their historic round of monetary policy tightening. "We're at least close to where we think our de....
A major trouble sign when it comes to America's sagging retirement system: The gulf between what many people say they need to put away for their later years and how much money they actually have saved. The typical employee believes they'll need $1.27 million to retire comfortably, according to a new s....
Wagers have paper losses of about $101 billion in 2023: S3Wall Street split on stocks’ path amid concern over Fed policy Short sellers are ramping up bets against US stocks even as paper losses on the positions surpass $100 billion. Total US short interest, or the amount traders have spent betting against U....
KEY POINTS Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday affirmed that more interest rate increases are likely ahead as inflation is “well above” where it should be.“Inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to ....
(Reuters) - The number of people filing for state unemployment benefits for the first time held steady at a 20-month high last week, remaining elevated for a third straight week in what may be an early indication of a softening labor market in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive credit tighteni....
The IRS reduced its backlog of unprocessed original tax returns by 80% from the 2022 to the 2023 tax filing season and improved its phone service, but real and permanent change requires significant IT upgrades, the national taxpayer advocate said Wednesday in her midyear report to Congress. "In submittin....
“Flat” is the new relief for retirees, according to a report from Fidelity Investments. The annual Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate Fidelity released Wednesday shows a 65-year-old retiring in 2023 can expect to spend an average of $157,500 for health care and medical expenses during retirement. The amount matc....
IPO Issuance Monitor on pace to hit 119 from Sept low of 7Rebound expected in second half, may take time to materialize After going from boom to bust in one short year, the environment for initial public offerings in the US is on the upswing again, according to Goldman Sachs. It’s just going to take some time ....
NEW YORK (AP) — Charitable giving in the United States declined in 2022 -- only the fourth time in four decades that donations did not increase year over year -- according to the Giving USA report released Tuesday. Total giving fell 3.4% in 2022 to $499.3 billion in current dollars, a dr....
KEY POINTS The U.S. Department of Education says student loan “payments will be due starting in October.”Interest on their debt will begin accruing even sooner. Over the three-year-long pause on student loan payments, the U.S. Department of Education has repeatedly told borro....
Inflation in the US won’t come down as quickly as markets are currently pricing, according to strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Investors could be assuming that a sharp deceleration in growth will lead to a more rapid easing of price pressures, and tending to be more bearish on energy prices than what ....
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N) analysts have cut forecasts for China's economic growth, citing persistently weak confidence and the cloud over the property market as stronger-than-expected headwinds. The U.S. investment bank lowered its full-year real gross domestic product growth forecast for the....
(Reuters) - A quarter of workers surveyed by PwC expect to change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19% last year, as they are increasingly left cash-strapped in a cooling economy while dealing with inflationary pressures. Even as the 'Great Resignation' continues, around 42% of th....
Automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans is helping Americans save for retirement in record numbers, a new study shows. According to a Vanguard survey released Thursday, participation rates in 401(k) plans for which the asset management firm serves as record keeper have reached an all-time high of 83%. Vanguar....
As organizations fret over the potential risks of remote work, new research suggests the real dangers lurk within the office itself. That's the finding from a groundbreaking study from the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. Imagine a home filled with sophisticated locks, CCTV cameras, and a state-of-the-art se....
(Reuters) - BofA Global Research now expects two more quarter percentage point interest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve this year, while JP Morgan sees one more hike in July, after the central bank signaled further raises may be needed. BofA's new terminal rate forecast s....
Service-industry jobs will likely need to weaken further for the Federal Reserve to bring inflation back to its 2% target, Chair Jerome Powell said. The main drivers of inflation after the pandemic have shown signs of easing in recent months, as supply chains for goods have gradually returned to normal and interest-rat....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation may be cooling — just not yet fast enough for the Federal Reserve. Chair Jerome Powell offered a nuanced view Wednesday of how the Fed intends to address its core challenge at a time when inflation is both way below its peak but still well above the central bank’....
KEY POINTS A survey by CNBC and Morning Consult found 92% of Americans are pulling back spending.It’s further evidence of what retailers like Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Best Buy called out as cautious consumer-spending shifts during the first quarter.Among the hardest-hit categories by infla....
KEY POINTS Americans’ views about what it takes to be wealthy have changed since pre-pandemic times.In a new Charles Schwab survey, Americans say having lots of money isn’t the same as being wealthy.More people define wealth as their well-being rather than their mone....
Slowing inflation is cheered by most people, but for Social Security recipients, it’s a double-edged sword. Annual inflation cooled in May to 4%, the smallest rise since March 2021 and well off the peak of 9.1% in June last year. Energy prices fell 11.7% over th....
U.S. inflation slowed in May, supporting the case for Federal Reserve officials to pause their run of interest-rate hikes this week. Both the consumer price index and the core CPI — which excludes food and energy — decelerated on an annual basis, highlighting inflation’s descent since peaking last....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale prices in the United States dropped 0.3% from April to May, another sign that inflationary pressures continue to ease in the face of repeated interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department’s producer price index — which measures inflation be....
NEW YORK (AP) — Check fraud is back in a big way, fueled by a rise in organized crime that is forcing small businesses and individuals to take additional safety measures or to avoid sending checks through the mail altogether. Banks issued roughly 680,000 reports of check fraud t....
Goldman Sachs boosted its year-end price target for the S&P 500 to 4500 from 4000, implying a roughly 5% upside from the broad stock index's closing level on Friday. Though market breadth has been narrow and the recent stock rally has been led by a handful of megacap tech shares, Goldman anticipates a "catch up" is more li....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index increased just 0.1% for the month and 4% from a year ago, the latter being the lowest level in about two years.Excluding food and energy, core CPI rose 0.4% and 5.3%, respectively.All the numbers were in line with consensus estimates.Following the release, markets priced in a ....
New York (CNN) — The S&P 500 officially entered a bull market on Thursday, gaining 20% off of its lows in October. But those big gains came from just a few tech and AI companies with mega-cap stocks that are soaring higher. Cyclical and smaller companies are still largely struggling. This co....
Federal Reserve policymakers are about to take their first break from an interest-rate hiking campaign that started 15 months ago, even as they confront a resilient US economy and persistent inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday is expected to maintain its benchmark lending rate at the 5%-5.25% range,....
Bank of America Corp.’s Savita Subramanian is not only calling a formal finale to the bear market that has plagued US stocks, she’s also saying equities have room to keep rallying. “The bear market is officially over,” the BofA strategist wrote in a note Friday. While the definition of a bull market is “ar....
I bonds are no longer the darling of investors now that the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 10 times in a row to cool inflation. Interest rates on I bonds, which are set twice a year on May 1 and Nov. 1, are based on a fixed rate and a variable rate&....
To Roth or not to Roth? For more than two decades, retirement savers have pondered that question. Should they get the upfront benefits of contributing to a tax-deferred retirement plan (a 401(k) or traditional IRA, for example) and settle up with the IRS in retirement? Or should they invest after-tax dollars in a Roth IRA....
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS.N) is planning for a period of sluggish growth and higher inflation, the bank's president John Waldron said on Thursday, calling it "a mini-stagflation scenario." There will be a tougher environment for capital markets and financing as CEOs remain cautious, Waldron ....
A rally in technology stocks resumed Thursday, pushing the S&P 500’s gains since an October low past 20%, the marker of a bull market. A jump in jobless claims to the highest since October 2021 delivered a boost to the tech sector, which had been flagging under speculation the Federal Reserve will keep ....
You can't survive in a fast-paced environment without financial management — there is no argument with that. Bookkeeping is the key to surviving that environment. Historically, bookkeeping has been a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. We are going to see a sweeping shift....
CFOs have always served as mission-critical liaisons between different units within a business, conduits to sponsors of private equity-backed businesses, and overseers of efforts to scale business growth. They plan for and measure success while holding people accountable for achieving that success and must use their unique position to dir....
The S&P 500, the index obsessed over by investors, executives, and government officials, on Monday came close to finishing 20 percent above its lowest level of 2022, a gain that some on Wall Street see as the start of a bull market and a new phase of investing exuberance. The index fluctuated around the threshold on Monday, moving abov....
(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley warns of a 16% drop in profit for S&P 500 companies this year, followed by a sharp rebound in 2024 when analysts say the Federal Reserve's policy will become more accommodative. Strategists led by Michael Wilson said in a note on Monday that they expect earnings to rebound....
For those wondering when AI will start replacing human jobs, the answer is it already has. Artificial intelligence contributed to nearly 4,000 job losses last month, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, as interest in the rapidly evolving technology's ability to perform advanced organizatio....
Unexpectedly strong hiring across the US economy has piled pressure onto the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this summer if it skips an increase at its forthcoming policy meeting this month. Payrolls growth once again boomed in May, with nearly 340,000 positions added to a broad s....
(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed bipartisan legislation backed by President Joe Biden that lifts the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, averting what would have been a first-ever default. The Senate voted 63-36 to approve the bill that had been passed on Wednesday by the House of Rep....
When we look at recent declines in tech valuations, it’s tempting to turn to prior down markets for guidance on how a recovery might play out. Over the past 25 years, two historic downturns stand out as possible comps. One is the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. The other is the dot-com bubble, which popped in 2000 a....
Three years ago, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, CPA decision-makers in business and industry were historically pessimistic about their own organizations. A year later, they were mostly optimistic, with 76% in the second quarter of 2021 expressing optimism about the year ahead. Today, that positive....
A phenomenon that defined the pandemic-era labor market is over: the Great Resignation — workers furiously quitting for new, likely higher paying jobs — is a thing of the past. Why it matters: The historic surge of quitters was a symptom of an on-fire labor market, where demand for workers far outstri....
Bond traders look set to pivot from worrying the US wouldn’t raise its debt limit to fretting about what the increase means for money markets. The concern is that with a tentative deal pending, the Treasury will soon replenish its cash balance by selling more than $1 trillion of bills through the end of the th....
KEY POINTS The core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.4% in April and 4.7% from a year ago, both a touch higher than expected.Despite the higher inflation rate, consumer spending held up well as personal income increased. Spending jumped 0.8% for the month, while perso....
The government’s two main measures of US economic activity diverged in the first quarter, with one gauge painting a picture of weakness. Gross domestic product rose at a revised 1.3% annualized pace in the first quarter, up slightly from the government’s previous estimate. However, a gauge of the income ge....
Federal Reserve officials were divided at their last meeting over where to go with interest rates, with some members seeing the need for more increases while others expected a slowdown in growth to remove the need to tighten further, minutes released Wednesday showed. Though the decision to increa....
KEY POINTS Overall, 61% of Americans now say they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent report.Aside from income, where you live is the most important factor in determining whether you are stretched too thin.City dwellers are much more likely to....
Investors are boosting their bullish bets on US equities, making positioning increasingly “one-sided,” according to Citigroup Inc. strategists. Market participants have added $21 billion in new long positions on S&P 500 futures, Citi’s data showed, even as talks in Washington to resolve the debt-ceiling impasse drag o....
KEY POINTS Women face unique challenges when it comes to building wealth.In order to feel empowered, women need to build their financial resources and financial stability, notes Kamila Elliott, a certified financial planner and member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.Thes....
Imagine boarding a plane for a long-awaited retirement vacation in Hawaii. Before takeoff, the captain announces the crew is fairly certain they have enough fuel to make it to Hawaii safely, but if not, the plane will land in a desert instead. Not only that, but the navigation system is down. The plan is to simply fly ....
Preparing for retirement is something most adults will do their entire working lives, but ensuring a successful post-retirement life has many different phases. The last five years before you retire are particularly important, as you’ll start putting your lifelong plans into motion. Why the Last Five Years Before You Retire Are Critical N....
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans remain guarded about their personal finances, with the majority (55%) saying their financial situation is “only fair” or “poor” rather than “excellent” or “good” (45%). More also report that their financial situation is worsening (50%) than improving (37%). Consumers’ perspect....
Eighteen months since the start of a near year-long selloff, the Nasdaq 100 Index has recovered half the losses that pushed it into a bear market. The question now: can the tech-heavy gauge extend its rally? Much of the answer likely lies within its seven biggest components, which between them have accounted for most of th....
KEY POINTS The IRS had flagged more than 1 million tax returns by early March as being filed by potential identity thieves, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said.Identity theft has been a growing problem, and the IRS has stepped up its security measures.Taxpayers can take preventative measures, such as ....
Work isn't necessarily supposed to be fun, but should it be causing employees so much emotional distress? According to a new report by mental health platform Headspace, 87% of employees feel a sense of dread at work at least once a month, and 49% feel dread at least once a week. U....
Economists and policymakers are bracing for a long and rocky road back to the US Federal Reserve’s target of 2 per cent inflation, even as early signs of relief emerge following the worst shock in decades. Recent economic data suggests price pressures are finally beginning to ease, with the consumer price index last....
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — With new and used cars still painfully expensive, Ryan Holdsworth says he plans to keep his 9-year-old Chevy Cruze for at least four more years. Limiting his car payments and his overall debt is a bigger priority for him than having a new vehicle. A 35-year-old g....
Minneapolis (CNN) — Americans’ debt levels continue to climb to new heights at a time when economic conditions are becoming increasingly less stable. Household debt balances set a fresh record high of $17.05 trillion during the first quarter, growing $148 billion or 0.9% from the fourth quarter of last year, t....
KEY POINTS More than half of Americans don’t have an emergency fund, and 40% of those who do have less than $10,000, according to a recent CNBC/Momentive survey.While experts often suggest keeping enough cash to cover three to six months’ worth of living expenses, the r....
Wall Street and Washington got jolted this month by government warnings that the U.S. could become unable to pay all its bills as soon as June 1. That crunch came months sooner than expected, raising the specter of a default on federal obligations unless Congress increases the debt ceiling. The reason: the expected ann....
Just like spring and summer always lead to fall and winter, we know winter is coming and another recession is on the horizon, we just don’t know when. If you have a leak in your roof, when's the best time to fix that leak? Before it rains, because once the rain comes, it's too late. We've seen this ....
The IRS, which spent the pandemic years mired in backlogs of mail, said this week that it has processed all paper and electronic individual returns received before January of this year. This means all returns received for tax year 2021 or earlier have been processed if the returns had no errors or did not require ....
Job satisfaction hit a 36-year high in 2022, reflecting two effects of the tight pandemic labor market: The quality of jobs improved as wages and work flexibility increased, and workers moved into positions that were a better fit. Last year 62.3% of U.S. workers said they were satisfied with their jobs, according to new d....
KEY POINTS The producer price index, a measure of prices for final demand goods and services, increased 0.2%, against the Dow Jones estimate for 0.3%.Headline PPI rose just 2.3%, down from 2.7% in March and the lowest reading since January 2021.Portfolio management costs and gasoline pric....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index rose 0.4% last month, pushed higher by rising shelter, used vehicle, and gas prices. The increase was in line with Wall Street expectations.On an annual basis, the inflation rate was 4.9%, slightly less than the estimate and providing some hope that the trend is lower.For workers....
(Reuters) - U.S. companies are feeling the heat of decades-high interest rates and sticky inflation, with several filing for bankruptcy protection as the era of easy money draws to a close. The tally of U.S. companies that have gone bankrupt so far in 2023 is higher than the first four months of any year since 2....
Corporate results this quarter have mostly outpaced expectations, but accusations of so-called 'sandbagging' remind one strategist of an early 2000s comedy. "It's a little like in Meet the Parents" says JJ Kinahan, IG North America CEO, reminding us how Ben Stiller's character won....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reckons the US economy can skirt recession. But the odds are stacked against him — thanks to banking, politics, and even the weather. In Powell’s view, the gravity-defying strength of American labor markets — on display again in jobs da....
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, bringing the benchmark funds rate to 5% to 5.25%. In its post-meeting statement, the central bank appeared to soften its language on future rate increases, removing a line on “additional policy firming.” In his p....
Federal Reserve officials are on track to increase interest rates again at their meeting this week while deliberating whether that will be enough to then pause the fastest rate-raising cycle in 40 years. “We are much closer to the end of the tightening journey than the beginning,” Cleveland Fed President L....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation’s borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis. In a letter to ....
With COVID-19 no longer considered a national emergency, the IRS will return to in-person public hearings for proposed regulations with a telephone option available. The IRS said Friday in Announcement 2023-16 that the change applies to public hearings for proposed regulations published in the ....
(Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending was unchanged in March as an increase in outlays on services was offset by a decline in goods, but persistent strength in underlying inflation pressures could see the Federal Reserve raising interest rates again next week. Stubbornly high inflation was underscored by other data on Frida....
(Bloomberg) -- Chair Jerome Powell has achieved a near-perfect consensus as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates aggressively. Now, with the hiking campaign drawing to a close, that agreement is going to be a lot tougher to maintain. With inflation as high as 9% in the past year, Powell’s colleagues we....
KEY POINTS The U.S. personal savings rate was hovering around 4.6% in February, which was below a decadeslong average of roughly 8.9%.Economists note that this dip in the savings rate is occurring as inflation continues and wage growth slows.Deposits at banks have crested but remain well elevated compared with pr....
If you're looking to buy a home, new federal rules may impact how much you pay for a mortgage. Beginning May 1, upfront fees for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be adjusted because of changes in the Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs). Those fees are based on things including the borrower's credit ....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product rose at a 1.1% annualized pace in the first quarter, below the 2% estimate.Slumping inventories and a general decline in private investment held back early year gains.Inflation was higher than expected in the quarter, with the PCE price index rising 4....
Tech giant Apple last week announced a buzzy product release -- but it wasn't a new version of its iPhone or virtual reality headset. Rather, the company offered its first ever high-yield savings account. The move reflects growing demand for returns on savings as a topsy-turvy stock ma....
The IRS will use audit rates from 2018 to determine what percentage of individual taxpayers reporting income under $400,000 a year will be audited, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. Werfel's answer to a question from Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., seemed to assuage the conc....
Buzzfeed isn’t the only company that merged with a SPAC that’s hurting. Of the 365 companies that listed publicly through a SPAC merger between 2020 and 2022, 100—or 27%—were penny stocks trading below $1 as of Thursday’s close, according to data firm SPAC Research. Am....
More evidence continues to show just how challenging today's venture funding environment is compared to the pandemic-era boom. Nationally, tech firms raised a collective $37 billion across 2,856 deals last quarter. It was the lowest quarterly deal amount since the fourth quarter of 2017, according to a report from venture capit....
Stocks were muted Wednesday as another heavy day of corporate earnings got under way, with companies broadly posting results that have beaten analysts’ expectations. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day flat while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.2%, or 79.62 points. Investors are watching ea....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taxpayers who called the IRS had an average wait time of four minutes this tax season compared to 27 minutes a year earlier, the agency said Monday. Ahead of the tax filing deadline on Tuesday, the IRS is promoting its improved customer service and giving credit to a big boost in funding provided by ....
KEY POINTS Changes may be coming to fix Social Security’s trust funds, which are projected to be able to pay full benefits only until the 2030s.While uncertainty may tempt many to claim retirement benefits early, experts say that’s usually a mistake. Negative headlines a....
Some CFOs are choosing to look on the bright side. Despite a potential recession, more than half of finance leaders in a recent survey expressed optimism about the economy. Grant Thornton's 2023 Q1 CFO Survey found that 54% of CFOs are optimistic or very optimistic regarding the U.S. economy. Additionally, more than tw....
Parents are stepping in to help their adult children when they’re in a financial pinch, but many are sacrificing their own savings in the process. Over two-thirds (68 percent) of parents of adult children have made or are currently making a financial sacrifice to help their kids financially,....
KEY POINTS If inflation continues to fall at the current rate, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2024 may be less than 3%, according to The Senior Citizens League.This year, Social Security beneficiaries saw a record 8.7% bump to their Social Securi....
KEY POINTS The IMF said that five years from now, global growth is expected to be around 3% — the lowest medium-term forecast in a World Economic Outlook for over 30 years.In the short term, the fund expects global growth of 2.8% this year and 3% in 2024, slightly below the fund’s estimates ....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index rose 0.1% in March and 5% from a year ago, below estimates.Excluding food and energy, the core CPI accelerated 0.4% and 5.6%, both as expected.Energy costs fell and food prices were flat. Used vehicle prices also declined.A 0.6% increase in shelter costs w....
(Reuters) - The U.S. economy is at risk of shrinking in the second quarter, BofA Global Research wrote in a client note, following recent economic data that hinted that the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes were cooling the economy. "This week's data flow is consistent with our view that t....
Corporate America is facing its sharpest drop in profits since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Wall Street forecasts, as high inflation squeezes margins and fears of an impending recession hold back demand. Companies on the S&P 500 index are expected to report a 6.8 per cent decl....
(Bloomberg) -- US bank lending contracted by the most on record in the last two weeks of March, indicating a tightening of credit conditions in the wake of several high-profile bank collapses that risks damaging the economy. Commercial bank lending dropped nearly $105 billion in the two weeks ended March 29, the....
For engineers and other tech workers, landing a job with one of the industry’s best-known companies was long the ultimate professional achievement. Now, many Silicon Valley veterans are being driven to new paths far from the tech giants, prizing stability and personal values over prestige. Laid-off tech ....
Thinking of starting a side hustle? According to the latest New Business Insights survey commissioned by Intuit Quickbooks, millions of Americans are planning to start businesses in 2023 – the majority of whom say inflation is driving their decision. While building a new revenue stream can increase your inc....
The red-hot labor market cooled some in March, with hiring gains moderating and wage growth easing as more workers sought jobs. Employers added 236,000 workers last month, a historically strong gain but the smallest in more than two years, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5%. More Am....
Corporate bankruptcy petitions in the U.S. surged last month and first-quarter filings this year reached the highest level since 2010, according to new data. S&P Global Market Intelligence reported Thursday that it recorded 71 corporate bankruptcies in March, marking the fourth straight month of increases ....
KEY POINTS Planned layoffs totaled 89,703 for the period, an increase of 15% from February, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.Job cuts have soared to 270,416 so far in 2023, an increase of 396% from the same period a year ago.The damage was especially bad in tech, which has announc....
The IMF’s managing director has warned that the global economy is facing years of slow growth, with medium-term prospects their weakest in more than 30 years. Speaking in Washington ahead of the World Bank and IMF spring meetings next week, Kristalina Georgieva said the world economy would ex....
Stocks ended the quarter on a positive note, after a stormy three months in which markets were whipsawed by strains in the banking system as well as shifting outlooks for inflation and interest rates. Government data early Friday showed the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, known as the core ....
(Bloomberg) -- Women created about half of new US businesses for the third year in a row in 2022, largely driven by a desire for flexibility and financial stability. That compares to just 29% before the pandemic, according to a survey by small business payroll firm Gusto Inc. And women are generally more l....
KEY POINTS Social Security’s combined funds that pay retirement, disability, and family benefits will be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2034, according to the program’s annual trustees report released on Friday.At that time, the program will be able to pay 80% of scheduled benef....
The numbers: The cost of U.S. goods and services rose by a milder 0.3% in February, perhaps a sign the Federal Reserve’s fight against high inflation is showing grudging progress. Prices had risen by a sharp 0.6% in January, based on the so-called PCE index. The yearly increase in prices declin....
Tech-heavy index rises 20% from its Dec. 28 closing lowTop megacap Nasdaq names rallied $600 billion this month The Nasdaq 100 Index surged into a new bull market Wednesday for the first time in nearly three years as traders pile into technology stocks and angst around the recent bank turbulence eases. The te....
Reconciling previously contradictory results, researchers from Penn and Princeton find a steady association between larger incomes and greater happiness for most people but a rise and plateau for an unhappy minority. Are people who earn more money happier in daily life? Though it seems like a straightforward question, research....
Sometimes individuals submit applications for Social Security retirement benefits but then have a change of heart. Perhaps they retired or perhaps they were laid off, but now a new opportunity has presented itself and they want to rejoin the workforce. Or perhaps they find retirement too boring and figure they might as well ret....
KEY POINTS As the cost of living remains high, 62% of Americans now say they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent report.More people have found a side hustle to help make ends meet, the report said.This is also a good time to make a few key changes to your spending ....
FASB on Monday released an amendment to an Accounting Standards Update designed to improve leases guidance on related party arrangements between entities under common control. The amended ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) was released after a post-implementation review of the ASU revealed concerns from stakeholders related to success....
KEY POINTS The IRS has issued roughly 54 million tax refunds worth about $158 billion.As of March 17, the average refund was $2,933, down from $3,305 at the same time last year.If you file an electronic, error-free return with direct deposit for your payment, you can expect to receive your refund w....
All eyes on currency markets for early read on risk appetiteJapanese yen, Swiss franc edge higher in early Monday trading Global financial markets are poised for another week of volatility, as traders close out a dizzying month in which worries about US and European lenders dominated sentiment and comp....
First Citizens has agreed to buy a $72 billion chunk of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, the California lender formerly known as Silicon Valley Bank that was taken over by the FDIC two weeks ago after depositors, in a crisis of confidence, made a run on it. SVB served as the lifeblood to thousa....
KEY POINTS When you’re on a tight budget, It can be tough to decide between retirement savings and your emergency fund — especially during periods of economic uncertainty.Although the 401(k) contribution limit jumped to $22,500 for 2023, experts say you shouldn’t forgo emergency savings to max out yo....
(Reuters) - Bank of America and UBS trimmed their terminal rate expectations on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted that it might pause its rate-hike campaign due to the turmoil in the banking sector. The Fed's benchmark rate stood in the range of 4.75-5% following a quarter percentage point hike on Wed....
Policymakers downgrade 2023 forecasts despite strong startEstimates imply a sharp slowdown through remainder of the year Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are expecting a sharp dropoff in economic activity through the rest of 2023 — at least, that’s the implication from new economic proje....
The Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation unit investigated nearly 1,000 tax and money laundering cases related to COVID-19 relief, with the alleged fraud totaling $3.2 billion. The 975 cases include a broad range of criminal activity, including fraudulently obtained loans, credits, and payments meant for....
62, 65, 67, 70. All these ages are important when it comes to Social Security and Medicare. And these ages are also targets in the contentious debate over how to shore up the shaky finances of the massive entitlement programs. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley recently zeroed in o....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a point at the end of its two-day policy meeting.A wide range of consumer finances — from mortgages and credit cards to student loans, auto loans, and savings — will be affected by the rate increase.Here’s a br....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve extended its year-long fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point despite concerns that higher borrowing rates could worsen the turmoil that has gripped the banking system. At a news conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell sought t....
Despite last year’s upheaval, many investors are sticking with long-term plans and tightening their budgets instead of moving money out of stocks and bonds. Heightened geopolitical tensions, soaring inflation, and the subsequent tightening of monetary conditions recently decimated the longest-running bull market in his....
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs is expecting a pause this week from the U.S. Federal Reserve after a year-long rate increase campaign as Wall Street banks scale back their hawkish expectations in the aftermath of the ongoing global banking turmoil. Bets of a 50 basis points rate hike at the start of the mo....
New York (CNN) — It’s difficult to overstate the influence that Silicon Valley Bank had over the startup world and the ripple effect its collapse this month had on the global tech sector and banking system. While SVB was largely known as a regional bank to those outside of the tight-knit venture capital sph....
Treasury secretary defends ‘decisive and forceful actions’ by regulators to avert broader crisis Shares of First Republic and other regional US banks rallied on Tuesday after Janet Yellen said the government stood ready to provide further support for smaller lenders if needed. In an intervention des....
The IRS should spend more of its $80 billion appropriation over 10 years on taxpayer services and business systems modernization and less on enforcement and operations, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said Thursday in a blog post. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169, which Congress....
When does doing a little work on vacation turn into a stay that piques the interest of local tax authorities? And does a U.K. company, for example, face tax complications abroad if they have staff and key decision-makers are dotted across Europe working remotely? National tax authorities and the Organization for Economi....
The collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank over the weekend continue to dominate headlines and send ripples through markets. But even before the pair of bank failures, 2023 was on track for a nasty year for corporate defaults across the globe. According to S&P Global Ratings, 23 companies ....
Before the pandemic, Logikcull had an office in downtown San Francisco and, like most tech companies, it had a lot of meetings. After the pandemic, the company bought out the office lease and 110 employees scattered across 40 states and four countries. Just as oth....
KEY POINTS The producer price index fell 0.1% for February, below the estimate for a 0.3% increase.Retail sales declined 0.4% for the month, in line with expectations, and pulled lower by drops in auto sales as well as bar and restaurant receipts.Finally, the Empire State Manufacturing survey f....
KEY POINTS Wage growth cooled last month, according to the February jobs report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.That trend aligns with signals from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Employment Cost Index, economists said.However, the broad job market remains strong for worker....
NEW YORK (AP) — Depositors withdrew savings and investors broadly sold off bank shares Monday as the federal government raced to reassure Americans that the banking system was secure after two bank failures fed fears that more financial institutions could fall. President Joe Biden insisted that the system was ....
Inflation eased in February but remained stubbornly high, presenting a challenge for the Federal Reserve as it confronts how to slow the economy with higher interest rates at the same time it moves to stem banking problems. The consumer-price index, a closely watched inflation gauge, rose 6% in February from a y....
A US court has ruled that "gig" economy giants including Uber and Lyft can continue treating their workers as independent contractors in the state of California. The California appeals court found that a labour measure, known as Proposition 22, was largely constitutional. Labour groups and some workers had opposed t....
If you sometimes feel like your days are being taken up by meeting after meeting, leaving you little time to get your actual work done, you're not alone. According to research, 70% of meetings are keeping employees from completing their tasks, and remote working has only exacerbated the problem....
73% of workers with a side hustle are actively thinking about quitting their job. 60% of workers said that they would rather quit their job than return to the office five days a week. A combination of low minimum wages and a rapidly increasing cost of living have made passive income a more attractive proposition than ever befor....
Overall, positivity about the U.S. economy remains muted, with just 23% of respondents to a recent survey saying they are optimistic about the domestic outlook for the next 12 months. That's an improvement from the fourth quarter, when just 12% expressed optimism. Also, 45% of respondents in the firs....
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden unveiled a $6.9 trillion budget proposal on Thursday, a defiant opening salvo in high-stakes negotiations with congressional Republicans over the debt ceiling and government funding. The proposal, certain to be rejected by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, sho....
Should you buy long-term care insurance or save up to self-insure? There are many trade-offs to consider. And, surprise: It doesn’t have to be one or the other. The decision on whether to buy long-term care insurance vs. self-insuring is a question many clients ask. If you can afford to self-insure based on your planning, then....
After hitting a historic low at the end of 2022, the outlook on the U.S. economy rebounded somewhat in February 2023, but concern about inflation remains high, according to the first-quarter Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey released Thursday by AICPA & CIMA, together as the A....
Private payrolls increased by 242,000 in February, per ADPGain led by hiring in leisure as well as larger-sized firms US companies added more jobs than expected in February, underscoring persistent demand for labor that’s keeping wage growth elevated. Private payrolls rose 242,000 last mon....
Although the most significant advantage is the limited liability protection it provides its shareholders, the S Corp election also avoids the double taxation incurred by C Corps. There are many reasons for your clients to claim an S Corp election. Although the most significant advantage is the limited liability protection it provides its ....
ChatGPT can write essays, poetry, letters, and more, so we posed the question—can it do our taxes? Our company, TaxBuzz, decided to take the technology for a test drive, asking, “What status I should use when filing my taxes?” It offered typical definitions of the IRS’ various filing options. Then came the best adv....
KEY POINTS Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday cautioned that interest rates are likely to head higher than central bank policymakers had expected.“If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the ....
As ChatGPT's trendiness questions the value of some parts of the workforce, the value of human intuition is also up for debate. As industries and executives explore how to use AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT best, the value of human intuition in the workplace has come into question. If technology....
Household debt rose to new levels in 20 years — jumping $394 billion in the fourth quarter of the year alone — driven by credit card balances and auto loans. A February 16 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data(opens in new tab), highlighted that U.S. household debt hit....
Cumberland, Rhode Island — Maryann O'Connor is juggling two jobs, sometimes working up to 11 hours per day, not what she expected to be doing at age 66. "I would hope to be retired, playing the piano again, just enjoying my life," O'Connor said. With no savings or 401(k) — not even enough to cover an eme....
I predict 2023 is going to be a year of reordering as the true breakthrough companies separate themselves from the rest of the pack while many others are acquired or fade away. It’s been a couple of years since I put forward a list of predictions, but 2023 is going to be such a defining year for the startup and venture....
This week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released its latest quarterly banking profile. That’s a survey of thousands of large and small banks that asks about profits, interest rates, and whether they’re lending more money (or less). Now, you might think in this era of rising interest ....
The first quarter of this year finds businesses confronting plenty of tax and business challenges. Rising interest rates and inflation continue to plague the economy, and many companies are already girding for a potential recession. The first step to forming a tax strategy should be understanding which issues will have the most impa....
Performance metrics are evolving. It’s time for financial leaders to do the same. In the digital economy, businesses are finding new paths to success. That means the metrics used to measure and steer performance need to change too — but many companies are still wedded to old-school key performance indicators (KPIs) that don....
The numbers: A key barometer of American factories was negative for the fourth month in a row at 47.7%, as manufacturers cut back on production to cope with a slower U.S. economy. The change in the ISM index has been corrected. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufa....
It's a tough pill to swallow, but the entire VC ecosystem is slowly accepting that it will be a long slog to return to the peak of pandemic-era valuations. In 2021, it was not unusual for companies to raise capital with lofty valuations, in some cases more than 100x revenue. But those days are long gone. The bes....
New York Times, I.R.S. Decision Not to Tax Certain Payments Carries Fiscal Cost: More than 20 state governments, flush with cash from federal stimulus funds and a rebounding economy, shared their windfalls last year by sending residents one-time payments. This year, the Biden administration adde....
The U.S. Supreme Court held Tuesday in a 5-4 decision that the $10,000 penalty for a non-willful failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) for foreign accounts accrues per report, not per account (Bittner, No. 21-1195 (U.S. 2/28/23)). The decision resolves a split between th....
(Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in February, with the decrease concentrated among lower-middle-income households, though Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market. The survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday also showed consumers apprehensive about buying big-ticket items l....
(Reuters) - Collapsing ocean shipping rates would seem to be good news for U.S. retailers, but they are now bracing for delays as some carriers try to prop up prices by canceling voyages. Retailers had paid as much as $20,000 to move a container of goods during the worst pandemic disruptions. C....
This decision isn’t easy, thanks to investment, tax, and other considerations. Let’s explore the implications of each. After 40 years of sitting in traffic and punching the clock, you will sit and punch no more. While your home was great for raising a family and earning a living, you’ve decided to relocate i....
KEY POINTS It’s not too late for families struggling to afford college next year to apply for financial assistance or ask the college financial aid office for more money.Here’s how to craft your approach. Getting into college is hard enough, but figuring out how to pay for it is another hurdle altog....
WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of the nation’s business economists expect a U.S. recession to begin later this year than they had previously forecast after a series of reports have pointed to a surprisingly resilient economy despite steadily higher interest rates. Fifty-eight percent of 48 economists who res....
KEY POINTS Retirees who are considering employment have been out of the workforce for an average of four years, according to a study from Paychex.If you’re among them and don’t need the money, it’s worth looking only at jobs that are low-stress and flexible, experts say.It’s importa....
Economists raise PCE price projections through the middle of 2024Terminal fed funds rate seen reaching 5.25% at May meeting Inflation that is proving increasingly stubborn will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to an even higher peak level and hold them there through the year, accor....
Average retirement account balances dropped nearly 25 percent last year, according to a new report by Fidelity. Although retirement balances increased in the fourth quarter of 2022, the average balance of individual retirement accounts (IRA) dropped by 23 percent from the fourth quarter of 2021, accor....
Many people use their primary email to sign in to practically everything. That’s a privacy nightmare, and you might be shocked to see how easily someone can use it to effectively stalk you and violate your privacy. Your Email Can Be Used to Identify Which Services You Use Typically when people talk about serious p....
KEY POINTS The Supreme Court ruled that an offshore oil rig worker who earned more than $200,000 annually — and who was classified by his company as a “bona fide executive” — is entitled to overtime pay for having worked more than 40 hours per week.Helix Energy Solutions Group a....
Business owners can apply for their Employer Identification Number in minutes and use it to hire employees, borrow, pay taxes, and more. As a business owner, it is critical that you keep your business and personal lives separate. One of the best ways to do that is to get an Employer Identification N....
The final regulations reflect changes made by the Taxpayer First Act that strengthen e-filing requirements. The IRS and the Treasury Department on Tuesday issued final regulations pertaining to companies filing returns and other documents electronically starting in 2024. The final regulations impact filers o....
(Reuters) - Is the IPO winter finally easing? A year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and an inflation rally fueled a bout of market volatility that prevented most initial public offerings in 2022, last week saw a flurry of listings. It is 15 months since there was a busier week, according to Dealogic data. Five IPOs, includ....
Taxpayers and tax practitioners can now submit information online in response to nine notices rather than mailing the information, in a change that could potentially help over 500,000 filers annually, the IRS announced. In IR-2023-29, a news release issued Thursday, the Service said the option will ....
Sometimes you just can’t avoid dipping into a retirement fund, but you might be able to qualify for an exception to the 10% tax penalty. Pulling money from your pre-tax retirement accounts before age 59½ should be done only as a last resort since it can end up triggering both a 10% penalty as well as ordinary income....
The IRS will not meet the Friday deadline imposed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to turn over its spending plan for approximately $80 billion that Congress budgeted for it to spend over 10 years as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, P.L. 117-169. In an email to the JofA on Thursday after....
(Bloomberg) -- Two of the Federal Reserve’s most hawkish policymakers signaled they may favor returning to bigger interest-rate hikes in the future, and said they saw the case for raising rates by a half-point at the central bank’s meeting earlier this month. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said Thursd....
Dow’s reliance on blue chips is doing it a disservice in 2023The Dow outperformed the S&P by 11 percentage points in 2022 When the stock market reeled last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average became a place where many found shelter. As risk appetite returns in 2023, they can’t exit fast enough. ....
Three types of people could benefit from taking advantage of the after-tax 401(k) contributions option in their company’s retirement plan. The 401(k) has evolved over the past few decades, offering flexibility in the way American workers can save for retirement. More companies are offering their workers more than one option on h....
KEY POINTS Retail sales rose 3% in January, easily topping the 1.9% Dow Jones estimate, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.The numbers are not adjusted for inflation, meaning that consumers outpaced the 0.5% inflation rate for the month.Foodservice and drinking places, motor vehicle a....
Consumer prices rose at a more rapid monthly pace in January, the Labor Department said on Tuesday — interrupting a monthslong streak of cooler inflation readings. By the numbers: The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% last month, as prices for food, energy, and apparel accelerated at a more rapid pace. In the 12 month....
If you ask John Chambers, the startup world is about to be hit with a cataclysm: Within the next two years, at least a third of all startups will die. That's a natural consequence of the last few years of record-breaking venture investing, said Chambers, the former CEO of Cisco Sys....
Many workers who quit last year in the so-called Great Resignation are now reporting Great Regret as Big Tech layoffs reduce coveted work-from-home positions. According to a survey of 825 employees and 354 employers that the human resources firm Paychex released last month, 80% of employees who left their jobs....
A new study co-authored by Wharton’s Daniel G. Garrett shows that giving businesses tax breaks for investment in new equipment doesn’t lead them to replace workers with machines. A new paper by experts at Wharton and elsewhere has set to rest “widespread concerns” that increased capital investment in equipm....
Jim Detert just wants to set the record straight. The University of Virginia professor, who holds a joint appointment in the Darden School of Business and the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, has spent the last few years reading about a couple of trendy terms in the business world tha....
KEY POINTS Inflation rose in January by 0.5% following a 0.1% increase in December, according to the consumer price index report released Tuesday.The CPI was up 6.4% from the same period in 2022. Both numbers were higher than expected.Across-the-board increases in shelter, food, and energy boosted ....
The IRS has determined that in the interest of sound tax administration and other factors, taxpayers in many states will not need to report these payments on their 2022 tax returns. After several days of requests by taxpayers, state agencies, and the National Taxpayer Advocate, the Internal Revenue Service has provided ....
KEY POINTS A rollover from a 401(k) plan to an IRA is a common maneuver when switching jobs or retiring.People are still quitting their jobs at an elevated rate, continuing a pandemic-era labor trend known as the Great Resignation.There are many financial reasons for keeping money in a 401(k) or moving it to ....
The IRS has asked a tax group for information from 21 states as it works to determine whether special tax refunds or payments that states made in 2022 as part of state pandemic relief measures are taxable for federal purposes. Meanwhile, the national taxpayer advocate on Thursday criticized the IRS for delayi....
The Federal Reserve has raised rates rapidly. But instead of cracking, some data point to an economy that’s thriving. Many economists and investors had a clear narrative coming into 2023: The Federal Reserve had spent months pushing borrowing costs rapidly higher in a bid to tame inflation, and those moves wer....
US government bond investors pushed two-year yields above 10-year yields by the widest margin since the early 1980s Thursday, a sign of flagging confidence in the economy’s ability to withstand additional Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes. The yield on the shorter-dated Treasury at one point exceeded the....
A new report documents systemic discrimination in how the I.R.S. selects taxpayers to be audited, with implications for a debate on the agency’s funding. Black taxpayers are at least three times as likely to be audited by the Internal Revenue Service as other taxpayers, even after accounting for ....
WASHINGTON — In the latest improvement for taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that people electronically filing their Form 1040-X, Amended U.S Individual Income Tax Return, will for the first time be able to select direct deposit for any....
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Reflecting on their personal financial situations, 35% of Americans say they are better off now than they were a year ago, while 50% are worse off. Since Gallup first asked this question in 1976, it has been rare for half or more of Americans to say they are worse off. The only other times this occurred ....
Federal taxability of state-issued stimulus payments is causing frustration for taxpayers and tax professionals. Indeed, whether or not state-issued stimulus payments are federally taxable may be the most asked question of this filing season. For California’s taxpayers, the frustration and confusion boiled ove....
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied to a convincingly higher close on Tuesday, but trade was choppy as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about how long the central bank may need to tame inflation. Powell said 2023 should be a year of "significant declines in inflati....
Data last week showed that the unemployment rate stands at a 53-year low. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen rejected recession fears in an interview with "Good Morning America" on Monday, saying the economy remains "strong and resilient." A blockbuster jobs r....
Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the risk of a US recession is receding amid a persistently strong jobs market and signs of improving business sentiment. The Goldman team led by Jan Hatzius cut its estimate for the probability of a recession in the next 12 months to 25% from 35%. By contrast, Blo....
Wall Street regulator is revisiting how proposals would affect financial reporting The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a softening of planned rules requiring companies to disclose the effects of extreme weather and other costs related to global warming when the regulator completes its clim....
After a strong jobs report, traders are betting the Fed might raise interest rates two more times this year The U.S. labor market remains incredibly strong. Investors can’t decide if that is a good or bad thing. At first glance, Friday’s jobs report seemed to have very little for money managers to dislike. The ....
The federal research and development (R&D) Tax Credit is a useful credit for businesses of all sizes. The credit is designed to help organizations that engage in a range of activities, such as developing new products, processes, software, and more. In addition to providing a dollar-for-dollar reduction in a company’s tax li....
Starting in January, the IRS has answered calls to its Practitioner Priority Service telephone line in under 10 minutes, thanks to new hires and the blocking of line-jumping services, the man who leads much of the agency's taxpayer response said. Kenneth Corbin, the taxpayer experience officer for the IRS and i....
Financial Accounting Standards Board proposes that U.S. companies use fair-value accounting to measure certain cryptocurrency assets The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to propose a new rule on cryptocurrency accounting and disclosure, creating new guidance for companies holding these assets and providing more d....
President Joe Biden dislikes them. The taxman is coming after them. And Wall Street strategists warn the boom won’t last. Yet against all odds, Corporate America continues to splurge on its own shares — a force that has fueled the new year rally. In the first month of 2023, announced bu....
KEY POINTS Payroll growth is expected to have slowed to 187,000 new jobs in January, from 223,000 in December.But some economists, like those at Goldman Sachs, expect the employment report Friday morning could show more jobs than consensus because it is unclear how many compa....
Strategies around talent recruitment and retainment are a principal focus for CFOs, according to a new study by CFO. Competition for talent, primarily financial, has never been more intense. Alongside industries like private equity reporting fierce battles in finding and keeping talent as of late, CFOs, regard....
The law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA),1 enacted in 2017, made significant changes to the corporate and individual tax structures. Corporate tax rates were reduced from a maximum rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT) and the domestic production activities deduction were elimina....
The Fed has raised interest rates to cut prices but the move risks a recession. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it was raising its short-term borrowing rate another 0.25%, the central bank's second consecutive decision to slow rate increases while extending an effort to cool the economy and dial back inflation. The....
WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a nine-month low last week as the labor market remains resilient despite higher borrowing costs and mounting fears of a recession this year. The surprise decline in weekly jobless claims report....
CHICAGO/DETROIT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The companies that produce goods at the heart of the U.S. consumer economy - SUVs, washing machines, heavy equipment, and hamburgers - kept rolling along at the end of 2022. But corporate executives on conference calls were guarded in their comments on Tuesday, noting so....
(Bloomberg) -- The share of Americans who say they live paycheck-to-paycheck climbed last year, and most of the new arrivals in that category were among the country’s higher earners, a new study shows. Some 64% of US consumers — equivalent to 166 million people — were living paycheck-to-paycheck at the e....
Stocks rose on Tuesday as strong earnings and encouraging inflation data pushed the S&P 500 to its best January since 2019. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 368.95 points, or 1.09%, to 34,086.04. The S&P 500 gained 1.46% to 4,076.60. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.67% to 11,584.55,....
Wall Street Journal, Who Goes First on Your Joint Tax Return? Probably Not the Woman. The IRS doesn’t care, so why do most people put the man first on 1040? Even Kamala Harris goes second to the second gentleman. When calculating federal income taxes, it makes absolutely no difference which spo....
Once the current bout ends, price increases are likely to remain lowSays Covid-19 created ‘unusual’ and ‘extreme’ imbalances US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said persistently weak inflation is likely to return as a long-term challenge for the economy and policymakers once pandemic-era distortions behind t....
If something’s going to be painful, it’s easier to bear if it’s of short duration, at least in some contexts. Economic recessions generally follow that rule, but not always. A short, deep recession can leave a lot of scars, as the pandemic one did. Long and relatively deep recessions are the worst ones — the Great Depression ....
The business interest expense deductibility limitation provisions of Sec. 163(j) have taken on a broader scope since the passage of the law known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97. Under the TCJA, many businesses that rely on debt financing and historically received interest expense deductions associated....
“It’s safe to assume your Social Security number is in the hands of someone you don’t want to have it,” one expert said. If you've been debating whether to file your taxes early this year, tax experts say there are now several reasons that might be a good idea. The biggest one is the ris....
(Reuters) - U.S. central bankers have unambiguously telegraphed this week's policy decision: a quarter-of-a-percentage-point increase in their benchmark interest rate, the smallest since they kicked off their tightening cycle 10 months ago with one the same size. Less clear is whether they will continue to sig....
SECURE Act 2.0 includes numerous significant provisions affecting individual retirement savers. Following is a brief roundup of several key changes. SECURE Act 20 is finally here. The long-awaited upgrade to the initial legislation known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, passed in 2019, was ....
Dow, IBM, and SAP say they will lay off thousands of workers as belt-tightening becomes the new business priority Dow Inc., DOW 1.46%increase; green up pointing triangle International Business Machines Corp. IBM -0.04%decrease; red down-pointing triangle and SAP SAP -0.78%decrease; red down-pointing triangle ....
The U.S. economy grew at a seemingly snappy pace in the waning months of 2022, but it appears to have gotten off to a tepid start in the new year. The first batch of reports on the health of the economy in the first quarter suggests the U.S. could even contract again. Gross domestic product, the official scorecard o....
Many people resolve in the new year to get healthier. Taking charge of your financial wellness can help improve your physical health by lowering your anxiety about money issues. New Year’s resolutions about taking better care of your health, reducing stress, or just “prioritizing self-care” are all very popu....
CFOs should be aware of these data points on employment trends, CPI, and productivity going into 2023. CFOs are number-centric, data-driven thinkers. Through our Wednesday newsletters, we have brought you extensive content surrounding data, statistics, and the corresponding trends emerging from that data. Below are four charts that provide....
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell to its lowest level in more than four months, giving some relief to homebuyers faced with higher prices for just about everything, including homes. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.13% on Thursday from 6.15% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddi....
A majority of Americans say they would struggle to pay for a $1,000 emergency expense, with a record share saying they would have to turn to credit cards to cover the cost, according to a new study released Wednesday. Only 4 in 10 Americans said they could cover an emergency of $1,000 or more....
Financial literacy and greater longevity awareness will help fix retirement planning gaps, according to a study that delved into multiple dimensions of undersaving. Many Americans head into their retirement years with little rigor in their planning, and then they find themselves nursing a bundle of regrets. Those regrets ....
Being considered rich isn’t just about how much money you make, it’s where you live, too. State by state, the incomes the top 1% of earners in the U.S. bring in vary by over a half million dollars, according to a new analysis of 2022 incomes by personal finance website SmartAss....
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that businesses can now file Form 1099 series information returns using a new online portal, available free from the IRS. Known as the Information Returns Inta....
CFOs are widely focused on reducing costs, spotting M&A opportunities, and restructuring supply chains, per Grant Thornton. The overall economy — and the issues it creates — are arguably the largest challenge for CFOs this year. Yet confidence to achieve growth is prevalent among financial executives, according to recen....
Investors and retirement savers have many tools at their disposal to whittle their incomes down to a point where capital gains are taxed at a 0% tax rate. The magic number for couples? $83,350. One of the greatest expenses business owners and retirees alike face is income taxes. That’s why a forward-thinking tax planner is so valuab....
KEY POINTS Tax experts say most IRS audits are different from how they’re portrayed in the movies.While the Oscar-nominated film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” includes an in-person IRS audit, many happen by mail or rem....
Consternation and chaos are two of the words used to describe some of the reactions to IRS updates related to Schedules K-2 and K-3. On this collaboration episode with the Tax Section Odyssey podcast, CPAs Tim Chan of KPMG and David Sites of Grant Thornton talk about the particulars with April Walker, CPA, CGMA, lead manager....
KEY POINTS When it comes to credit scores, there are a few things many borrowers often get wrong, experts say.Here are the top misconceptions and why it’s so hard to set the record straight. Randy had an 850 credit score. According to FICO, the most popular scoring model, that’s as goo....
All it takes is protecting what you save, having an income plan, knowing your health care options, reducing your tax burden, and making an estate plan. Planning for retirement is actually pretty simple. Just answer the question in the headline above with a resounding “Yes!” and you’re good to go. The prob....
The Biden administration is focusing on making the agency more responsive amid concerns that a funding increase will result in more audits. WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is aiming to significantly improve customer service at the Internal Revenue Service as the 2023 tax season begins on Mond....
As they debate the size of their next rate hike, Federal Reserve officials grapple with the broader needs of an economy expected to keep slowing The Federal Reserve spent most of last year in emergency mode, scrambling to catch up to inflation. Now central bankers agree that the phase of their work is wrapping up. ....
The pause in the stock market’s strong start to 2023 underscores the main question vexing much of Wall Street: When will it be safe to start buying again? Yes, markets have grown increasingly confident that the slowdown in inflation will allow the Federal Reserve to soon end the cycle of aggressive int....
KEY POINTS Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday he favors a quarter percentage point interest rate increase at the next meeting, confirming market expectations.“Beyond that, we still have a considerable way to go toward our 2 percent inflation goal, and I expect to support the cont....
Americans are piling on credit-card debt just as interest rates are reaching historic highs. Multiple polls show American consumers sinking deeper into credit card debt. A new survey from Bankrate, the consumer finance company, found 46 percent of cardholders carrying credit-card balances from m....
Hybrid work is here to stay. That’s the prediction from Wharton management professor Martine Haas, who was asked to share what she thinks will be the biggest workplace trend of 2023. Although the mix of remote and in-person work can be challenging, she said, the hybrid has emerged as a legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A lot of compa....
The bigger and better child tax credit that applied for 2021 is gone, replaced by a new set of rules for taking the credit on 2022 returns. The IRS's tax filing season is upon us. The agency starts accepting individual tax returns for 2022 on January 23. And the filing deadline for most individual returns is....
Getting an early start on laying the groundwork for your exit is imperative. Empowering others to make decisions and delegating responsibilities also play key roles. If you’re a small-business owner approaching retirement, it’s important to start thinking about how to avoid common smal....
It’s the beginning of every American’s favorite time of the year to hate: tax season. The IRS will begin accepting tax returns for the 2022 tax year on January 24th. Here are three of the biggest tax filing mistakes people make. 1) Missing last-minute tax-saving opportunities. While it’s too late to influence most of ....
The Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation unit is increasingly relying on information provided by financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act to uncover tax-related crimes such as money laundering and drug trafficking. IRS-CI chief Jim Lee presented statistics Wednesday showing that 15.8% of all investigati....
Agency estimates new rule could increase workers’ earnings by nearly $300 billion per year The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that would ban employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers, a widespread and often exploitative practice that suppresses wages, hamp....
Geopolitical risks are driving efforts to diversify but there are no quick solutions It is a year since New York Federal Reserve economists unveiled the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index. The barometer of port backlogs and freight costs, looking back over 25 years, showed that constraints on moving goods around the gl....
Multinational companies still want cheap and efficient markets, but they also want safety. That’s why they’re rerouting the pathways of global trade and finance. The future looked bright to all parties when Alphabet Inc.’s Google joined with Facebook Inc. and a Hong Kong partner in 2016 to build an 8,000-mile-long und....
The first decline in 60 years is set to have long-term consequences for domestic and global economies China’s population fell in 2022 for the first time in decades a historic shift that is expected to have long-term consequences for the domestic and global economies. The world’s most populous country has long been a crucia....
(Bloomberg) -- More than 5 million businesses were created in the US last year, a sign that the entrepreneurship boom spawned by the pandemic may be long-lasting. New business applications rose by 44% from 2019 to 2022, with the sharpest increases in Southern states, according to US Census Bureau figures releas....
Become familiar with this hybrid type of pension plan and its advantages for the right businesses. Many successful business owners and professionals begin their high-earning years belatedly because of lengthy educational requirements and initial careers as employees. Financial planning for this group may come late, but there are effec....
The annual rite of filing a federal tax return is kicking into full swing, and this time, millions of Americans will need to adjust their expectations. Stimulus checks are no more. Generous credits for children and for childcare and dependent expenses, mostly daycare, have shrunk to pre-pa....
KEY POINTS Longevity can have a greater impact on how long retirement money lasts than today’s record-high inflation, according to a new report.Surya Kolluri, head of the TIAA Institute, recommends a three-pronged approach to savings combining Social Secur....
(Bloomberg) -- The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting began in Davos with corporate executives and economists warning a global recession is likely this year. Of 4,410 business leaders surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in October and November last year, 73% predicted global growth to decline over the ....
Many people believe willpower is fixed and finite. Yet powerful strategies exist that can help us increase it. We all face demanding days that seem designed to test our self-control. Perhaps you are a barista, and you have some particularly rude and demanding customers, but you manage to keep your poise throughout. Or maybe you are ....
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced Monday, January 23, 2023, as the beginning of the nation's 2023 tax season when the agency will begin accepting and processing 2022 tax year returns. More than 168 million individual tax returns are....
Housing is only one of the many costs of sending a child to college, but it is also an area that presents parents with numerous options. A student can live in a dormitory on campus or rent an apartment, or her parents can buy property for her to live in. Although dorms and apartments are generally simple arrangement....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index fell 0.1% in December, meeting expectations, for the biggest drop since April 2020.Excluding food and energy, core CPI rose 0.3%, also in line with estimates.On an annual basis, headline CPI rose 6.5% while core increased 5.7%.The biggest reason for the easing ....
KEY POINTS More than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries are getting a boost to their benefits this month.Here's when you can expect your check. Starting this month, more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries will receive benefit checks that incl....
The IRS will begin the 2023 filing season in much better shape than it was a year ago, with a greatly reduced backlog, a funding increase from Congress, and more workers, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said Wednesday in her annual report to Congress. The improvements will not be immediate for various....
CFOs should be aware of these data points on employment trends, CPI, and productivity going into 2023. FOs are number-centric, data-driven thinkers. Through our Wednesday newsletters, we have brought you extensive content surrounding data, statistics, and the corresponding trends emerging from that data. Below are four charts that provide ....
In addition, one in 10 small businesses went viral on TikTok organically, according to a new survey from Capterra. A new survey from Capterra, an online marketplace for the enterprise software industry, found that 78% of small businesses that run ads on TikTok have already realized a positive return on investmen....
KEY POINTS Phishing attacks, where a cybercriminal sends a deceptive message that’s designed to fool a user into providing sensitive information such as credit card numbers or to launch malware on the user’s system, are on the rise.There was a 61% increase in the rate of phishing at....
KEY POINTS While there are higher 401(k) contribution limits for 2023, you shouldn’t skip building an emergency fund just to max out your retirement plan, experts say. If your rainy day fund is short, experts suggest contributing enough to your 401(k) to get the full company match and then diverting money i....
(Bloomberg) -- There wasn’t much sunshine in the stack of Wall Street forecasts that predicted 2023 would bring a global economic contraction and rough going for risk assets. But as January trading picks up steam, a small cadre of optimists is breaking away from consensus and betting a soft landing can deliver marke....
(Bloomberg) -- Bond-market bulls are getting an early taste of what they expect to be a winning trade of 2023. On Friday, shorter-dated Treasuries led a broad market rally after the jobs report for December showed a slowdown in wage growth and a gauge of the service-sector economy unexpectedly shrank. The data....
The 2022 tax year has ended and tax professionals everywhere are encouraging their small business clients to close their books and start thinking about their tax returns. In a perfect world, these clients have worked with their tax and accounting professionals throughout the year to optimize their small business taxes. Of cour....
Low-income wage-earners taking the earned income tax credit had a higher-than-expected audit rate, the report says. Of the more than 164 million individual income tax returns filed with the IRS last year, only 626,204 were audited—down from 659,003 during the fiscal year 2021, according to a report released on Jan. 4 by the Tran....
KEY POINTS As the Federal Reserve remains committed to raising interest rates to combat inflation, credit card rates will hit fresh highs in the year ahead.Soon, annual percentage rates will surpass 20%, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst said.Here’s the best ....
Despite return-to-office initiatives and hybrid work models, virtual meetings are still on the rise. Despite some organizations going as far as to tell employees to turn down meetings they find unbeneficial, executives and their employees seem to be in more virtual meetings than ever before. A recent analysis from the Harvard....
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, P.L. 117-328, enacted on Dec. 29 included (as its Division T) the Secure 2.0 Act, which contains several retirement and tax provisions. The Secure 2.0 provisions mostly focus on expanding coverage, increasing retirement savings, and simplifying and clarifying retirement plan r....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials suggested at their most recent meeting that a continuing streak of robust hiring could keep inflation elevated and was a key reason why they expected to raise interest rates this year more than they had previously forecast. In the minutes of their mid-December m....
KEY POINTS Higher mortgage rates and consumer worries are hitting home prices.Prices are now 2.5% below the spring 2022 peak and are expected to continue to move lower this year.Mortgage rates are back on the rise again after a brief reprieve in November and early December. Home ....
If the 'secondary' spouse makes a balance-due payment to the IRS, it may not get credited to their account. Taxpayers who file as married filing jointly and make a balance-due payment online may find their payment somehow does not get credited to their account. That's if they fail to understand a certain unwritten rule....
New York (CNN) — Many CEOs, investors, and consumers are worried about a recession in 2023. But Moody’s Analytics says the more likely scenario is a “slow session,” where growth grinds to a near halt but a full economic downturn is narrowly avoided. “Under almost any scenario, the economy is set to have a....
KEY POINTS As the calendar turns to a new year, about half of all states are expected to implement a higher minimum wage.Here’s where hourly pay is increasing amid a push for a higher federal minimum rate. As the calendar turns to 2023, workers in more than half of all s....
65.5 cents per mile driven for business use, up 3 cents from the midyear increase setting the rate for the second half of 2022. The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2023 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purpose....
More than two-thirds of economists at 23 major financial institutions expect the U.S. to have a downturn this year Big banks are predicting that an economic downturn is fast approaching. More than two-thirds of the economists at 23 large financial institutions that do business directly with the Federal Reserve are betting the ....
Generally, investors in activities such as real estate in which they don’t materially participate can only take deductions up to the amount of their passive income for the year. The IRS often scrutinizes large deductions for rental real estate losses claimed by so-called “real estate professionals.” In a new case involvin....
Retail sales jumped despite inflation hitting 7.1% in November Retail sales jumped 7.6% during the critical holiday season that runs from Nov. 1 to Christmas Eve, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks sales across all payment types. Americans chose to eat out during the holiday....
This chart shows an estimated timeline for when a taxpayer is likely to receive their refund, based on information we have now, and using projections based on previous years- and depending on when a person files their return. It’s still a bit too early to think about it, but in case you are ....
The IRS on Friday announced a delay in the $600 reporting threshold for third-party settlement organizations, which had been in effect for the 2022 calendar year. As a result, the IRS says third-party settlement organizations will not have to report the tax year 2022 transactions on a Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party Netw....
The Fed will keep fighting inflation, and the unemployment rate will rise. But there are positive trends on the horizon. If 2022 was the year U.S. investors came around to the reality of entrenched inflation and a reactionary Federal Reserve, 2023 will be the year they learn to live with both. Neither ....
Third-quarter GDP was previously reported to have increased by 2.9% The U.S. economy grew at a faster pace in the third quarter than previously reported as American consumers continued to spend even in the face of painfully high inflation and rising interest rates. Gross domestic p....
Rate of inflation slows again to 5.5% from 6.1% The numbers: A key gauge of U.S. prices rose just 0.1% in November, marking the fifth month in a row in which inflation eased after peaking at a 40-year high over the summer. The yearly rate of inflation, meanwhile, slowed to 5.5% in November from 6.1% in the prio....
When is a company allowed to report as deductions on a tax return the expenses that have been incurred during the time leading up to getting the doors open for business? In other words, when can startup costs be deducted by a new business? This question should be addressed by every startup company. The costs associated with investigating a new busin....
Consider these seven retirement portfolio management strategies for a recession. The U.S. economy is getting a head start on a New Year’s hangover, with economists calling for hard times in 2023. According to the Conference Board, there’s a 96% chance the U.S. economy will slip into a recession in 2023. Addi....
The Federal Reserve’s super-sized interest rates are not scaring most companies into cutting back on spending, according to a survey released on Wednesday. About two-thirds of chief financial officers say the current level of interest rates has not impacted their spending plans, according to the CFO Survey....
Consecutive down years are rare for US stocks, so after this year’s drop, there’s only a low probability they will decline again in 2023. Yet if they do, history shows that investors will have to brace for another very unpleasant 12 months. Since 1928, the S&P 500 Index has only fallen for two str....
The new year promises many changes for the IRS, including a new commissioner (nominated, at least) and billions of dollars to spend with just two months left to develop a plan for spending it. And one big and old problem: a backlog of mail and a backed-up phone system that leaves taxpayers and practitione....
An unexpected loss can send you spinning, but knowing where you stand and where to turn financially if something happens could ease some of the stress. As an adviser, I stress the importance of a well-thought-out, long-term plan to keep financial goals and objectives “on track,”, especially during a....
Putting 60 percent of a portfolio in stocks and 40 percent in bonds is supposed to hedge against both assets dropping simultaneously. But it didn't pan out that way in 2022. Inflation and rising interest rates whacked both asset classes, and a Bloomberg index tracking a 60/40 mix is down about 17 percent for the year. But s....
The amount of money workers are demanding to switch jobs has been escalating — recently hitting a new eight-year high amid powerful inflation and the prospect of a recession. Asked about the minimum pay they would accept to switch to a new job, workers, on average, said they would need $73,700, the....
KEY POINTS High inflation outpaced a record Social Security cost-of-living adjustment this year.Here are the prices that rose the fastest for households ages 65 and up. Amid record-high inflation, stretching Social Security benefit checks became more difficult....
A second marriage means a new financial plan. Read below to see how this couple navigates building one. Second marriages can be challenging. Throw in a young second family, older kids from a previous first marriage, intense work schedules and personalities and you have a potentially combustible situation. Now consider the desire to do financ....
Across the world, governments have intervened to mitigate the effects of inflation on businesses and consumers. Price tags are seen as a woman shops at a local market in Nice, France, on 7 June 2022. Pandemic-related disruptions to global supply chains and the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine have driven up price....
There’s still time. You’ve got two weeks left to take capital losses, using them to cut your 2022 tax bill. This is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. It’s not just that a tax year deadline is approaching. I think the whole technique of loss harvesting is endangered. It’s easy to prey for the next round of “tax reform....
BlackRock Inc. thinks markets are too complacent about inflation staying high for longer and is maximizing assets hedging that risk. While its strategists acknowledge that a decline in US prices is playing out faster than expected, they are sticking to a view that inflation will remain above central bank targets. That’s leading the....
KEY POINTS In addition to being a time for celebration, the year-end holidays are a good time to reevaluate your finances in partnership with your financial advisor.Asking these five key questions about your money management and your advisor relationship could get you in financial shape for 2....
FASB made several tentative board decisions Wednesday related to its project on the disclosure of cryptoassets, and the board agreed to create an exposure draft for a related Accounting Standards Update. At the AICPA & CIMA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments earlier in the week, FASB staff....
KEY POINTS About 88% of 401(k) plans allowed employees to save in a Roth account in 2021, almost double the share a decade earlier, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America.Almost 28% of workers participating in a 401(k) plan made Roth contributions in 2021, u....
Tax experts sound off on the funding the IRS will get from Congress and what it could mean for the 2023 tax season. The IRS has about 80 billion reasons to be thankful this holiday season. That’s because President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Aug. 16, which includes a provision to allocate roughly $79.6 billion to the tax a....
Taxpayers claim that IRS penalties are not warranted for many reasons. One of the biggest and most misunderstood is the defense that a tax position was based on reasonable cause and that you acted in good faith. Those seem like friendly, easy-to-understand words, but they are actually terms of art. Even if a taxpayer thinks he....
Inflation in the United States hit a record high in June 2022. Consumer prices soared by 9.1% compared with a year prior — the largest annual increase since 1981. While wages are rising, they’re not keeping up with inflation. Wage growth has been consistent with an inflation rate of about 4.....
In 2021, I published a piece about the top myths regarding the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) that was preventing business owners, charity managers, and Indian tribes from claiming this important tax incentive. Now, the misinformation has gone the other way, and businesses (as well as tax-exempt/charities and Native American tribes....
The Federal Reserve is going slower but aiming higher. The Fed raised its key short-term interest rate by half a percentage point Wednesday, dialing back from recent outsize hikes as it draws up an end game in its aggressive campaign to tame soaring infl....
US credit card and personal-loan delinquencies are likely to rise in 2023 to the highest in a dozen years, with lenders cutting back on originations as a potential recession looms. Serious card delinquencies are expected to climb to 2.6% at the end of next year from 2.1% at the close of 2022, according to a forec....
Tax withholding rules mean that a portion of your announced bonus pay won’t make it into your bank account. For some fortunate workers, December means that a year-end bonus is on the way. That can be considered good news (especially since some companies are cutting budgets, laying off workers, or scrapping bonuses altogether). ....
KEY POINTS If you’re living together before marriage or committed long-term without plans to tie the knot, you’ll need to prepare for the future, experts say.Michelle Petrowski, a certified financial planner at the Phoenix-based financial firm Being in Abundan....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index rose just 0.1% from the previous month, and increased 7.1% from a year ago, compared with respective estimates of 0.3% and 7.3%.Core CPI rose 0.2% on the month and 6% on an annual basis, compared with respective estimates of 0.3% and 6.1%.Stocks roared higher follo....
Talent, technology, and ESG remain top concerns against a backdrop of economic pessimism. During the past two years, we’ve witnessed Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, a clogged global supply chain, rising prices at the gas pump and in grocery stores, soaring housing costs, and increased spending as the COVID-19 pandemic eased. These soc....
Morningstar researchers say higher interest rates and lower equity evaluations will make starting with a 3.8% withdrawal rate safe for a balanced saver over a 30-year time horizon. Morningstar’s annual model of how much a retiree with a balanced portfolio should withdraw over a 30-year time horizon increased t....
The penalty for fairly innocent goofs can run into millions of dollars. Is there any limit to how unpleasant the IRS can be with people who pay all their taxes but don’t fill out the forms correctly? Monica Toth, 82, is a naturalized American whose family escaped the Nazis. The Boston area resident prepared her own tax returns, by hand,....
KEY POINTS Social Security beneficiaries will soon see bigger checks to help them cope with record-high inflation.As Social Security statements roll in, you should troubleshoot for errors that can cost you.Also, keep in mind that higher inc....
2023 is set to be a tough year economically. Here’s how to get your financial and life plans in the best possible shape. There's no escaping the fact 2023 is going to be challenging, but focusing on financial planning for the new year could help. From soaring inflation and rising interest rates to the ong....
’Tis the season to be spending. Holiday retail sales are predicted to soar as high as $960 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. In 2021, overall holiday spending reached a record $889 billion. Americans are expected to spend about $1,455 each this season, according to Deloitte....
The percentage of audits found to have deficiencies during PCAOB inspections is expected to increase approximately 25% year-over-year, according to a board staff report released Thursday. The report said the PCAOB expects about 55% of 690 engagements reviewed for 2021 to have one or more Part I. A or Part I.B deficie....
Whether you are considered rich depends on how you measure it – and the bar for that is changing. Have a look at the numbers that define who's wealthy today. This is a question that many people ask themselves in quiet moments but would never have enough nerve to say out loud. What does “being rich” mean? As it turns out, the ....
KEY POINTS After two years of pandemic-fueled, double-digit growth in Bank of America card volume, “the rate of growth is slowing,” CEO Brian Moynihan said.While retail payments surged 11% so far this year to nearly $4 trillion, that increase obscures a slowdown that be....
Back in January, 109 container ships waited off the California coast to unload cargo in Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s two largest ports. Consumers, stuck at home amid the pandemic, had unleashed an avalanche of orders for goods that overwhelmed factories and ports. Importers were paying $20,000 to send a....
KEY POINTS Withdrawing money from your retirement portfolio in a down market may negatively affect your nest egg over time, known as the “sequence of returns risk.”If your required minimum distribution is approaching and you don’t need the funds, you may reduce this risk by keepin....
KEY POINTS In-person holiday parties are on the rise as 42% of companies say they plan an end-of-year gathering, according to a new survey.As many employees continue to work remotely, firms view parties as a good way to bring people together again.Given layoffs and eco....
These moves are good to make at any time of the year, but doing them before 2023 arrives can help you enjoy a fresh, confident start to the new year. The end of the year often has people feeling reflective about the year that they’ve had and contemplative about the year ahead. While you’re thinking about how 2022 t....
Brisk wage growth may lead officials to consider raising the policy rate above 5% in 2023 while approving a 0.5-point increase in December Federal Reserve officials have signaled plans to raise their benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points at their meeting next week, but elevated wage pressu....
A new $600 reporting threshold for IRS Form 1099-K involves payment networks like Venmo, PayPal, Amazon, Square, and Cash App. Did you get paid more than $600 in 2022 for goods or services through a third-party payment network like Venmo, PayPal, Amazon, or Square? Then, due to a changed tax reporting rule, yo....
It’s time once again to make a fresh start. That’s the beauty of the New Year. We can all pause and reflect on the past year and figure out what we can improve in the year to come. Along with promising to eat better this year and turbocharge our careers, many of us are also examining our personal finances and seeing how we can ....
KEY POINTS While your tax return isn’t due until April, several key deadlines are approaching by year-end, experts say.Dec. 31 is the last chance for workplace 401(k) contributions, required minimum distributions, qualified charitable distributions, and Roth individual retirement account conversions ....
Experts suspect the IPO market won't recover until the second half of 2023, if then 2022 was not a good year for public listings. Initial public offerings (IPOs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) fell off a cliff this year. The number of IPOs dropped 93% from last year, NYSE president Lynn ....
One of the SPAC industry’s most well-known sponsors and a would-be serial backer have seen deals worth $10.6 billion go up in smoke in less than an hour. Alec Gores, one of the most well-respected sponsors, said Monday that Gores Holdings VIII Inc. would not be merging with materials science tech company F....
Slower hiring. Weaker spending. And softer growth. That’s what America’s CEOs are bracing for as the economy heads into 2023 facing a series of obstacles. The Business Roundtable said Monday its CEO Economic Outlook Index tumbled during the fourth quarter to the lowest level in more than two years. The index, a c....
November jobs report provides critical insight into the health of the US labor market U.S. job growth rose faster than expected in November, as the labor market remained resilient in the face of higher interest rates, scorching-hot inflation, and mounting recession fears. Employers&n....
Summary Consumer spending increases by 0.8% in OctoberPersonal income rises by 0.7%; saving rate falls to 2.3%Core PCE price index gains 0.2%; up 5.0% year-on-yearWeekly jobless claims fall from 16,000 to 225,000 U.S. consumer spending increased solidly in October, while inflation moderated, giving the econo....
KEY POINTS Unless this is your first year of required minimum distributions, you need to take those RMDs by the end of the year.There are different rules that apply to different accounts, which are important to know.Here are the basics and some tips to avoid making mistakes with your RMDs.....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the central bank will slow its pace of rate hikes(opens in new tab) next month, but stressed that borrowing costs will remain high for the foreseeable future in a bid to halt the worst inflation(opens in new tab) in four decade....
Central bank’s business contacts saw greater economic uncertainty amid inflation and higher interest rates U.S. economic growth eased this fall with business activity in some parts of the country stalling or declining, the Federal Reserve said in a Wednesday report. Businesses also expressed greater uncertain....
Nine Straight Months In January of this year, the number of single-family homes sold rose month-over-month, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Since then, the metric has fallen each month, coinciding with a rise in mortgage rates. As the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage hovers near 7%, many mark....
There is growing support for going cashless in the United States. Would you like cash back? When the choice comes up while you're paying digitally, you probably decline most of the time; hard currency is not often used anymore. But while digital payments are certainly useful, moving to a cashless society has tremendous dis....
The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will increase for the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2023. For individuals, the rate for overpayments and underpayments will be 7% per year, compounded daily, up from 6% for the quarter that began on October 1. Here is a complete list of the new rates:....
Federal Reserve policymakers stressed on Monday that they will raise borrowing costs further to curb inflation, with one key official saying that he sees interest rates heading somewhat higher than he had forecast just a couple of months ago. “Stronger demand for labor, stronger demand in the economy than....
The job market — although still hot — is slowing, and many Americans who had been working from home are being called back into the office Lori Black has been firing off dozens of applications with one goal: to land a work-from-home job. But four months in, her search is starting to feel impossib....
Careful tax planning can mean fewer surprises when it comes time to file. Here are a few tips to consider before the year winds down. With the holidays right around the corner, taxes might be the last thing on your mind. But a little bit of preparation now could make a big difference come April. Here are five things to keep an eye on....
Markdowns of up to 80% help drum up interest in secondary market for shares in unlisted companies Tech startups are plunging in value in private trades, mirroring the big markdowns of their publicly listed brethren over the past year. Before companies go public, their shares are often traded by employees, founders, an....
Inflation cast a long shadow over Black Friday 2022. Consumer prices rose 7.7% year over year in October, leaving millions of consumers wary as they entered the holiday shopping season. In total, 56 million United States consumers plan to opt out of holiday shopping entirely this year. For those consumers who ....
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Tuesday signed a law temporarily restricting cryptocurrency mining in the state over environmental concerns, making it the first state nationwide to implement such a move. The bill was delivered to the governor on Tuesday after the state legislature passed ....
Are you bullish about the stock markets in 2023? If so, you may be looking at year-end strategies to prepare for brighter investing horizons. For example, after the stock market declines of 2022, you may now hold securities—whether stocks, ETFs or mutual funds—that would generate capital losses if sold. T....
Investors appear to have traded in their fleece vests for crystal balls — everyone on Wall Street seems to have a recession prediction. But lately, shouts of recession have become a bit quieter, and a growing group of economists says that any downturn will likely be mild. So can the United States avoid a serious recession? W....
Investors flocked back into equities at the fastest pace in about eight months on signs of cooling inflation, but Bank of America Corp. strategists warn the rally will fizzle out due to earnings risks and staunchly hawkish central banks. Global stock funds saw inflows of US$22.9 billion in the week thro....
Audit firms would have to report once a year to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and their clients’ audit committees on how effective their systems are. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Friday proposed tightening the rules that govern the controls audit firms use to assess the qua....
JPMorgan Chase & Co. economists projected the US will enter a “mild” recession next year thanks to interest-rate hikes that could cost more than 1 million Americans their jobs, and the Federal Reserve will pivot to cutting borrowing costs in 2024. The Fed will probably raise its benchmark rate by 50 b....
The number of organizations hit with cyberattacks is rising, according to a new report focused on US and UK businesses. About 75% of organizations have experienced a serious cyberattack in the past three years — up from 60% last year — according to the 2022 Cyber Security Insights Report conducted by S-RM, a global intel....
Americans stepped up their spending at retailers, restaurants, and auto dealers last month, a sign of consumer resilience as the holiday shopping season begins amid painfully high inflation and rising interest rates. The government said Wednesday that retail sales rose 1.3% in October from September, up....
Establishing eligibility for the employee retention credit (ERC) by satisfying the business operations suspension test (suspension test) is similar to venturing into remote parts of the world: The payoff from a successful journey can be tremendous, but the road is arduous. Complexity adds uncertainty, guidance is lacking,....
Retirees often need to take cash out of retirement accounts to handle basic household expenses on a regular basis. If you have to make withdrawals in a declining market, there are strategies you can use to minimize the damage to your long-term financial plan. Consider these retirement withdrawal strategies for a do....
Last week’s market rally was an across-the-board move higher in asset prices. Not only did the S&P 500 post a nearly 6% gain on the week, small-caps, Treasuries, and even gold (yes, gold!) delivered huge gains! The global catalyst, of course, was an unexpectedly lower reading on October inflation. The headline rate fell to....
Economists see US inflation running hotter through next year than they did a month ago and recession odds continue to mount against a backdrop of rising borrowing costs. Projections for the personal consumption expenditures price index -- the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric -- were raised for eac....
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said the central bank should soon moderate the size of its interest-rate increases, signaling she favors slowing to a half-point hike as early as next month. “It will probably be appropriate soon to move to a slower pace of increases,” Brainard said M....
Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve's top regulatory official, said Monday the U.S. central bank is watching for any stresses to the financial system amid a weakening economy and signaled that stiffer oversight of cryptocurrency is in the offing. The Fed "will be heightening its focus on liquidity, credit, ....
The Internal Revenue Service had 4.4 million unprocessed individual returns received this year as of Oct. 28, including the tax year 2021 returns and late-filed returns from the prior year, as IRS funding has become more of an issue during election season. The IRS reported in the latest update this week on the status....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index increased 0.4% for the month and 7.7% from a year ago, both lower than estimates.Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core CPI increased by 0.3% for the month and 6.3% on an annual basis, also lower than expectations.Prices declined for medical c....
The third-quarter corporate earnings season is wrapping up: We now have reports from about 450 of the S&P 500, or 90% of the index’s total membership. Results were mostly solid, with companies from Goldman Sachs to GM reporting strong profits. But it’s all about what’s next — and companies’ projections haven’t been ....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Price increases moderated in the United States last month in the latest sign that the inflation pressures that have gripped the nation might be easing as the economy slows. Consumer inflation reached 7.7% in October from a year earlier and 0.4% in September, the government said Thursday. The year-....
KEY POINTS The end of each year is one of the most important times for investors because there are so many decisions to make that impact their overall financial planning.Amid market volatility, global challenges, and stubborn inflation, here’s a checklist of financial to-do’s that ....
It’s been a painful year for investors, but focusing on the long term and implementing constructive actions can help weather the turbulence. Investors are understandably frustrated by a miserable year in which stocks are in a bear market and bonds have provided no relief. It is hard not to be pessimistic given the long list of concerns ....
The Federal Reserve on Friday confirmed what many investors were saying for some time: the $24 trillion Treasury market has been experiencing low levels of market liquidity in recent months. The central bank has been rapidly increasing interest rates since Mar....
The stock market’s short-term fate is riding on something that’s been a major boon for equities for more than 70 years: US midterm elections. Rising interest rates, mounting recession risks and the steepest inflation in four decades may cause a break with past trends. But the fourth quarter and year aft....
Though employers and regulators remain cautious, some plans are beginning to offer the option A small group of workers is finding something new in their 401(k) plan: the option to invest in cryptocurrency. Momentum has been built to allow workers to invest retirement savings in bitcoin, ether, and other ....
JPM highlights VC funds’ reluctance to invest in the crypto sectorThe trend may boost the odds of a prolonged crypto market slump A retrenchment in venture capital funding for the digital-asset sector is the latest sign that a long slump in crypto markets may lie ahead. That’s the view of JPMorgan Chase ....
IRS-CI carried out more than 2,550 criminal investigations during its most recent fiscal year, according to a report. IRS Criminal Investigation initiated more than 2,550 criminal investigations, identified more than $31 billion from tax and financial crimes, and obtained a 90.6% conviction rate on cases accepted....
Along with frustrating backlogs, declining audit rates have been the topic of many accountant discussions regarding how IRS budget constraints have affected taxpayers. The latest IRS statistics confirm the declining audit numbers. On May 26, 2022, the IRS released its Data Book, 2021 (Publication 55-....
As high inflation persists, so does worry among retirees and workers who are within a few years of retirement. One survey found that inflation is America’s biggest issue, and worry about it is acute among those 50 and older. Another survey found four out of five Americans in that age bracket express unease about i....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the sixth time this year, citing persistent inflation.It's also the fourth consecutive 0.75 percentage point increase, which means financing costs will jump for many types of consumer loans.Here’s how your mortgage, c....
A financial planner who has seen a lot and reflected on what brings his clients happiness and fulfillment shares some secrets to success. Welcome back to the five lessons that I learned about money and life by the time I turned 40. Check out part one if you missed it last month. Here are lessons three through five. Lesson #3 - You H....
The bold, hype-laden pronouncements around AI and machine learning were hard to miss five or six years ago. Headlines about robo-accountants stealing jobs, algorithms that will cure disease, and autonomous vehicles were everywhere. Then, reality quickly caught up with the hype, and those promises eventually proved overly am....
U.S. manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in nearly 2-1/2 years in October while a measure of prices paid by businesses for inputs slid for a seventh straight month, as the Federal Reserve's aggressive push to raise interest rates in order to quash inflation cools demand for goods. The Instit....
Accountants are truly living in the age of data, where sophisticated gathering techniques combine with computer-guided analytics to produce business insights for clients that translate into more revenue for the firm. It has transformed every level of the profession to the point where even sole practitioners operating from a storefro....
This chart shows an estimated timeline for when a taxpayer is likely to receive their refund, based on information we have now, and using projections based on previous years- and depending on when a person files their return. I know it’s way too” early to think about it, but in case you do....
The decline comes as entrepreneurs and investors increasingly set up shop outside the tech mecca Silicon Valley accounted for less than 20% of deal-making nationally in the third quarter, marking the steady erosion of the region’s grip on startups and venture capital as companies increasingly spring up....
The annual tax gap averaged $496 billion for tax years 2014 through 2016, and that figure is likely to grow, the IRS said Friday in its latest set of tax gap estimates. The gross tax gap is the difference between the estimated tax liability for the period and the amount that taxpayers pay on time. Based ....
Here's how to decide if you are better off renting in retirement or owning a home. When you’re planning to retire, owning a home gives you the most control over your living environment and monthly expenses. But there are scenarios when financial planners might suggest that you rent. Here is how to decide whether t....
KEY POINTS Preliminary data on Monday from Europe’s statistics office showed headline inflation came in at an annual 10.7% this month.This represents the highest-ever monthly reading since the euro zone’s formation. The 19-member bloc has faced higher prices, particularly on energy and food, for the pas....
One CPA said the employee retention tax credit is overlooked by many organizations that might be eligible to take advantage of the credit. “This can be a complicated piece of legislation to discern whether an organization is eligible,” said David Cepek, CPA, client recovery agent at ERC Application. Cepek will present a session in th....
Bad news we received from some mega caps is necessary: HoganAlmost 25% of firms reporting are coming up short this season Was it good or bad this week when Alphabet Inc. told investors that advertising demand that helped swell its top line 50% in two years is starting to soften? Was it good or bad this week....
The IRS has hired 4,000 new customer service representatives and plans to hire another 1,000 to be trained to field taxpayers' questions on the phone and provide other services during the 2023 tax season. Many of the new hires will be in place for the start of the upcoming tax season, the IRS said. Almost all of ....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that while slower growth would help tame inflation, data released Thursday showed the US economy was resilient in the face of global challenges. A government report outlining a 2.6% annualized pace for expansion in the third quarter “clearly shows solid growth in the US, Yell....
KEY POINTS The core personal consumption expenditures price index in September increased 0.5% from the previous month and 5.1% from a year ago.Including food and energy, PCE inflation rose 0.3% for the month and 6.2% on a yearly basis.Personal spending rose 0.6%, more than expected amid the rise....
FASB issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) on Thursday that is intended to provide investors and other allocators of capital with more "decision-useful information" in a joint venture's separate financial statements and to reduce diversity in practice in this area of financial reporting. The&n....
Retirement Daily’s Robert Powell sits down with Dana Anspach from Sensible Money to tackle the ten most common questions in retirement. In today’s episode, Anspach discusses the next most common retirement question: When should I begin taking Social Security? Anspach says that people are more open....
Lukewarm SPAC market’s fate is intertwined with IPOs It’s clear now that modern reverse mergers between SPACs and low-revenue, high-growth companies are faring about the same as the IPO market: not well. That’s largely due to the volatile public markets. PitchBook’s VC-backed IPO and deSPAC indexes have each posted losses of more than 45% YTD. But i....
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday adopted two final rule packages. The first rule, approved in a 5-0 vote, requires mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to provide investors with concise, tailored shareholder reports that highlight key information, such as fund expenses....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product rose 2.6% in the third quarter versus the estimate of 2.3%.A narrowing trade deficit and increases in consumer spending and government outlays boosted the number.A sharp pullback in housing subtracted from the number, part of a broader decline in private ....
KEY POINTS With persistent inflation eroding wage gains, the number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck is near a historic high, according to a recent report.Almost half of those earning more than $100,000 say they are just getting by. As rising prices continue to outp....
As people live longer and costs keep climbing, we offer some tips on how to navigate the changing retirement landscape. Preparing for retirement has changed dramatically throughout the last several decades. Not only are people living longer due to improved health care, but costs have dramatically increased all around. The biggest difference ....
This article focuses on some of the considerations that investors should assess when determining whether to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. These include not only expected future income tax rates but also the account owner's particular tax situation in the year in question, anticipated required minimum distributions (RMDs), charitab....
The hottest tax move right now doesn't involve a fancy trust or gift to charity. Instead, it centers on a BMW X5 hybrid. Or a Cadillac Escalade. Or any luxury car that weighs as much as an elephant — literally — and can cost upward of six figures or more. One of the more lucrative benefits of the 2017....
Charles Evans and James Bullard are the U.S. Federal Reserve's longest-serving monetary policymakers, a pair of PhD economists who've been at the center of central bank debates through two acute crises and often approached the job from markedly different perspectives. Where Evans, president of the Chicago....
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on Tuesday that he is more concerned about today’s geopolitics than a looming recession, following remarks warning that an economic downturn is likely in the next year. “There’s a lot of stuff on the horizon which is bad and could … put the United States in a....
Summary Consumer confidence index falls 5.3 points to 102.5Labor market differential drops to 32.5 from 38.1House price gains slow further in August U.S. consumer confidence ebbed in October after two straight monthly increases amid rising concerns about inflation and a possible recession next year,....
The IRS has begun a pilot program that is meant to thwart line-jumping services that let those practitioners who pay a fee to a private company move ahead in the phone line so they can get their tax questions answered more quickly. In its e-News for Tax Professionals, the IRS said it is piloting a program that re....
KEY POINTS As everyday costs increase, Americans now say it will cost more to retire.Adults now say it will take $1.25 million to retire comfortably, a 20% increase from last year.The average expected retirement age has also increased to 64, up from 62.6 last year. Americans now expect they ....
What You Need to Know The 2023 COLA is 8.7%, and Medicare Part B premiums will fall by 3.1%.Long-term projections show Part B premiums will likely rise faster than that.Typical COLAs will probably be much smaller. The 2023 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announcement was w....
Inflation won’t be cooling off until 2023, and there is likely going to be a recession next year, according to economic experts from Bank of America and Wells Fargo, who spoke at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Annual Meeting in New York on Monday. “We’ve had a recession in ou....
Fresh economic data pointed to a slowdown in U.S. and global growth, as higher prices and interest rates weigh on consumer demand, Europe enters a critical phase of its economic conflict with Russia, and China faces headwinds. U.S. and European business activity fell in October, accordin....
These third parties often charge large upfront fees or a fee that is contingent on the amount of the refund and may not inform taxpayers that ... The Internal Revenue Service is warning employers to be wary of third parties who are advising them to claim the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) when they may not qualify. So....
The IRS on Friday announced the 2023 inflation-adjusted dollar-amount ceilings and thresholds for a wide range of qualified retirement plans and accounts, including traditional individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) and Roth IRAs (Notice 2022-55). The notice also provides the 2023 limits on elective deferrals for plans ....
KEY POINTS I’ve made many money mistakes that I’m not proud of but that may serve as an object lesson for others looking to better manage their personal finances.I have no idea how much my less-than-ideal decisions have cost me, but I’m sure I’d have more money by now if I’d not....
Here are five ways leaders may be hindering their own success without even realizing it. Most of us think leaders are these smart people who can't make any mistakes and are automatically going to be successful in the future. It is a common misconception in our minds that leaders can't do anything wrong, but that is not t....
Hopeful economic signs compete with challenges to profits including inflation, rising rates, and a strong dollar Early results from the third-quarter earnings season haven’t provided much comfort to jittery investors. While some corporate leaders noted glimmers of hope for consumers and the econom....
The Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation unit has been working with the Justice Department to uncover billions of dollars in fraud related to pandemic relief programs. The division, also known as IRS-CI, said Thursday it has conducted 840 tax and money-laundering investigations tied to COVID-19 fraud, totaling more tha....
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said officials are likely to raise interest rates to “well above” 4% this year and hold them at restrictive levels to combat inflation, while leaving the door open to doing more if needed. “We are going to keep raising rates for a while,....
More than 40 years after Dolly Parton sang about it, the “9 to 5” job is on life support. Gone are the days when workers stayed in the same profession — and often at the same company — until retirement. Today, living the dream doesn’t mean earning a pension after 30 years; it’s life-hacking your way to a four-hour workwe....
Sales of existing U.S. homes slid for an eighth straight month in September and will likely fall further in the months ahead as the housing market continues to stand out as the economic sector absorbs the hardest hit from the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes. The broadly weak report from th....
With the prospect of a recession, people are worried about layoffs. You may get severance pay when you quit your job, or you are laid off or fired. You also might get severance if you sue and settle. Whether or not your pay is labeled “severance,” and regardless of when it is paid, the IRS gener....
Other trends including the metaverse, adaptive AI, and wireless value realization will be coming into vogue in 2023. Because financial concerns are once again top of mind for most companies today, Gartner’s Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2023 are focused on the technologies that help them increas....
KEY POINTS Retail and food services sales in total were little changed in September against the estimate for a 0.3% gain.Excluding autos, sales rose 0.1%, vs. the estimate for spending to be unchanged.The numbers are not adjusted for inflation, indicating that consumer spending slowed. ....
The Internal Revenue Service has released dozens of inflation adjustments affecting individual income tax brackets, deductions, and credits for 2023, and—no surprise—today’s four-decade-high inflation has translated into some big hikes. Consider the standard deduction, now claimed (i....
Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday on fears of higher U.S. supply combined with an economic slowdown and lower Chinese fuel demand. Brent crude futures settled down $1.59, or 1.7%, to $90.03 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down $2.64, or 3.1%, to $82.82 per barrel. China, the wor....
After almost two months since President Joe Biden signed an executive order to forgive some student loans for many Americans, the U.S. Department of Education has officially launched a website accepting applications for student loan forgiveness. Biden announced the action on August 24, 2022. Under the program, those with federally guaran....
In a post-pandemic world, 16% of companies have gone fully remote. Many workers have embraced and adapted to this new setup. Yet the shift from the office building to the home office carries complicated tax consequences for firms and businesses that have yet to fully adapt to this new model of working. Megan Kueck, t....
KEY POINTS Eighty-four percent of adults say they are concerned that a recession is on the horizon, a new survey shows.Additionally, 74% said their concerns about inflation have increased.If you are worried about job loss during a recession, be sure to make a....
A U.S. recession is effectively certain in the next 12 months in new Bloomberg Economics model projections, a blow to President Joe Biden’s economic messaging ahead of the November midterms. The latest recession probability models by Bloomberg economists Anna Wong and Eliza Winger forecast a higher recession probability acro....
The Federal Reserve's rapid interest rate increases have contributed to the strength of the dollar against other currencies, but that may ease once the U.S. central bank reaches the point of pausing the hikes, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Saturday. Fed policy "has produced a stronger c....
Americans nearing retirement know the advice all too well: When it comes to Social Security, good things come to those who wait. And those who can’t wait? Their benefits get slashed. Those reduced benefits can add up. If you take Social Security before full retirement age, you s....
While many recent changes in state nexus rules are associated with sales and use tax, a movement to reframe the Interstate Income Act of 1959, P.L. 86-272, which limits the reach of state income taxes on remote sellers, could have a significant impact on state income tax nexus in today’s world, where the internet has ch....
The Biden administration officially launched the 2022 student loan debt forgiveness application and millions have already applied for relief. President Biden on Monday announced the official launch of the online student loan debt relief application after millions of borrowers applied for Biden’s student loan forg....
KEY POINTS After two years of port congestions and container shortages, disruptions are now easing as Chinese exports slow in light of waning demand from Western economies and softer global economic conditions, logistics data shows.“The retailers and the bigger buyers or shippers are more cautious about ....
The global turmoil provides the latest test of U.S. influence over international affairs after the Biden administration sought to re-engage with the world in the post-Trump era. America is driving the West’s response to the war in Ukraine. But U.S. officials are struggling to project a global response to a wor....
The US will enter a recession in the coming 12 months as the Federal Reserve battles to bring down persistently high inflation, the economy contracts, and employers cut jobs in response, according to The Wall Street Journal’s latest survey of economists. On average, economists put the probability of a recession in t....
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon on Thursday warned that persistent and elevated inflation could spur interest rates to rise higher than 4.5%, as he cautioned about the possibility of a looming recession. Consumers are in strong financial health, and are still spe....
Inflation in the United States accelerated in September, with the cost of housing and other necessities intensifying pressure on households, wiping out pay gains and ensuring that the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates aggressively. Consumer prices, excluding volatile food and energy costs, jumped ....
KEY POINTS Eighty-four percent of adults say they are concerned that a recession is on the horizon, a new survey shows.Additionally, 74% said their concerns about inflation have increased.If you are worried about job loss during a recession, be sure to make a....
Everybody’s unhappy with the latest inflation report, which shows that the annual change in price increases dropped by just one-tenth of a percentage point, from 8.3% in August to 8.2% in September. The Federal Reserve has been jacking up interest rates to force prices down, and inflation is turning out to be a stubborn foe. In....
'Retirement risks faced by workers are greater than ever before' Almost half of baby boomers and more than one-third of Generation X expect to work past age 70 or do not plan to retire at all, highlighting the need for backup plans in case life’s unexpected events get in the ....
KEY POINTS Social Security beneficiaries can expect an 8.7% boost to benefits in 2023, the Social Security Administration announced.The increase tops the 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment for 2022, which at the time was the highest in four decades. Amid record high inflation, Social S....
Giving your money to charity doesn’t have to be a totally selfless act. It can also be a way to keep the tax collector’s hands out of your pocket or away from your heirs. Charitable giving can be good for your conscience as well as your finances. The substantial tax breaks associated with those gifts play an imp....
Despite the drop, there is "a lot more job shedding that needs to occur before the Fed feels like its job is done," said one executive. The number of job openings in the United States fell to about 10.1 million on the last business day of August, from 11.2 million the previous month, according to data released by ....
One of the biggest issues being discussed by the IRS, Congress, and the AICPA is the millions of businesses that are being targeted by tax credit companies looking to help them claim the employee retention tax credit. While it's true that many companies qualify, there is significant concern about abuse and fraud. Companies that are relying ....
Ray Dalio, the billionaire investor who built Bridgewater Associates into one of the world's biggest hedge funds, said a "perfect storm" is forming that will spread economic pain as the U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates. Dalio, who handed over control of the $150 billion firm to a new genera....
U.S. stocks fell Tuesday, reversing gains from earlier in the day as investors looked ahead to key inflation data out later in the week that will give the Federal Reserve updated information on the state of the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 slipped 0.65% to close at 3,588.84 after rebounding ....
Two Federal Reserve officials began laying out a case for exercising caution in raising interest rates after policymakers last month telegraphed plans to continue lifting rates at their fastest pace in decades to reduce inflation that has reached 40-year highs. Fed Vice Chairwoman Lael Brainard note....
The biggest U.S. banks are expected to report weaker third-quarter profits as the economy slowed and volatile markets put the brakes on dealmaking. Four of the nation's largest lenders - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N), and Morgan Stanley (M....
KEY POINTS JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy was "actually still doing well" at present and consumers were likely to be in better shape compared to the 2008 global financial crisis when the world tips into recession."But you can't talk about the ec....
Our latest Marcum-Hofstra CEO survey shows that 93.6% of CEOs are concerned that the economy will experience a recession in the coming year. Some are already putting the brakes on hiring. 13% have already laid off workers, 27% are limiting or freezing hiring and 27% anticipate they will have to do so in the coming year. The trend isn’t limited ....
Americans' wages are losing ground to inflation at a steep rate, a report on Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said, a finding that offers some support for the central bank's super-charged campaign to lower price pressures. "Despite the stronger wage growth due to the tightness of the....
FASB issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) on Thursday that is intended to improve disclosures about a public entity's reportable segments and address requests from investors and other allocators of capital for more detailed information about a reportable segment's expenses. FASB Chair Richard R. Jones said the pro....
With new laws from Colorado to Rhode Island, employers are under growing pressure to publicly share how much a job pays. Last week, California became the largest state to join the push for salary transparency when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measure,&nbs....
American workers quit 4.2 million jobs in August, but one type of employee appears to be getting cold feet about switching employers or quitting to take a career timeout: office workers. People with jobs classified as professional and business services, including those who work in occupations such as accounting, ....
KEY POINTS Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 for the month, short of the Dow Jones estimate of 275,000.The unemployment rate was 3.5%, down 0.2 percentage points as the labor force participation rate edged lower.Average hourly earnings rose 5% from a year ago, slig....
The big global venture capital pullback we were all expecting is truly here. Venture and growth investors in private companies scaled back their investment pace significantly as the slump in the public markets stretched into the third quarter. Venture funding for the third quarter of 2022 totaled $81 billion, down by $90 bill....
The World Trade Organization is predicting global trade volumes will grow a lackluster 1% next year as crises and challenges weigh on markets, including high energy prices, rising interest rates, and uncertainties about Chinese manufacturing output amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. The Geneva-based trade body said....
OPEC+ agreed to make a large production cut to keep oil prices high, drawing an immediate rebuke from the U.S. The move was defended by ministers from the producer's group as necessary to protect the oil industry and their own economies from the risk of a global slowdown. The White House slammed the ....
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he favors lifting interest rates to between 4% and 4.5% by the end of this year and then keeping the tightening in place to reduce inflation that remains near a four-decade high. “I would like to reach a point where policy is moderately restrictive -....
U.S. employers pulled back sharply on job openings, while layoffs rose in August, adding to signs the labor market and overall economy are cooling. Employers’ total job openings fell 10% in August to a seasonally adjusted 10.1 million from 11.2 million the month before, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The 1.1-million ....
Major CEOs aren’t buying the notion that the US economy could have a soft landing following a series of historically large interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation. According to a survey of 400 leaders of large US companies by consulting firm KPMG, a whopping 91% ....
KEY POINTS Job openings in August totaled 10.05 million, a 10% drop from the 11.17 million reported in July and more than a million less than expected.The Job Openings and Labor Turnover numbers are watched closely by the Federal Reserve, which is trying to reverse runaway inflation that has been pushed by the tight labo....
The KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook asked more than 1,300 CEOs of the world’s largest businesses about their strategies and outlook.The survey included leaders from eleven key markets Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US. A report by KPMG has shown that....
Governments around the world are determined to bring down inflation whatever the cost, but a growing chorus of voices is pointing out that aggressive monetary policies could have some serious and long-lasting consequences on the world economy. Central....
THE COST OF shipping containers is in retreat around the world, as the shortages and bottlenecks that plagued maritime trade throughout much of the pandemic subside rapidly (see chart). The drop could help to reduce stubbornly high inflation and offer a signal of slowing demand in the global economy. The Drewry....
Hurricane Ian victims throughout Florida now have until February 15, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. Hurricane Ian victims throughout Florida now have until February 15, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Reve....
Summary Cuts could include Saudi voluntary reductionLargest cut since the pandemic reductionOil fell due to rising Fed rates, a weak economy OPEC+ will consider an oil output cut of more than a million barrels per day (bpd) next week, OPEC sources said on Sunday, in what would be the biggest move yet since the ....
Venture capital and private equity have left the market, and the third quarter’s proceeds are the lowest since 2008. Move over crypto, meme stocks, and SPACs — the IPO market is also in the tank. The third quarter of 2022 was the worst one for initial public offerings in more than a decade, according to a ne....
Tax collections this year in the U.S. are up 23% compared to last year, according to a new study by the Tax Foundation citing Congressional Budget Office data. Inflation seems to be everywhere. The Tax Foundation’s report on surging IRS collections might make you scratch your head and wonder what cou....
A recent analysis has found that the United States suffers more ransomware attacks than any other country. The United States suffers more ransomware attacks than any other country in the world. This is according to a recent analysis from cloud platform NordLocker based on data collected from multiple publicly available online blog....
Millions of companies in the U.S. will have to report primary ownership, in an effort to close anti-money-laundering loopholes Millions of companies in the U.S. will have to disclose their ownership to the federal government under a new anti-money-laundering rule issued by the Biden administration on Thursd....
Battered by surging consumer prices and rising interest rates, the U.S. economy shrank at a 0.6% annual rate from April through June, the government announced Thursday, unchanged from its previous second-quarter estimate. It marked the second consecutive quarter of economic contraction, one informal rule of thumb ....
Financial decision-makers lowered their expectations for real growth in gross domestic product during the third quarter amid concerns over inflation and trouble finding skilled labor, according to the results of The CFO Survey, a collaboration of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the Federa....
Minneapolis Fed chief says need to hike until inflation fallsGet to policy that restraining economy and then be ‘patient’ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said the US central bank is committed to restoring price stability and its current pace of interest-rate increases is appr....
Inconsistent lead times and shipping delays force companies to maintain inventory buffers. Efficient handling of working capital frees up cash that can be used to replace the forms of capital getting more expensive as interest rates climb. The Hackett Group’s Working Capital Survey, updated for the second quarter of 2022....
The state has become the first in the U.S. to accept cryptocurrency for tax payments. Colorado has become the first state in the nation to accept cryptocurrency for tax payments. Governor Jared Polis made the announcement yesterday during a speech at Denver Startup Week. The website for the state's Department of Revenue confirms tha....
Some investors are growing concerned the dollar's meteoric rise is setting the stage for a rapid reversal, which would bruise those who have sought refuge in the U.S. currency in recent months. Soaring U.S. interest rates, a comparatively strong American economy, and demand for a haven from wild gyrations....
An IRS Form W-9 verifies your taxpayer ID number, typically your Social Security Number, or for a company, your employer identification number. Before paying you, many companies will ask for this form so they can issue you an IRS Form 1099. If you want to be paid, refusing to hand over a Form W-9 can be a mistake. The IRS says that anytime a pa....
When the United Nations (UN) first laid out principles for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing in 2006, then-Secretary General Kofi Annan hailed the considerations as critical to underpinning “responsible investing” in the financial markets. Amid growing sc....
The special per diem rates by which taxpayers may substantiate ordinary and necessary business expenses of travel away from home will be slightly higher starting Oct. 1, the IRS provided Monday in Notice 2022-44. Generally, in lieu of actual lodging, meal, and incidental expenses incurred, a payer may consider subst....
KEY POINTS The UNC Tax Center used 2021 financials to predict the effect of the Inflation Reduction Act’s minimum corporate tax.The 15% minimum tax would impact around 78 companies, with Berkshire Hathaway and Amazon paying the most.President Joe Biden signed the tax into law, along with the ....
Currency’s plunge sparks talk of emergency central bank actionUK 10-year yield rises above 4% for the first time since 2010 The sell-off in UK assets went into overdrive on Monday, sending the pound to an all-time low, slamming government bonds, and sparking talk of emergency action by the Bank of England. The ....
From the best of times to the worst of times: The market for initial public offerings has fallen off a cliff in 2022. Investors faced with high inflation and rising interest rates have ditched high-flying growth stocks and turned to safer, more profitable alternatives. T....
After a fast start to the year, M&A deal-making in crypto has hit its own type of “winter.” Earlier this month, one-click checkout company Bolt dropped plans to buy crypto and payment infrastructure company Wyre for $1.5 billion. The news came just more than three weeks after digital asset investment firm G....
Gig economy companies classifying their workers as independent contractors continue to face lawsuits, state action, and federal agency enforcement For much of the last decade, a legal and regulatory storm at the state and federal levels has surrounded classification of workers as “independent contractors” or “employees.” The dramatic....
Less than one-third of HR professionals are preparing for an economic slowdown, according to a new study. While CFOs are tightening budgets in preparation for a likely economic downturn, their counterparts in human resources are still focused on putting the best quality employees in an ideal work envi....
While Fed officials predict rates going higher than had been expected, we still see rates coming down by the end of 2023. Even as the Federal Reserve notched another aggressive interest-rate increase Wednesday, officials are once again letting investors, businesses, and consumers know there will be more where that came....
The Federal Reserve approved its third consecutive interest-rate rise of 0.75 percentage points and signaled additional large increases were likely even though they are raising the risk of recession. Fed officials voted unanimously to lift their benchmark federal-funds rate to a ....
Even companies that have claimed the ERC may want to review their documentation of qualification for the credit. The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) started out as something of a secret. Originally part of the CARES Act, the ERC was limited in 2020 and only available to organizations that did not receive Paycheck Prote....
If CFOs had a Magic 8 Ball, it would read: "Outlook not so good." There is a severe decline in optimism about the economy among CFOs across the country — thanks to increasing costs of goods and services, increasing energy costs, and supply chain challenges — according to a quarterly survey. Grant Thornton's 2022 Q2 C....
Your 401(k) can be a bridge from retirement to a higher monthly income. Although you can start collecting Social Security at age 62, you can get much higher monthly payments if you wait as long as age 70. But many people want to or must retire before 70. If you’re one of them, consider a possible strat....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a point, citing persistent inflation.Everything from mortgages and credit cards to student and car loans will be impacted by another major rate hike.Here’s what it could mean for your monthly expenses. ....
Stocks fell and government bond yields rose to multiyear highs Tuesday ahead of the next decision by the Fed's rate-setting committee Stocks fell Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision as investors grappled with the impact of rising rates on corporate earnin....
Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways each have seen business travel ramp up again in September, with no discernible “cracks” in total demand, according to executives from each carrier, who spoke last week at a Morgan Stanley conference. “I think everybody is looking for cracks, and what I’d say is that ....
One surprise that hits retirees in their first few years is that even without the costs of working and contributing to retirement accounts, they end up spending more than when they held down a job. Don't miss Mitt Romney says a billionaire tax will trigger d....
There’s big money in waiting to collect Social Security, but most U.S. seniors leave that cash on the table. The U.S. government is not hiding the fact that the longer you wait to collect Social Security, the more money you collect. In fact, the concept is fairly straightforward. Here’s the deal,....
KEY POINTS The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 6.25% from 6.01%.Applications to refinance a home loan, which are usually very sensitive to big rate swings, actually rose 10% for the week, alt....
As part of the survey, employees also shared which incentives they value most that keep them engaged and loyal to their organization. A majority of employed adults (52%) are content in their roles and not engaged in a job search right now, according to a new survey by CareerBuilder, which also showed that 23% of Gen Z, 24% of Mill....
Higher rates and shrinking margins are among key concernsGoldman likes companies with the highest returns on capital After a hotter-than-expected inflation print and FedEx Corp.’s shocking profit warning, top Wall Street strategists see mounting risks for US earnings and equity valuations. ....
US central bank to publish first ‘dot plot’ since June after months of persistently high inflation Federal Reserve officials are under pressure to prove they are serious about stamping out elevated inflation by backing up their hawkish rhetoric with a new set of interest rate projections set to be....
The buck isn’t stopping. The value of the U.S. dollar has been on a tear for more than a year against everything from the British pound across the Atlantic to the South Korean won across the Pacific. After rising again Friday, the dollar is near its highest level in more than two decades against a key index measur....
Markets are increasingly betting on policymakers raising borrowing costs higher and faster Investors are pricing in a sharper surge in interest rates over the coming months after the world’s major central banks strengthened their resolve to tackle soaring prices, signaling they would prioritize inflation over growth. A Fi....
Treasury yields climbed on Monday as traders anticipated the Federal Reserve’s next moves in the face of persistently high inflation. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield gained 6 basis points to 3.518%, hitting its highest level since April 2011, and was last up 4 basis points to 3.49%. The yield....
Investors who were lucky enough to hop on the cryptocurrency bandwagon ahead of its sharp rise in popularity were also fortunate enough to avoid taxation for a time. Cryptocurrency, an alternative payment system started in 2008, caught on for many reasons. One major draw of this new form of financial exchange was that it cut out th....
Inflation at the wholesale level jumped 8.7% in August from a year earlier, a slowdown from July yet still a painfully high level that suggests prices will keep spiking for months to come. Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that on a month-to-month basis, the producer price index — which me....
Taxpayers are concerned the extra $80 billion will lead to more tax audits The additional $80 billion in funding over the next decade for the Internal Revenue Service from the Inflation Reduction Act is supposed to go toward improving taxpayer service, modernizing the IRS's outdated technology, increasing enforcement ....
The premium of the two-year Treasury yield over the comparable 30-year benchmark increased to a level unseen this century after short-end rates extended their climb in the wake of this week’s hotter-than-anticipated US consumer-price inflation data. The two-year yield was as much as 35 basis points above the 30....
From Bartleby the Scrivener telling his 18th-century employer "I would prefer not to" to George Costanza setting up a nap station beneath his desk in the 1990s, "quiet quitting"—broadly understood as a retreat from workplace ambition—is not a new concept. But the alliterative buzzword born on TikTok is novel in the sc....
KEY POINTS The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2023 could be 8.7%, according to a new estimate from The Senior Citizens League.An increase that high would be the biggest cost-of-living adjustment in four decades, surpassing this year’s....
The Internal Revenue Service's backlog is having an impact in many areas, including the handling of noncorporate applications for refund claims on net operating losses. The Internal Revenue Service's continuing backlog is having an impact in many areas, including the processing of noncorporate appl....
Stocks are riding a tentative recovery, with the S&P 500 up 1.1% on Monday, but whether they can keep their momentum hinges in part on how earnings season plays out next month. Analysts have cut their estimates for third-quarter earnings growth by 5.5 percentage points since June 30, according to John Butters, the seni....
Summary The consumer price index rises 0.1% in AugustRents, food, and healthcare account for the increase in CPICore CPI surges 0.6%; increases 6.3% year-on-year U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rose in August and underlying inflation accelerated amid rising costs for rents and healthcare, giving the Fed....
The Federal Reserve will deliver another 75-basis-point interest rate hike next week and likely hold its policy rate steady for an extended period once it eventually peaks, according to a Reuters poll of economists released on Tuesday. Policymakers have done little to push back on market pricing ....
Finance chiefs are finding it harder to peg yearly guidance as they struggle for visibility on the direction of the economy, leading them to broaden their annual revenue ranges and revise spending plans more frequently. Finance chiefs, through their annual guidance, offer clues on the health of the ....
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) remains one of the best tax benefits out there for small and medium businesses – as well as tax-exempt entities – to keep doors open and employees on payroll during this difficult economy. As I’ve previously written in detail, the ERC provides eligible ....
The U.S. securities regulator will set up two new offices to deal with filings related to crypto assets and the life sciences sector, the agency said on Friday. The "Office of Crypto Assets" and the "Office of Industrial Applications and Services" will join seven existing offices under the Securities and Exchange Commission (....
When it comes to retirement, you can’t save enough money — until you do. Saving for a post-work world is now a near-universal ideal: The 50-something workers who fret over their nest eggs have been joined by younger workers, who during the pandemic tasted new working ....
US inflation likely slowed for a second month in August as gas prices continued to drop, but that probably won’t be enough to stop the Federal Reserve from delivering another jumbo rate hike later this month. Tuesday’s consumer price index, landing during the central bank’s pre-meeting quiet period, is the la....
Whatever structure your clients launched with, at some point, for various reasons, changing structures may become a valid consideration. Many factors determine what kind of business structure your clients choose when starting their businesses. But whatever structure your clients launched with, at some point, for various reasons, changing struc....
The European Central Bank has announced a record rise in eurozone interest rates as it seeks to fight inflation. Prices in the bloc are rising at the highest pace for half a century as energy costs soar. The ECB lifted all its key rates by three-quarters of a percentage point and warned that it was likely to raise r....
With up to 87,000 new IRS agents on the way now that the Inflation Reduction Act is unleashing a Tougher IRS, there’s lots of tax about tax audits. The widely published 87,000 figure appears to come from a 2021 Treasury Department study saying that the IRS could hire about that many with $80 billion of funding. In a....
The Federal Reserve will need to continue lifting its short-term interest rate to a level that restricts economic growth and keep it there for an extended period, a top Fed official said Wednesday. In her remarks to a banking industry conference, Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard echoed similarly tough comments about inf....
It’s too soon to declare victory, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is on track to navigate the U.S. economy to a soft landing. That’s the view of Jan Hatzius, the chief economist of Goldman Sachs, in a new note to clients. “Since the FOMC started hiking the fund's rate early this year,....
The Internal Revenue Service has been slow in processing employer tax credits and tax refunds that businesses were supposed to receive. The Internal Revenue Service has been slow in processing employer tax credits and tax refunds that businesses were supposed to receive to cope with the pandemic, according to a new rep....
KEY POINTS The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increased to 5.94% last week from 5.80% the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan fell another 1% for the week and were 83% low....
Gen Z and younger millennials under 35 are one cohort that has seen a large drop in employee engagement. About half of U.S. workers could be described as “quiet quitters,” according to new research by survey firm Gallup, meaning they fulfill their job description but are psychologically detached from the....
OPEC+ agreed to make a token oil supply cut for October, a surprise moves that shows the alliance is seeking to stabilize global markets after a faltering economic backdrop triggered the longest price rout in two years. The group will reduce production by 100,000 barrels a day next month, taking output back to A....
A shift is underway at the Federal Reserve in how to describe neutral -- the interest-rate level that neither stimulates nor restrains growth -- as it debates how much higher to hike. For an abstract concept -- neutral can’t be directly measured -- the stakes are high: If the assessment is too low, Fed policy....
Inflation is high, but U.S. consumers’ relative purchasing power has never been higher. An index that considers inflation when measuring the dollar’s strength relative to currencies of major U.S. trading partners in July topped its previous peak in 2002, showing how the dollar’s surge has helped mitigate ri....
KEY POINTS If you’re feeling unsteady amid stock market volatility, high inflation, and rising interest rates, you may wonder how much cash you really need to have handy.Experts may suggest three months, six months, or one year of expenses, depending ....
KEY POINTS Nonfarm payrolls rose by 315,000 jobs in August, just below the Dow Jones estimate of 318,000.The unemployment rate climbed to 3.7%, two-tenths of a percentage point higher than expectations.Wages also rose, with average hourly earnings up 5.2% from a year ago, slightly lower than the estimate.The biggest sec....
The yen tumbled to its weakest level since 1998 against the US currencyGreenback supported after jobless claims, manufacturing data A gauge of the dollar’s strength rallied to a record high Thursday as Treasury yields climbed, while the yen slumped past the key 140 level for the first time since 1998. The mov....
There was some rain on the parade of celebration of the student loan debt forgiveness. The Tax Foundation, perhaps with a touch of schadenfreude, announced that the forgiveness, while not federally taxable due to recent legislation, might be taxable in as many as thirteen states. They have taken a closer look and backpedaled q....
Summary Snap jumps as it restructures ad business, lays off staffBed Bath & Beyond sinks on a corporate overhaulBiggest August pct drop for Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq since 2015Dow down 0.88%, S&P 500 down 0.78%, Nasdaq down 0.56% NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended the month with their fourth straigh....
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits at the end of August fell to a nine-week low of 232,000, showing no sign that the slowing U.S... The numbers: The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits at the end of August fell to a nine-week low of 232....
The budget reconciliation bill, P.L. 117-169, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, was signed into law on Aug. 16. It includes numerous tax provisions, including new corporate taxes. It also contains numerous clean-energy-related tax incentives and money for IRS enforcement and other initiatives. Earlier budge....
KEY POINTS Euro zone inflation hit a new record high in August at 9.1%.The rate was above expectations, with a Reuters poll of economists anticipating a rate of 9%. Euro zone inflation hit a new record high in August of 9.1%, according to flash figures from Europe’s statistics office Eurostat,....
There were nearly 1 million more job openings than expected in July, an inflationary sign that the U.S. labor market is still extremely tight, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Available positions totaled 11.24 million for the month, well in excess of the 10.3 mil....
Workers of U.S. small businesses continue to benefit from higher wages, according to the latest Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. Average hourly earnings growth increased to 5.18 percent, matching a record set in May 2022. Meanwhile, the pace of job growth at small businesses moderated from the previous month, slowing to -0.20 per....
The Federal Reserve is on track to deliver an instant payment service called FedNow between May and July 2023, the central bank's clearest timeline yet for a new system enabling the settlement of U.S. payments in seconds. The FedNow service also potentially negates the need for the creation of a centra....
The FedNow system is supposed to be a cheaper option than wire transfers or debit card transaction fees. A Federal Reserve official said the agency's new real-time payments system FedNow is slated to launch as early as May 2023. FedNow has been in development for around a decade and ....
With the pandemic-fueled demand for more workplace flexibility, could the four-day workweek become the norm in American business? Three Wharton experts don’t hold out hope for change. When Wharton management professor Matthew Bidwell first came to the United States from England in the 1990s, he was struck by the dogged Ame....
Federal Reserve chair says central bank ‘must keep at it until the job is done on inflation US stocks tumbled after Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell emphasized his resolve to hoist interest rates to curb inflation in a hawkish address on Friday at the annual Jackson Hole central banking summit. Wall Street....
The pace of consumer price gains slowed, though it stayed near a four-decade high Inflation decelerated in July, measured by the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, though it remained close to its fastest pace since 1982. Consumer prices rose 6.3% in July from a year earlier, down from 6.8% in June, as me....
Second quarter GDP contracted 0.6%, better than the prior estimateGross domestic income rose at a 1.4% pace, and spending revised up The government’s main measures of US growth pointed in different directions in the first half of 2022, adding to the ongoing debate on the health of the economy. Inflation-adjust....
A measure of US profit margins has reached its widest since 1950, suggesting that the prices charged by businesses are outpacing their increased costs for production and labor. After-tax profits as a share of gross value added for non-financial corporations, a measure of aggregate profit margins, improved in the s....
The increase for 2023 may rise even higher as insurance carriers price record inflation into employers' renewal rates, per a Mercer survey. With inflation eating wage gains, most workers would rather not see more money drained from their paychecks to cover healthcare insurance. At the same time, healthcare plans are the most....
The SEC on Thursday adopted amendments that require specific disclosures about the relationship between a public company's executive compensation and its financial performance. Registrants must begin to comply in proxy and information statements that are required to include Item 402 executive compensation disc....
KEY POINTS Borrowers who will benefit from student loan forgiveness won’t need to worry about getting hit with a federal tax bill.But they may owe state taxes on the forgiven debt.Here’s what you need to know. If you’re poised to benefit from President Joe Biden’s up to $20,000 in ....
The U.S. labor market pumped out more jobs in its recovery from the pandemic than previously thought. Employers added about 462,000 more jobs in the year through March than the Labor Department originally estimated, the agency said Wednesday as part of routine annual revisions. That means the economy added an a....
A broad range of tax and information returns for the 2019 and 2020 tax years will receive automatic relief from failure-to-file penalties, under Notice 2022-36 released by the IRS Wednesday. The estimated 1.6 million taxpayers who have already paid these penalties will automatically receive an estimated $1.2 billion in refunds or cre....
Pass-through effects have increased during the pandemicImported input prices have a larger effect on US inflation US consumer inflation, which is running near the fastest pace in 40 years, has been increasingly affected by higher wages and import prices, according to a new study from....
US business activity contracted for a second straight month in August, reflecting softer demand at both manufacturers and service providers and adding to concerns about the health of the overall economy. The S&P Global flash composite purchasing managers output index slid 2.7 points to 45, the weakest reading si....
The Inflation Reduction Act only offers tax credits on electric vehicles assembled in North America. Those looking to purchase an electric vehicle could be eligible for a $7,500 tax credit from the federal government, but because of language in the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act, only certain vehicle....
KEY POINTS Sales of existing homes were down last month by 20.2% to 4.8 million properties from 6 million a year earlier.However, the median price last month was $403,800, up 10.8% from July 2021, and homes are still selling quickly.There are implications for buyers....
Inflation, rising interest rates, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent shock waves through the stock market, putting a freeze on the IPO pipeline The IPO market is on pace for its worst year in decades, leaving fledgling companies with few options but to burn through cash while they wait for the....
Workers are less satisfied with their wages as inflation erodes buying power The number of Americans quitting their jobs for a different one declined in July, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey published Monday, a sign the so-called Great Resignation is slowing down. The rate of transi....
As the prices of many goods and services continue to skyrocket, there’s been a ton of media coverage on the subject of inflation. In July, the year-over-year inflation rate was a whopping 8.5%, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. Most news coverage references CPI as the....
Next time you stop at a gas station, think of it as a $100-a-month tax cut. Or a maybe $100-a-month raise. The steady drop in gas prices over the last few months has turned into an unexpected form of economic stimulus, coming at a time when the Federal Reserve is trying to cool the economy and battle rising prices with higher interest r....
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will use his closely-watched Jackson Hole speech this week to stress that the central bank is going to bring down the high U.S. inflation rate even if it means a recession, economists said. “The core message will be the Fed’s dogg....
Market breadth recently hit a key technical milestone, yet few investors are willing to call a market bottom. A swath of stocks has participated in the market's recent rebound typically an encouraging sign of a rally's durability. Yet few investors are willing to call a market bottom, especially after such a punishing year. ....
The U.S. Supply Chain Index in July was back above neutral for the first time in nearly three years on the back of the continuing strong rebounds in inventories and capacity utilization. With most of the COVID-19 concerns behind us and the renormalization of supply-chain linkages around the world, w....
Dive Brief: The U.S. economy probably will not grow this quarter and, after more weakening, may fall into a brief recession by early next year, the Conference Board said Thursday, citing its Leading Economic Index (LEI).“Consumer pessimism and equity market volatility — as well as slowing labor markets, hou....
Dive Brief: Federal Reserve officials last month affirmed their goal of curbing inflation to 2% and favored further increases in borrowing costs while noting the risks of overdoing their most aggressive withdrawal of stimulus since the 1980s.Fed officials “continued to anticipate that ongoing increases in th....
The Inflation Reduction Act that President Biden signed into law this week has a lesser-known provision that could benefit many small business startups, allowing them to potentially double the amount they can claim on the research and development tax credit from $250,000 to $500,000 per year against payroll taxes. ....
That jump may lead to an increase in tax reporting requirements for companies, according to a recent analysis by tax solutions provider Sovos. A surge in gig work over the past few years can be seen in the rising number of 1099 filings, according to tax solutions provider Sovos. Based on a recent analysis, Sovos has see....
If your organization isn’t letting people go, the one next door probably is. That’s a key finding from a survey released Thursday by consultant PwC, which last month polled more than 700 US executives and board members across a range of industries. Half of the respondents said they’re reducing headcount or pl....
Data from Fidelity found the number of seven-figure retirement accounts down sharply after stocks cratered in the first half of 2022. The number of people with at least $1 million in their Fidelity 401(k) accounts plunged 29% in the second quarter to 294,000, data from the company shows. The S&....
Rule of 20 has a ‘perfect track record,’ bank strategists sayAnother indicator from CFRA signals that the market bottom is in Bank of America Corp.’s quant analysts say a US stock market indicator with a perfect track record has bad news for bulls: Equity prices haven’t bottomed out yet. The measure....
Federal Reserve officials at their July meeting indicated they likely would not consider pulling back on interest rate hikes until inflation came down substantially, according to minutes from the session released Wednesday. During a meeting in which the central bank approved a ....
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Chuck Rettig is promising not to use the nearly $80 billion his agency will be receiving over the next 10 years to increase audits of small businesses or taxpayers who earn less than $400,000. The Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law Tuesday, al....
KEY POINTS Tips for wait staff and cashiers haven’t taken a hit despite inflation, according to new data.Aggregated sales data from Toast showed people tipped an average of 19.6% at full-service eateries and 16.9% at quick-service restaurants during the second quarter.The cost of food away from home rose 7.6% ove....
KEY POINTS Retail sales for July were flat, compared with the estimate for a 0.1% gain.Excluding autos, sales increased 0.4% against expectations for no gain.Falling fuel prices held back receipts at gas stations, while consumers took those savings and spent them at other retailers. Reta....
KEY POINTS President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into lawThe new law passed with majority Democratic support in the Senate and the House.The more than $430 billion package is expected to reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion over a decade. After more than a year....
Once-hot blank-check firms have fallen out of favor alongside cryptocurrencies and other speculative investments SPACs were one of the hottest investments on Wall Street early last year, booming alongside cryptocurrencies, meme stocks, and other speculative trades as an easy way for buzzy startups to raise money ....
The increase for 2023 may rise even higher as insurance carriers price record inflation into employers' renewal rates, per a Mercer survey. With inflation-eating wage gains, most workers would rather not see more money drained from their paychecks to cover healthcare insurance. At the same time, healthcare plans are the most....
The interest rates the Internal Revenue Service uses will go up for the quarter beginning Oct. 1, the agency said. The rates will be: 6% for overpayments (5% in the case of a corporation);3.5% for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000;6% for underpayments; and,8% for large corporate underpayments. The rates are det....
A number of EVs should become more affordable, but only after a "subsidy winter" when far fewer cars will qualify. Big changes are coming to the federal electric car tax credit with congressional passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, changes that may make it eventually easier to own an EV, but initially ....
An account of the debate at the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting, set to be published after two weeks of whiplash on Wall Street, will probably offer clues as to what would push the central bank to go big with tightening yet again in September. Fed officials’ decision at their July 26-27 gathering to raise....
People want to hear from JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon. He’s insightful, provocative, and never boring. So it's little wonder that the company puts him on calls with wealthy clients to give his take on, well, just about everything, which is what Dimon did this past Tuesday. Here are some curated highlight....
An end to corporate America’s record stock-buying spree is giving equity bulls one more thing to worry about. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Best Buy Co Inc. all paused buyback plans when reporting their second-quarter results, deciding to hold on to cash instead as the Federal Reserve’s inter....
Venture-capital firms are sitting on a record cash pile. Their so-called dry powder—money raised but not deployed—has increased by more than $100 billion worldwide since the end of last year, reaching almost $539 billion in July, according to data firm Preqin Ltd. The buildup comes as many venture firms have slowed d....
A new poll found that a majority of voters (76%) weren’t worried about the prospect of being audited by the IRS. As we await the House of Representatives' vote on legislation that would provide the IRS with $80 billion in additional funding over the next decade, a new Morning Consult/Politico poll f....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve is unlikely to pivot from its hawkish interest rate hikes despite positive signs this week that inflation in the U.S. could be easing, according to market strategists.As both CPI and PPI soften, markets have started to moderate their expectations for Fed r....
Tax planning for real estate activities often involves a myriad of tax considerations. For example, if the real estate produces a loss, a determination must be made whether the loss is limited by insufficient basis or by the at-risk or passive activity loss rules which arise under IRC sections 465 and 469. When income is generated, other q....
House Democrats on Friday approved a sprawling bill to lower prescription drug costs, address global warming, raise taxes on some billion-dollar corporations, and reduce the federal deficit, sending to President Biden the long-delayed, last component of his economic agenda in time for this year’s el....
Summary World demand growth to slow to 3.1 million bpd in 2022In contrasts with IEA, which raised its demand outlookOPEC July output rises 162,000 bpd, less than pledgedSees slightly higher U.S. shale growth in 2023 OPEC on Thursday cut its 2022 forecast for growth in world oil demand for a third time since April,....
Market volatility triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring global interest rates have forced investors to pull back from backing initial public offerings, resulting in a dramatic decline in stock market listings in the United States. According to data from Refinitiv, 2022 is on track to be the ....
Summary Fed now seen delivering 50 bps hike in SeptemberU.S. consumer price growth slows in JulyMusk sells Tesla shares worth $6.9 blnThe volatility index closes at a four-month low Wall Street surged on Wednesday, putting the Nasdaq more than 20% above its June low after U.S. inflation slowed more than exp....
Consumers struggling with skyrocketing prices for food, gas, autos, and rent got a tantalizing hint of relief last month when prices didn’t budge at all from June after 25 straight months of increases. With gas prices continuing to fall, inflation is probably slowing further this month. So has the worst bout of ....
Workers’ wages are rising briskly, a factor contributing to four-decade high U.S. inflation. Average hourly earnings grew 5.2% in July from a year earlier, and annual wage gains have exceeded 5% each month this year, the Labor Department said Friday. The rapid earnings growth adds to other evidence that employers are contin....
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are known as the backbone of the U.S. economy and play a major role in most economies, with tremendous contributions to job creation. They represent about 90% of businesses, and more than 50% of employment worldwide. Although some continue to thrive, many SMBs were hit severely by the e....
The Internal Revenue Service has released a draft version of Form 1040 for next tax season, with an expanded question about virtual currencies, now referred to as digital assets, along with other changes on drafts of that form and related forms and schedules. Last tax season, the question was: "At any time during 2021, ....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index rose 8.5% in July from a year ago, below expectations, due largely to slumping energy prices.Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI rose 5.9% annually and 0.3% monthly, compared with respective estimates of 6.1% and 0.5%.The report....
KEY POINTS A new Wells Fargo analysis looked at the best 20 days for the S&P 500 between August 1992 and July 2022. Almost half of them occurred amid a downturn.The findings underscore the impossibility of timing the market, with the dips and upswings being so jumb....
President Joe Biden signed two bills on Friday that give the federal government more time to catch and prosecute fraud related to two of the most popular COVID-19 small business relief programs — the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). The b....
By a vote of 51 to 50, the U.S. Senate on Sunday passed a budget reconciliation bill, H.R. 5376, now known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The bill contains numerous tax provisions, including a 15% corporate minimum tax, expanded eligibility for premium tax credits, and numerous clean energy credits. The Senate....
KEY POINTS Senate Democrats on Sunday passed their climate, health, and tax package, including nearly $80 billion in funding for the IRS.The Inflation Reduction Act allocates $79.6 billion to the agency over the next 10 years, with more than half of the money g....
One doesn’t have to be the loneliest number anymore. For years, sole proprietors weren’t able to choose from as wide a range of retirement plan options as bigger operations could. Or, in the case of a 401(k) plan, the administrative costs would outweigh the potential benefits in the business owner’s eyes. But the landscape h....
When we think of penalties we naturally think of punishment. I mean, to channel Steven Wright, if a penalty is not punishment when why does the word start with “penal”? Both this week and next week’s lesson teach us how penalties serve other purposes as well. Today, in Lionel E. Laroch....
The biggest US companies keep stepping up their spending on capital projects and encouraging signals to investors in an uncertain economic climate. Companies from Google parent alphabet incorporated to General Motors Company to Pepsi Cola incorporated are among those that have increased spending on big-ticket items....
The recent scam appears to cut across Intuit's cloud and desktop products. In a worrying development pointing to the increasing sophistication of such scams, Intuit also stated that hackers appear to now be able to link emails to existing email chains, boosting the perceived authenticity of such communications. QuickBooks ow....
National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins is protesting a decision by Internal Revenue Service officials to postpone the implementation of scanning technology by the next tax season to deal with a backlog of millions of paper tax returns. Collins called on the IRS during tax season to implement the kind of commonly u....
Stress on global supply chains eased in July to the lowest level since January 2021 as port congestion and other snags eased, the New York Federal Reserve reported on Thursday, in its latest update to a worldwide index of supply problems. It was the third straight month of declines an encouraging s....
Gig economy companies classifying their workers as independent contractors continue to face lawsuits, state action, and federal agency enforcement For much of the last decade, a legal and regulatory storm at the state and federal levels has surrounded the classification of workers as “independent contractors” or “employees.” The dram....
The IRS is continuing to hone its filters to catch business identity theft and tax fraud, using 84 selection filters last year to identify business tax returns claiming refunds for potential fraud but not always succeeding, according to a new report. The report, released Monday by the Treasury Inspector Gen....
US household debt increased by 2% to $16.2 trillion in the second quarter, with mortgages, auto loans, and credit-card balances all seeing sizable increases, according to a report by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The increase in borrowing, which equals $312 billion over three months, is reflected in part in hig....
The Federal Reserve is “nowhere near” being almost done in fighting the hottest inflation in four decades, and officials are fully committed to achieving price stability, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said. “We have made a good start, and I feel really pleased with where we’ve gotten to by t....
Equifax this spring sent out incorrect credit scores for millions of customers applying for home and auto loans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. As one of three major credit-reporting companies in the US., Equifax provides financial information and scores for consumers, ....
KEY POINTS Despite seeing real wage gains this year, Americans must contend with a higher cost of living, which is growing at the fastest annual pace in more than four decades.As inflation outpaces wage growth, credit card balances jumped in the second quarter of 2022.American....
Someone in Illinois bought the winning ticket, and if he or she does like most winners, they will take the lump sum, not the annuity. The $1.28 billion prize, which is the second-largest jackpot in Mega Millions lottery history, can be claimed in a lump sum or over time. The 1.28 billion is only if you take it ov....
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Marko Kolanovic is quickly emerging as one of the very few bulls among Wall Street’s top strategists, who says US stocks will rally in the second half. Kolanovic, voted the No. 1 equity-linked strategist in last year’s Institutional Investor survey, has stuck to his calls fo....
KEY POINTS Home price gains are cooling fast, as demand wanes and supply builds.The annual rate of price appreciation fell two percentage points from 19.3% to 17.3%.Price gains are still otherwise strong because of an imbalance between supply and demand. The housing market has had a severe shortage fo....
Employers continued hiking workers' pay at a brisker-than-expected pace, but the increases still weren't enough to compensate for the even faster rise in inflation. Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 1.4% in the second quarter and 5.3% over the year ending in June, according to the Bureau of ....
With the busiest week of the second-quarter earnings season over, investors are relieved that results are holding up better than feared, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists. Of the 56% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, more than half have beaten analyst estimates -- above the....
The Internal Revenue Service admitted that some married couples received an erroneous balance due notices for their 2021 tax returns. The IRS added that no immediate response to the notice or phone call was necessary right now and it’s working on fixing the problem. “The IRS is aware that some payments made for 2021 tax....
The stock market is wrestling with a “bad news is actually good news” scenario. US gross domestic product shrank in the second quarter after slowing in the first quarter as well. Two consecutive quarters of contraction is the technical definition of a recession, although the real-world definition is more n....
KEY POINTS The U.S. economy shrank for a second straight quarter, one definition of a recession, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.However, fewer than half of Americans feel “financially secure enough” for....
One of the Treasury markets more widely watched yield-curve indicators extended its inversion after the Federal Reserve’s decision to lift its benchmark rate in line with expectations. The yield on the two-year Treasury moved to be as much as 32 basis points higher than the 10-year yield, which slid in th....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its second consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase, taking its benchmark rate to a range of 2.25%-2.5%.Chair Jerome Powell said there will be a point where the Fed starts to slow hikes to assess their impact....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product fell 0.9% at an annualized pace for the period, according to the advance estimate.That follows a 1.6% decline in the first quarter and was worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a gain of 0.3%.The drop came from a broad swath of factors, including d....
Summary Fed raises policy rate to 2.25%-2.50% rangeU.S. central bank flags weakening economic dataFed's Powell says failure to tame inflation not an option The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it would not flinch in its battle against the most intense breakout of inflation in the United States since the 1....
As the Federal Reserve prepares to meet this week, Wall Street investors are betting that officials will raise interest rates aggressively through the end of the year and then turn around and start cutting them in six months. The unusual nature reflects investors growing sense that the Fed is ....
The US corporate earnings season is turning out to be better than feared as consumer spending remains resilient, while stocks have already priced in much of the bad news according to Citigroup incorporated and UBS Global Wealth Management strategists. Of the US companies that have reported so far 60% have beaten ....
Questions hold the potential for change but thought without action is defeat. “It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than it is to think yourself into a new way of acting.” Anonymous Each question listed below includes clear action items. 5 questions that can change your life: #1. What beliefs abo....
Disappointing earnings reports from several big companies don’t seem to be fazing investors, with the S&P 500 up nearly 5% this month, and 2.5% last week, after a punishing start to the year. Even some companies that have posted sharply lower quarterly results have seen their shares rally in th....
What inspires us to follow a CEO, founder, or thought leader? Certainly, there is a toughness, particularly in the face of adversity, that can encourage us to do the same and elevate our efforts. In other words, toughness or grit can be inspirational. In this short article, I want to share how grit is es....
Benchmark: “Something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged,” according to Merriam-Webster. As necessary as benchmarks are, in my opinion, the modern business world has become entirely too fascinated with them. Don’t get me wrong—all businesses need to monitor success, failures, and progres....
From rising interest rates to battling growing inflation and supply chain issues that don’t show any hint of resolving, warning signs of a recession are becoming hard to ignore. Despite the state of our current economy, there are many reasons not to panic about a possible recession. we all began to emerge from ....
Amid the “Great Resignation,” many people continue to relish the idea of being their own boss. While autonomy and flexibility can be alluring, there are also important financial considerations. This is especially important advice given that new business applications remain historically strong, albeit down 2.....
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that U.S. economic growth is slowing and she acknowledged the risk of a recession, but she said a downturn was not inevitable. Yellen, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," said strong hiring numbers and consumer spending showed the U.S. economy is not currently i....
The bond market wants to believe that Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell will succeed in getting inflation under control. It’s unclear just when the economy might witness an actual slowdown in consumer-price gains, which are presently running at the fastest pace in four decades. But as investors brace ....
More than 4 million people have left their jobs each month in the U.S. so far this year — and according to new research, this record-breaking trend isn’t going to quit anytime soon. About 40% of workers are considering quitting their current jobs in the next 3-to-6 mon....
New research that analyzed the impact of same-day pay showed that 60% of working Americans want employers to offer workers immediate access to daily earned wages. A new national research study that analyzed the impact of same-day pay showed that, among other things, more than 60% of working Americans ....
As we enter the home stretch, 2022 has been an eventful year for tax professionals. New proposed regulations, court decisions, and Internal Revenue Service pronouncements have all impacted the tax landscape. While the major developments are familiar to most professionals, there are a few that might have been overlooked due to the busy nature....
Higher prices can sting retirees harder than others for a number of reasons, but there are a few specific types of investments that can help ease the pain. Inflation hurts everyone. It seems to reach every sector, product, and business in one way or another, whether it raises the cost of heating your home, lunches, or road trips. Bu....
KEY POINTS A CNBC poll found more than 6 out of 10 Americans think there will be a recession next year.Although Americans age 50 and older feel better prepared for recession than younger people, 68% of U.S. adults overall don’t feel ready for a downturn at all, according to a MagnifyMoney report.Here are some....
The slowdown in venture-capital funding has spread to early-stage startups, with that part of the market suffering one of the biggest investment drops in more than a decade. In the second quarter, venture capitalists invested around $16 billion in U.S. early-stage deals—known as Series A and B rounds—a 22% decrease from the ....
Improving the taxpayer experience while surmounting operational difficulties that include a shrinking workforce are among the goals the IRS has set for itself in the next five fiscal years. The 26-page IRS Strategic Plan FY 2022–2026 (Publication 3744) was released Wednesday, outlining strategic goals broadly for servi....
Citigroup Inc. economists have labeled a global recession a “clear and present danger,” while repeating they estimate a 50 percent probability of such a slump. In a report to clients, economists led by Nathan Sheets said they now expect the world economy to grow 2.9 percent this year and 2.6 percent in 2023, slightly ....
The giants of private credit -- the only game in town lately for big-ticket leveraged buyouts -- are dialing back on risk, in a turning point that threatens to reduce crucial financing for mega deals. Blackstone Inc., Apollo Global Management Inc., Ares Management Corp., KKR & Co., Antares Capital LP, and the as....
Talk about recession and inflation has been a dominant topic on second-quarter corporate earnings calls that are starting to flood in. Recession fear is already dominating Washington. Now it’s gripping corporate America. CEOs across industries are increasingly grappling with the threat of an economic slump — possibly....
KEY POINTS A high rate of inflation — 9.1% in June from a year earlier — has taken a toll on household budgets.In addition to dealing with earnings not keeping up with the cost of living, most middle-class households (77%) expect the U.S. to be in a recession by the end of 2022.Experts sa....
It may often be a good idea for a small business owner to have children and other relatives on the company payroll. However, a new Tax Court case put a spotlight on what truly qualifies for the tax deductibility of compensation to that employed relative, and what does not. Certainly, small business clients may know the tax bene....
Stocks rallied Tuesday, with the market resuming a bounce from last month’s lows, as traders bet on strong corporate earnings reports and wagered that markets have found a bottom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 754.44 points, or 2.43%, to 31,827.05 — closing near the highs of the session as gai....
Federal Reserve officials have signaled they're likely to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points later this month for the second straight meeting as part of an aggressive effort to combat high inflation. Policymakers left the door open to a larger full percentage point increase at the Jul....
US stocks dipped to start the week as investors considered another set of earnings reports from major companies and looked ahead to a slate of key central bank meetings. Stocks were in the green for much of Monday's session before turning downward in the afternoon. The s&p 500 fell 32.31 points or 0.8% to 3,830.85. The b....
The legislation would direct the IRS to create software that would allow any taxpayer to prepare and file their individual income tax return beginning in the tax year 2023. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is leading fellow Democrats in renewing a push for the IRS to create its own free tax-filing services and move away ....
Lots of questions continue to swirl around the state of like-kind exchanges (real estate in particular) both in the near and long-term. As a tax planner, it's best to look at the current legislative impact and the possibilities. Mike Pusey, CPA offers his perspective. The IRC Section 1031 “landscape” has narrowed significan....
Baby boomers have lived through the tech bubble, the 2008 housing and market crash, and even double-digit inflation in the 1970s, but never all these financial crises together. Now we have inflation, pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, a bear market, higher gas prices, and rising interest rates. That makes an already ....
Inflation at the wholesale level climbed 11.3% in June compared with a year earlier, the latest painful reminder that inflation is running hot through the American economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the U.S. producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose at the fast....
Most companies use too many incomplete measures and would benefit from using one complete measure instead, as railroading company CSX has implemented. At a recent financial training session for railroading company CSX Corporation, CFO Sean Pelkey asked his teammates to list what they considered to be the three most important ....
Deepening fears about the health of the global economy have shoved the euro down to parity against the US dollar for the first time in 20 years. Investors gravitate towards the perceived safety of the dollar in times of stress — a feature that led to a ferocious rally in the US currency when the coronavi....
Recently, FASB issued a new Accounting Standards Update (ASU 2019-12), Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. The new standard amends section 740 of the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), eliminating some problematic exceptions and technicalities. CPAs hoping the new standards would reduce the overall complexity ....
One of the US bond market’s most widely watched indicators of potential recession risk has reached levels last seen in 2007. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note moved to be as much as 10 basis points below the 2-year rate, eclipsing the 9.5-basis-point gap reached in early April. So-called inv....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index increased 9.1% from a year ago in June, above the 8.8% Dow Jones estimate.Excluding food and energy, core CPI rose 5.9%, compared with the 5.7% estimate.Costs surged for gasoline, groceries, rent, and dental care.Adjusted for inflation, workers' hourly wag....
Such a frenetic pace of downgrades seen only four times beforeRecession or not, the UBS model shows a 1,100-point gap for S&P 500 Even diehard bulls are yielding to recession angst. Wall Street analysts, the majority of whom clung to buy ratings and optimistic profit forecasts as markets cratered, are ....
Remote work is equalizing tech startup pay across the country, with Silicon Valley and San Francisco as the benchmark, and Seattle as Exhibit A. That’s one insight from a recent study by financial technology company Carta: compensation packages at tech startups in the Seattle r....
The biggest overhaul of cross-border tax rules in a generation is now on course to take effect in 2024, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Monday in an update on the project for G20 finance ministers. The shake-up, which has been shepherded by the OECD and which nearly 140 countries agre....
Investors expect concerns about hot inflation and strapped consumers to dominate the corporate earnings season that kicks off this week creating winners and losers in the battered stock market. Stocks have come under pressure this year with inflation hovering at a four-decade high in the Federal Reserve....
Monthly consolidated financials need to be prepared within a few days to be of use to operational leaders. Consolidated financial statements enable organizations with a parent company and subordinate reporting units (e.g., subsidiaries, regional operations, or multiple locations) to report their ....
Another record-breaking number of imports passed through the US's major container ports this spring -- showing no sign of a slowdown in consumer demand, the National Retail Federation, or NRF, said Friday. "Cargo volume is expected to remain high as we head into the peak shipping season, and it ....
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Sunday expressed doubt that the nation will head into a significant economic downturn but warned against “talking ourselves into a recession.” She said it’s typical for the Federal Reserve’s hikes in interest rates to slow economic growth. For over two....
After a period of relative sanity, another wave of shipping congestion is expected to happen soon. By now weary retailers are familiar with the drill and are recalibrating supply chains and warehousing and manufacturing strategies. At the moment, congestion has improved, according to a report in Av....
There’s no need to fret about the timing of a US recession anymore, according to Wells Fargo Investment Institute -- because we’re already in one. The investment strategy arm of the bank says the US is entering a recession in the second half of the year -- in other words, now -- amid inflation that’....
KEY POINTS The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.Starting this month, workers in Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., are seeing higher minimum pay rates.Some experts say a higher federal standard for hourly pay is needed. Workers earnin....
Homebuyers are feeling the squeeze of rising mortgage rates. On top of that, housing prices remain high. That may lead many to rethink their budget. “As mortgage rates go up, it raises the cost of buying a home with a mortgage,” explained Danielle Hale, chief economist at Re....
You might be feeling pain at the pump, but it could be worse; gas is a lot more expensive in some other countries. Historically high gas prices in the United States have led to consumer complaints, political consternation, and even some changes in tax policy, but a look at prices paid in countries around the world reveals that things could be wor....
After a nurse bought clothing for work at a clinic at her own expense and deducted it from her taxes, she wound up in front of the Tax Court to ensure the purchase was a legitimate business-related tax deduction. In this case, she prevailed. Ken Berry offers the details below. Under prior law, an individual could deduct the u....
FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that improves financial reporting for investors and other financial statement users by increasing the comparability of financial information across reporting entities that have investments in equity securities measured at fair value that are subject to co....
Operating cash flows boosted many balance sheets in the 12 months ending March, but that will be harder to do this quarter. The Association for Financial Professionals’ annual Liquidity Survey takes a thorough look into corporate treasury trends and information on corporate cash holdings, cash management, and short-t....
State Income Tax Complications The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic triggered an exodus of workers from their comfortable offices to the safety of their homes and other remote locations. For some, this displacement is temporary and will end when the pandemic subsides; for others, the ability to work remotely represents a paradigm shift that may be fel....
Traditional IRAs are set up in a way that basically incentivizes you (and your heirs) into paying the highest tax bill possible. Don’t fall for it. Consider a Roth conversion instead. When you first decided to contribute to an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement account, it probably seemed like a grea....
Federal Reserve officials were concerned at their meeting last month that consumers were increasingly anticipating higher inflation, and they signaled that much higher interest rates could be needed to restrain it. The policymakers also acknowledged, in minutes from their June 14-15 meeting release....
The tax agency is the gatekeeper for America’s charity system, but reduced vetting has opened the door to scams. The “American Cancer Society of Michigan,” state authorities say, was a fake charity. And not even a good fake. It was not in Michigan, for o....
Three out of four public company audit partners believe that inflationary concerns could persist well into 2023 and possibly beyond, according to a new survey by the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ). The CAQ's inaugural Audit Partner Pulse Survey found that 75% of the 700 auditors surveyed anticipate that the c....
-Move could include announcing a new probe into China’s subsidies-Easing tariffs is seen as a way to counter accelerating inflation President Joe Biden may announce as soon as this week a rollback ofsome US tariffs on Chinese consumer goods -- as well as a new probeinto industrial subsidies that could lead to mor....
The U.S. economy has experienced 12 recessions since World War II, andeach one included two features: Economic output contracted andunemployment rose. Today, something highly unusual is happening. Economic output fell inthe first quarter and signs suggest it did so again in the second. Yetthe job market showed little sign of ....
By some early estimates, the U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product, may have shrunk in the three months from April through June. Add that to the decline from January through March, and that would be a contraction for two quarters in a row. By an often-cited rule of thumb, that means the world's l....
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said there was no guarantee that the central bank can engineer a soft landing for the U.S. economy. “We think that there are pathways for us to achieve the path back to 2% inflation while still retaining a strong labor market. We believe we can do that,” Powell said, du....
A U.S. Supreme Court decision to curb the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions may be bad news for a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) bid to force companies to disclose their emissions. While Thursday's ruling relates to the EPA's authority to regulate power p....
How the second half will play out is still a coin tossInflation will ease in coming quarters: Northwestern Mutual The S&P 500 suffered its worst first half since 1970. But its dismal performance is not an indication of what’s to come. That’s according to an analysis by S&P Dow Jones Indices tha....
FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that improves financial reporting for investors and other financial statement users by increasing the comparability of financial information across reporting entities that have investments in equity securities measured at fair value that are subject to co....
KEY POINTS Thanks to inflation, even a backyard barbecue is more expensive this year.Here are five ways to save money over the Fourth of July weekend without sacrificing the festivities or fun. Nothing says Independence Day like a good, old-fashioned barbecue. In keeping with tradition, most Americ....
Q. Help! I have been working on a very important Excel file for a client, and suddenly my computer locked up and says, "Excel is not responding." Is there anything I can do so that I don't lose all of my work? A. We have all been there. It's a terrible feeling when you have put so much work into your file and suddenly you are forced....
If your client just set up their startup business, they might not want to try to write off the costs and forget about it. As Ken Berry points out, a new Tax Court case makes the IRS's opinion of this move very clear. The tax law provides a faster-than-usual write-off for costs associated with starting a business venture, but it....
KEY POINTS Major corporations tell CNBC that even as the stock market is volatile and recession risk elevated, spending levels will increase.Technology is a primary reason as firms need to stay on top of areas like AI or risk falling behind and losing long-term market share to competitors. Short-term mark....
Summary U.S. consumer expectations sink to a near-decade lowNike slips on downbeat quarterly revenue forecastIndexes down: Dow 1.56%, S&P 2.01%, Nasdaq 2.98% Wall Street closed sharply lower in a broad sell-off on Tuesday as dire consumer confidence data dampened investor optimism and fueled worries over th....
Companies last year defied the coronavirus pandemic to go public at a record pace. Now, market volatility, inflation, and fears of a downturn have brought an abrupt end to the listing party. Companies have raised a combined $4.9 billion via US initial public offerings this year, less than 6% of the record sum ra....
A speedy recovery from a disaster can depend on your recordkeeping. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance writer Rivan Stinson tells us how to get our papers in order. Transcript: David Muhlbaum: What documents can you throw out, and which must you save, and where do you put them, is a debate as old as, well, wri....
The chaotic mix of record fuel prices and an unending supply chain crisis have retailers considering the unthinkable: Instead of returning your unwanted items, just keep them. In recent weeks, some of the biggest store chains, including Target (TGT), Walmart,&n....
Tech firms and banks, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, add a ‘critical healthcare’ package Many large US corporations have moved swiftly to provide support and financial assistance to employees seeking abortions in states that outlawed the procedure after the....
A pair of U.S. central bankers said on Friday they supported further sharp interest rate hikes to stem rapid price rises, even as investors cheered economic data showing inflation expectations to be less worrisome than initially feared. Last week, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark overnight interest rate b....
This year has been an especially tough one for seniors on fixed incomes. To stay on track, try these eight financial survival tips.Why is this year different from all other years for seniors? Inflation. The latest numbers show a whopping inflation rate that’s the highest since 1982. This means that everything you buy will be ....
KEY POINTS The percentage of people who are uncomfortable with the money they have set aside is now 58%, up from 44% two years ago, a new Bankrate.com survey finds."Inflation being at four-decade highs will erode your comfort level in the buying power....
At the end of May 2022, the agency had a backlog of 21.3 million unprocessed paper tax returns, an increase of 1.3 million over the same time last year. On June 22, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins released her statutorily mandated mid-year report to Congress. The report expresses concern about continuing delays in ....
Equities have yet to fully price in the risk of a recession and may have further fall, according to Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists. Although this year’s slump in US stocks has left them more fairly priced, the S&P 500 Index needs to drop another 15 percent to 20 percent to about 3,000 point....
NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Stephen Cecchetti, professor of international finance at Brandeis University, for a preview of Powell's testimony which follows the Fed's biggest rate hike since 1994. LEILA FADEL, HOST: Inflation is also the focus of lawmakers today. They're questioning Federal Reserv....
And 40% of those surveyed have less than $50,000 saved for their old age Many older Americans are willing to work during their retirement years — and they may have to be — because they aren’t financially prepared for their old age. Almost three in 10 people between 55 an....
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists warned the risk of a US recession has grown more likely, and have downgraded their gross domestic product growth forecasts for the economy. The Goldman economists now see a 30% probability of entering a recession over the next year, compared to 15% previously, and a 25% ....
NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - Investors' faith in a soft landing for the U.S. economy is being heavily tested, as a jumbo-sized interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve stirs worries over the recession and more volatile trading ahead. Analysts and investors said they believe a re....
The market route has been painful for investors. But the sting may be especially sharp for anyone who has recently retired or is planning to in the next year or two. It's worth remembering that bear markets are not unusual or permanent. Since 1928 there has been roughly one or two a decade. They don't always precede re....
Microsoft's spreadsheet still dominates corporate finance for plenty of good reasons, but is it holding you back from growth? Why Does Excel Survive in Finance Departments? Microsoft’s spreadsheet still dominates corporate finance, for plenty of good reasons. Growing Pains: Stuck on Excel As a company scales, the sp....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point in its most aggressive hike since 1994.According to the “dot plot” of individual members’ expectations, the Fed’s benchmark rate will end the year at 3.4%, an upward rev....
The Federal Reserve’s plan to raise its benchmark rate to a neutral level, around 2.5%, by the end of the year is under pressure after surprisingly strong May consumer inflation data on Friday. “The May CPI was a stunning blow to the Fed’s hopes that inflation would cool off any t....
A key inflation reading showed a glimmer of hope on Tuesday, revealing a slight slowdown in rising prices -- though they remain uncomfortably high. The Producer Price Index, which measures wholesale prices before goods and services reach consumers, rose 10.8% in May compared to where it stood a year ago, acc....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve intensified its fight against high inflation on Wednesday, raising its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point — the largest bump since 1994 — and signaling more rate hikes ahead as it tries to cool off the U.S. economy without causing a recession. The unusually....
The US stock market has entered a bear market and if history is any guide, it could be long and painful. This is the fourth such event for the S&P 500 Index over the past two decades. While the last bear market of 2020 was mostly a so-called shock trade brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, earlier ones ....
US consumer inflation reached its highest level in more than four decades in May as surging energy and food costs pushed prices higher, with little indication of when the upward trend could ease. The Labor Department on Friday said the Consumer Price Index increased 8.6% in May from the same month a year ago, marking its fastest pace since Dece....
The writing is on the wall, and the majority of U.S. economists agree that the U.S. is in store of a recession next year. Year-over-year U.S. consumer price increases unexpectedly surged last month to 8.6%. That means that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow down the economy over the past ....
US inflation accelerated to a fresh 40-year high in May, a sign that price pressures are becoming entrenched in the economy. That will likely push the Federal Reserve to extend an aggressive series of interest-rate hikes and adds to political problems for the White House and Democrats. The consumer price index in....
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rate for the final 6 months of 2022. Taxpayers may use the optional standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and certain other purposes. For the final 6 months of 2....
Depending on your income in 2021, you may be feeling the pain of paying your state and federal income taxes. Some of you reading this post may be feeling a bit more pain based on the state within which you live, how you earn your income, and whether or not you own a home. The overall tax burden can vary widely from state to stat....
KEY POINTS Amid high inflation that has become the No. 1 business risk, not a single chief financial officer surveyed by CNBC thinks a recession can be avoided.The macroeconomic view of CFOs informs a bearish stock market outlook, with most expecting the Dow Jones Industrial Average ....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday that tariff reductions on Chinese goods may be warranted as the White House tries to cool the hottest inflation in four decades, but said that such cuts are not a "panacea" to runaway consumers prices. While testifying before the House W....
The stock market has been cratering so far this year — leaving special purpose acquisition companies, which buy private firms in order to make them public without the need for a traditional initial public offering, with difficulty finding targets.SPACs, also known as blank check companies, are facing the same concerns about ....
Prices for chips and shipping containers have come off peaksCentral bankers are scrambling to snuff out soaring inflation Three of the key supply-side factors driving today’s global inflation levels have already turned around, meaning relief could be on the horizon for shoppers worldwide. A bellwether se....
More than 8 in 10 Americans believe the state of the nation’s economy is poor or not so good, according to a new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll. The poll found that just 1 percent of respondents described the U.S. economy as excellent, while 27 percent described it as poor and 55 percent as not so good. Mor....
KEY POINTS Japan has made key advancements in the quantum computer race, India has developed its own strategy for the technology, and debates are simmering over whether China has surpassed the U.S. on some fronts.Quantum computing will ultimately speed up the computational power that....
KEY POINTS Social Security’s combined trust funds are now projected to be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2035, a full year later than was projected last year.But if nothing is done to shore up the program, just 80% of benefits will be payable at that tim....
KEY POINTS The IRS is working to boost audit rates for the wealthiest Americans, according to a statement from the agency.While plummeting audits have drawn congressional scrutiny, the numbers doubled for higher earners over the past seven months, the IRS reported.Still, “resource constraints” have limited....
SummaryTesla employed around 100,000 people at end of 2021Musk warned staff on Tuesday to return to the office or leaveU.S. executives sounding increasingly gloomy about the economy SAN FRANCISCO, June 3 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk has a "super bad feeling" about the economy and needs to cut about 10% ....
BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said he expects inflation to remain elevated for several years primarily because of snarled global supply chains. “It’s been aggravated by Covid and lockdowns in different parts of the world,” Fink, 69, said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview on “The Close” ....
The IRS on Wednesday began its annual "Dirty Dozen" series, warning of abusive tax transactions and scams, with four schemes the Service advised taxpayers to shun. The four arrangements the IRS described as potentially abusive "are very much on our enforcement radar screen," a news release quoted IRS Commissione....
KEY POINTS There are two main factors that have Dimon worried: So-called quantitative tightening, or QT, is scheduled to begin this month and will ramp up to $95 billion a month in reduced bond holdings.The other large factor worrying Dimon is the Ukraine war and its impact on c....
The US private sector added fewer jobs than expected in May as the Federal Reserve ramped up its effort to slow the economy and cool inflation. Private-sector firms added 128,000 payrolls last month, ADP said Thursday in its monthly employment report. The median estimate....
The ‘retirement ideal’ has been changing for years. Older people are increasingly unretiring, changing the shape of this life stage. Picture retirement in your head. It’s a laughing, grey-haired couple sipping piña coladas on a white sand beach; perhaps they’re getting some liquid courage for their skydive later. Not a car....
The blue-chip S&P 500 stock index ended the month of May with a marginal 0.01 percent gain, following weeks of tumultuous trading as investors questioned the trajectory of US inflation, growth, and Federal Reserve policy. Wall Street stocks have whipsawed in May due to economic data and corporate earnings that have thrown doub....
Summary The consumer confidence index falls to 106.4 in MayLabor market gauge softens; more say jobs hard to findBuying intentions for cars, homes, and major appliances easeHouse prices accelerate year-on-year in March U.S. consumer confidence eased modestly in May as persistently high inflation an....
In some instances, C corporations prefer to designate payments as amounts for compensation, rather than payments of dividends. The IRS sees it another way, and the Courts backed it up. As shown in a new case decided by a court of appeals, Aspro, Inc. v. CIR, No. 21-1996, CA-8, 4/26/22, a C corporation can’t disgui....
In a typical month, a couple of hundred American companies disclose sizable seed funding rounds. And every few quarters, Crunchbase News has made it a habit to peruse those rounds to see what trends we can glean. This time around, we looked at nearly 1,000 U.S. seed and pre-seed rounds of $500,000 and up announced in 2022. And, ....
Corporate executives have this month bought shares in their companies at a rate not seen since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in what some Wall Street analysts said was an encouraging sign for the US stock market. Between the start of the month and May 24, insider buying at S&P 500 compa....
Global equity funds saw their biggest inflows in 10 weeks, led by US stocks, as cheaper valuations lured buyers after a steep selloff on recession fears. Investors added about $20 billion to global stocks in the week to May 25, led by inflows into the US, according to Bank of America Corp.’s note citing EPFR Global data. Cash le....
KEY POINTS First-quarter GDP declined at a 1.5% annual pace, worse than the 1.3% Dow Jones estimate and a write-down from the initially reported 1.4%.The pullback in gross domestic product represented the worst quarter since the pandemic-scarred Q2 of 2020.Initial jobless claims totaled 210,000, a ....
Blank-check companies settled on deals to buy a members-only startup airline, a startup augmented reality firm and a company called Two Bit Circus this month as SPACs face pressing deadlines to strike deals or close shop. At least 16 special-purpose acquisition company tie-ups have been announced so far in May, ....
KEY POINTS The core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 4.9% from a year ago in April, in line with estimates and a deceleration from March.Personal income rose slightly less than expected, but spending beat estimates....
Beneath the latest global market disruptions are clues that the Federal Reserve is making slow but sure progress in its bid to curb the excesses of this inflation-addled business cycle. Ever-tightening financial conditions and the draining of stock-market froth suggest Wall Street is taking the Fed....
KEY POINTS Fed minutes released Wednesday indicated that officials are prepared to move ahead with multiple 50 basis points interest rate increases.In addition, the Federal Open Market Committee said policy may have to move past “neutral” and into “restrictive” territory.The minutes indic....
When adding an LLC member, business clients need your guidance on handling the change legally and for tax purposes. Here, Nellie Akalp, CEO and founder of CorpNet, shares six basic steps for adding a new member, including what to do if the LLC members decide to file for S Corp election for taxation. There could be a number of reason....
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will increase for the calendar quarter beginning July 1, 2022. The rates will be: 5% for overpayments (4% in the case of a corporation).2.5% for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.5% for underpayments.7% for large corp....
We’re nearing the end of the second quarter of the year, and it’s been unpleasant to say the least. Inflation, rising interest rates, and the war in Ukraine have caused a lot of volatility in the stock market, with the S&P 500 dipping into bear market territory last week. While las....
Another week, another message to startups that the good times are dead. This time the message comes directly from the original authors of R.I.P. Good Times in 2008—Sequoia Capital. The venture giant—known for investments in tech titans such as Apple, Uber, and Google—shared a 52-slide presentation with 25....
All participants at the Federal Reserve's May 3-4 policy meeting backed a half-percentage-point rate increase to combat inflation they agreed had become a key threat to the economy's performance and was at risk of racing higher without action by the U.S. central bank, minutes of th....
Walmart announced on Tuesday that it’s planning on expanding the number of stores that offer drone-delivered packages; by the end of the year, it hopes to fly deliveries from 34 sites across Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The company says the expansion will give up to 4 mi....
American workers say it will take $1.1 million on average to retire comfortably — but less than one in four-figure they’ll be able to save that much. Just 22% of people approaching retirement age said they’ll have enough money to maintain a comfortable standard of living, according to the 2022 Schrode....
When it comes to retirement planning, educating yourself can keep you from making big mistakes. Here are three key lessons that everyone preparing for their golden years should know. Do you feel like you know enough about money to get by? A newly released survey by the TIAA Institute shows that people of ....
Recession fears have markets into panic. But the leaders of America's biggest banks and US consumers appear to be in good financial health. JP Morgan Chase & CO. expects credit losses to remain abnormally low through March of 2023. Because customers haven't yet drank cash balances that grew fatter during the pandemic execu....
The IRS correctly calculated taxpayers' eligibility for a recovery rebate credit in the 2021 filing season 99.3% of the time, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reported Monday. However, even the corresponding 0.7% error rate involved hundreds of millions of dollars in improper allowances of ....
The Internal Revenue Service issued potentially improper Recovery Rebate Credit payments totaling $898 million, according to a new report. The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, noted that $79.8 million in Recovery Rebate Credits actually should have been paid to e....
Stephanie Pomboy digs around to find risks and opportunities where others fail to tread. Right now, the founder and president of the economic research firm MacroMavens are forecasting a profits recession, marked by a “huge margin squeeze for the average corporation.” It will be a significant p....
KEY POINTS Bank of America’s account holders saw strong growth in their balances during Covid, CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC.Moynihan said predicted that people “probably” won’t start spending their stimulus check-boosted balances right now. Bank of America’s account holders saw s....
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline spiked 33 cents over the past two weeks to $4.71 per gallon The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline spiked 33 cents over the past two weeks to $4.71 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the price jump comes a....
As inflation and interest rates spiral upward, the Internal Revenue Service is increasing its interest rates for the third quarter of the year. The IRS said Thursday that interest rates will increase for the calendar quarter starting July 1, 2022. The rates will be: 5% for overpayments (4% in the case of a corporation);2.5% for the....
Corporate tax rates in major economies around the world have fallen to an average of just 25.1% this year, according to a study released Friday by the UHY international accounting firm network. With the COVID-19 pandemic leaving a gaping hole in the public finances of many countries, however, UHY predicts the trend of declin....
The national median rent was $1,827 a month in April, up 16.7% from a year ago, according to a report from Realtor.com. Rent has been steadily increasing since early last year. If recent trends continue, the report projects the typical rent could be more than $2,000 a month by August. The continued surge in rental prices is driven by ....
‘It’s going to be hard to avoid some kind of recession,’ Chief Executive Charlie Scharf says Wells Fargo and company CEO Charlie Scharf said Tuesday there was no question that the US is headed for an economic downturn. The Federal Reserve has raised rates twice this year and plans to keep doing so, part of ....
The Biden administration is poised to fully block Russia’s ability to pay U.S. bondholders after a deadline expires next week, a move that could bring Moscow closer to the brink of default. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is expected to allow a general license that expires May 25....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday underscored the Federal Reserve’s determination to keep raising interest rates until there is clear evidence inflation is steadily falling — a high-stakes effort that carries the risk of causing an eventual recession. The Fed’s increases in its benchmark short....
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank will continue to raise short-term interest rates — which will likely slow economic activity — until there is “clear and convincing evidence” that inflation is coming down. “We will go to that point and there won’t be any hesit....
Inflation may have you worried about your retirement. Prices have been rising on everything from food to housing. In April, the consumer price index, which measures the prices of goods and services, notched an 8.3% increase from the year-earlier period. In fact, 70% of American....
The Internal Revenue Service has been auditing fewer taxpayers since 2010, according to a new report, but audit rates have been plunging the most for higher-income taxpayers. A report released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office found that in recent years, the IRS audited taxpayers with incomes below $25,000 and th....
Many adults under 35 are throwing financial caution to the wind. It’s all about saving less, spending more, and pursuing passions. In a tumultuous time, many adults under 35 have stopped playing it safe. Instead of banking as much of their pay as they used to, they’re saving less, spending more, and pursuing ....
The Partnership for New York City found a wider embrace of hybrid workplaces, with 78 percent of businesses adopting the model. The best-laid plans for a full-time return to the office remain bedeviled by Covid-19 case rates and a workforce reluctant to go back to their commutes, according to da....
Inflation is still on the rise, prompting consumers to change their shopping habits to keep up. The Consumer Price Index jumped 8.3% year over year in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. While the reading was a slight decline from the 8.5% inc....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index accelerated 8.3% in April, more than the 8.1% estimate and near the highest level in more than 40 years.Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also was higher than expected, rising 6.2%.Shelter costs, which comprise about one-third of the CPI, rose at....
The Internal Revenue Service decided to destroy an estimated 30 million paper-filed information return documents in March 2021 because of its inability to process its backlog of paper tax returns, according to a new report. The report, released Monday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, note....
With first-quarter U.S. earnings in the final stretch, corporate growth expectations for the current quarter and 2022 mostly are declining as costs surge for oil and other supplies and interest rates rise. Sky-high oil has boosted forecasts for energy company earnings while feeding into concerns about profit mar....
Bank of America Corp. scaled back work with some SPACs, part of a retreat by banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. from blank-check firms over concern about potential liability risks associated with the vehicles. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender ended its relationships with some of the s....
Expanded U.S. government sanctions against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine include a ban on accounting and management consulting services by U.S. citizens. The sanctions announced Sunday "prohibit U.S. persons from providing accounting, trust, and corporate formation, and management consul....
To fix errors on form 1040, filers need to submit a separate Form 1040-X. Here, tax guru, Julian Block offers guidance on how to submit 1040-X, how the IRS might respond, and other considerations, such as filing a state's version of the 1040-X and what forms are right for freelance workers. Just joining us? Go to part one for th....
Continued personnel shortages and a growing backlog of some returns significantly impeded the IRS's performance during the 2022 income tax filing season that ended last month, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reported in a preliminary audit. The report, Interim Results ....
A day after celebrating the Federal Reserve’s signal that it wouldn’t be making any jumbo-sized moves, traders woke up on Thursday deciding that the central bank will struggle to fight high inflation amid the lingering threat of a recession. In a sharp about-face, investors sold stoc....
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised short-term interest rates by 0.50%, as part of an effort to tamp down the inflationary pressures weighing on Americans. The central bank suggested that it will further raise borrowing costs throughout this year as it attempts to undo its pandemic-era, easy money policies. T....
Among numerous other changes, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) chipped away at several tax breaks for individuals, including the deduction for mortgage interest. But the fall-out isn’t as bad as it first seems. Most taxpayers can continue to deduct ... Among numerous other changes, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) chipped away a....
It was the worst first four months of the year for the stock market since the 1970s! No, the 1930s! Can’t we just say it was a really bad start to the year? “Bad” might not do it justice. After dropping 3.3% this past week, the S&P 500 index has fallen 13% during the first four....
The pandemic-era trend known as the “Great Resignation” is still red-hot, as workers enjoy the perks of record-high demand for their labor. However, economic headwinds mean those benefits may not last much longer, according to economists. A record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in March, edging just abo....
Jerome Powell doesn't like to bless banks and financial markets, but he could shift the needle this week on how high investors expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to cool overheated prices. The Fed chair and his colleagues want to lift rates expeditiously to a neutral level this year that neithe....
Many of the concerns small business owners have now are about how they can stay afloat after the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, Bryce Sanders explains how changes to the market might affect these clients and what you can do to help them navigate the recovery afterward. “This time it’s different.” Some say these are the four....
Now that this year's tax filing season is over, it's time to start thinking about next year's return. After all, the more tax planning you do, the more money you may be able to save. But proper tax planning requires an awareness of what's new and changed from last year — and there are plenty of tax law changes and updates ....
In mid-April, months into an increasingly frustrating house hunt, Harsh Grewal and his wife settled on a place in a San Francisco suburb and were prepping a bid, above the listed price so they'd have a chance of besting other offers in one of the nation's hottest housing markets. Then he checked ....
People are worn out. They are trying to make it through the stress of the pandemic, a continually volatile market, and record inflation. And, for many who are years from retirement, they have decades of work ahead of them. These younger Americans are in the middle of their working years – those critic....
Cryptocurrency is prevalent topic news these days, falling in and out of favor depending on whom you ask. Institutions are decrying it in one instance and then taking large amounts of it onto their books in another. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanly, JP Morgan, and bank of America- to name a few - have all dipped their toes in the ....
Many filers discover after having mailed in their Form 1040 that they made a mistake, such as missed deductions or understated income. Not to worry, says tax guru Julian Block. Here, he explains what a filer must do to amend 1040 depending on their error and how to minimize the chance of IRS audits. When Form 1040 time rolls around, I rec....
A year ago, startup founders often found themselves fought over by venture investors eager to grab a piece of any promising young company with fast growth potential. Investors competed in an increasingly heated environment in which they were often under pressure to close outsized deals in a matter of days. All told, venture capitalists&....
Consumer prices rose more than 6 percent annually in March, showing consumer spending taking a bigger bite out of household incomes, according to data released Friday. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation — rose 6.6 percent over the 12 month....
The U.S. dollar touched a two-decade high against rivals on Thursday, as Wall Street rallied and European shares rose from six-week lows with strong earnings reports offsetting gloomy U.S. economic data. The yen dropped to a 20-year low after the Bank of Japan vowed to buy unlimited amounts of 10-year bonds d....
America's economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter of 2022, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday. The nation's gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic activity -- declined at an annualized rate of 1.4% between January and March in an abrupt reversal of the prior year's strong growth. Whi....
Think of it like playing chess. Making sense of the strategic interplay between investments, taxes and retirement income can position you for a winning retirement. When I was 12, I attended a weekend church camp for young men. I was brand new to the group, and as the youngest attendee, I was, as to be expected, mostly ignored by the older boys....
KEY POINTS Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday said the central bank is committed to raising rates “expeditiously” to bring down inflation.That could mean an interest rate hike of 50 basis points in May as prices rise at their fastest pace in more than 40 years.“....
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig told lawmakers the IRS has been working hard this past filing season during a congressional hearing Thursday as he heard first-hand testimony from their constituents about the problems they encountered. “IRS employees want to do more to help taxpayers,” he ....
Companies that used a buzzy strategy for going public throughout the pandemic have had a dismal track record for investors. Out of 199 companies that used a so-called SPAC to go public in 2021, only 11% now trading above their offering price,....
As the global startup market digests a changing valuation environment and climate for venture investment, not every sector is taking the same amount of damage. One is indeed faring better than the rest. It’s not the flashiest sector in startup land. Instead, it’s the tried-and-true software-as-a-service (SaaS) category that appear....
Makers of chocolate bars and coffee to lawnmowers and industrial robots succeeded in passing on soaring costs to consumers, first-quarter earnings showed on Thursday, allaying fears higher prices could dent demand for their products. Some of Europe's biggest companies reported first-quarter sales increas....
JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists expect Corporate America to easily trounce Wall Street’s earnings forecasts. Consensus earnings estimates for the S&P 500 are “overly pessimistic” for the first quarter and companies in the index are poised to deliver a surprise of 4% to 5% on “better-th....
If you’re ready to retire but don’t want to leave the workforce entirely, semi-retirement might be a good option for you. Before you take the leap, there are strategies that can help you navigate this lifestyle. For decades, the goal has been to work hard, earn money and then retire! However, in recent years, the ....
The dollar is reaching fresh nearly two year highs lifted by looming interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve, strong US growth, and geopolitical jitters overseas. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the US currency against a group of 16 others has climbed in 13 of 15 sessions to its highest leve....
Low-rated US companies borrowed record amounts in the loan market last year taking advantage of low-interest rates and generous credit. Now, all that debt is starting to get more expensive. So-called leveraged loans typically have borrowing costs that float and the Federal Reserve suddenly faster pace of interest rate hike....
When it comes to investing, you’ve likely heard the arguments for putting your hard-earned money into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds to diversify your portfolio or to allocate more of your portfolio toward conservative investments like bonds as you age. Before....
There are two universal principles regarding the reasonableness of employee compensation: (i) most people feel they are under-compensated and (ii) those same people feel their friends and neighbors are overcompensated. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but for our unscientific purposes it’s enough to think of....
A bull market is developing in recession expectations. This week, investors will have the chance to hear if dozens of companies share that fear. Even armchair investors have heard the warnings from the bond market and its inverted yield. Usually, the longer the loan, the higher th....
Gas prices jumped 48 percent year over year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. U.S. inflation data hit a multidecade high last month as gas prices and rents skyrocketed, climbing to 8.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. A survey by the financial data group FactSet ....
Knowing which of the financial phases of life you are in can help you better plan to build, protect and enjoy your assets, no matter what your age. Every year we see the same months, holidays and seasons – it’s all pretty predictable. While you may not know when a winter storm will hit, you can usually count on chillier weather ....
Economists see a growing risk of recession as the relentlessly strong US economy whips up inflation, likely bringing a heavy-handed response from the Federal Reserve, economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this month, on average put the probability of the economy being in a recession sometime in the next 12 months and 28% up from ....
The new pilot program will benefit the IRS through more efficient access to digitized records and related metadata and improve security and data privacy. Ripcord, a robotic intelligent digitization company, has advanced to the second phase of the new Pilot IRS Solution Challenge. In collaboration with the Enterprise D....
Do you ever wake up thinking your day will turn out one way, and it ends up being completely different? Did you ever ask yourself why? Is it because you become blindsided by events or because other people hijack your day with their priorities? It’s fine if it happens once in a while, but it’s a problem if it’s an everyday occurrence. What....
Tax returns are piling up at the Internal Revenue Service, and millions of taxpayers are experiencing refund delays beyond the typical 21 days or fewer for e-filed returns electing a direct deposit refund. The IRS even issued a press release cautioning taxpayers not to count on getting a refund by a certain date, especially....
KEY POINTS Excessive write-offs compared with income, unreported earnings and refundable tax credits are among the most common IRS red flags.However, you may avoid trouble by keeping detailed receipts and other tax paperwork readily available, experts say. If you’re ....
Owning a home is part of the American Dream. Whether you fancy a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, a suburban Cape Cod with a white picket fence, or a downtown condo in the sky, there's just something special about trading in a lease for a deed. But that transition can be difficult – and expensive. It's tough saving up enough cash....
The U.S. jobs market has never been tighter than it is today, increasing the risks to the economy as Federal Reserve policymakers move to rein in inflation, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The Wall Street bank’s economists have compiled a gauge of U.S. labor that they say better tracks wage gains -- whi....
Oil prices jumped over 3% on Monday, with investors worried about tighter supply as mounting civilian deaths in Ukraine increased pressure on European countries to impose sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Global benchmark Brent crude jumped$3.14, or 3%, to settle at $107.53 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Interme....
National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Erin Collins formally directed the IRS to take immediate steps toward implementing existing scanning technology to process tax returns filed on paper. Collins issued the directive, which is dated March 29, under her authority pursuant to a delegation order in the Inte....
KEY POINTS You may have a wildly different tax bill depending on where you live.That’s because your tax burden — individual income, property, sales, and excise taxes as a share of total personal income — varies by state.You can expect to spend the most in New York, Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, and Minnesota, according to a....
US bond's worst quarter in more than 40 years has come to a close. The question for many investors now is whether it is time to buy the biggest dip in recent memory. The Bloomberg US aggregate bond index largely US Treasuries highly rated corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities returned minus 6% in 2022 through Wednesday ....
The question, which on Form 1040 is just below the address block, asks, "At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?" Taxpayers must check either the "yes" or "no" box that follows, regardless of whether they engaged in any tran....
For retirees who turned 72 during the last half of 2021, in most cases, Friday, April 1, 2022, is the last day to begin receiving payments from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), 401(k)s, and similar workplace retirement plans. For retirees who turned 72 during the last half of 2021, in most cases, Friday, April 1,....
KEY POINTS The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued TurboTax owner Intuit in federal court and filed a parallel administrative complaint. Both relate to alleged deceptive marketing practices related to TurboTax.Intuit offers a free version of TurboTax. The FTC claims it’s a “bait and swit....
Deloitte's latest quarterly survey of Fortune 500 chief financial officers found the executives have a gloomier outlook on the economy than last quarter, with respondents citing inflation, geopolitical risks, and the regulatory environment as their top external concerns. In the first quarter survey o....
First-quarter listings plunged to the lowest level since 2016Several big companies on file are yet to move ahead with plans Some of the big-name startups expected to go public early this year have slowed their rush to market as stocks continue to whipsaw. Companies including Reddit Inc. and Coh....
Analysts and investors of major Wall Street banks are eagerly anticipating any insight from executives on the outlook for consumer spending and borrowing, a key source of revenue when first-quarter earnings are unveiled next month. U.S. consumer spending has been rising for months as the country e....
The trust fund penalty sometimes called the 100% penalty, is one of the most onerous federal tax law provisions on the books. Even worse, the IRS and the courts typically don’t grant much leniency to taxpayers. In a new Tax Court case, Kazmi, TC Memo 2022-13, 3/1/22, a harsh tax penalty was imposed on a part-tim....
President Joe Biden unveiled a budget plan Monday that includes a minimum tax for ultra-wealthy households, raises the corporate tax rate, and backs restrictions on stock buybacks. The president's fiscal year 2023 budget would create a 20% minimum tax for households worth more than $100 million. The minim....
President Joe Biden's administration released its $6 trillion budget Monday for the federal government's 2023 fiscal year, which begins October 2022. Also on Monday, Treasury released its general explanations of the budget's revenue proposals, known as the Greenbook. Revenue provisions i....
Initial public offerings worldwide have plummeted in the first quarter after a record showing in 2021, as volatility stoked by the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation set investors on edge and scuppers deals. About $65 billion has been raised via IPOs around the world in 2022, down 70% from $219 billion in the fi....
This two-part series will be devoted to the twists and turns in the rules that govern sales of investments to “related parties” (Internal Revenue Code Section 267). In most cases, the tax code allows an investor to claim losses on her investments when she sells them. But I remind investors about Section 267, which generally....
Return-to-office plans may lead to more resignations, separate research shows. In a survey of more than 1,000 professionals, half of the respondents currently working from home (50%) would look for a new job that offers remote options if ... Professional firms considering returning to pre-pa....
The Tax Court recently found that there's indeed a limit on the tax-deductibility of wages paid to employees by the employer. What constitutes “reasonable” compensation for this purpose? It depends on the particular circumstances. Traditionally, the courts have relied on several key factors to make a determination if compe....
The question, which on Form 1040 is just below the address block, asks, "At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?" Taxpayers must check either the "yes" or "no" box that follows, regardless of whether they engaged in any ....
When it comes to ACH Fraud, the fraudster sends what looks like a legitimate email from an employee or from a vendor, requesting a change to their ACH or Direct Deposit bank account. As a professional bookkeeper, Jody Linick personally knows of three businesses that have been hit by this fraud since January. ACH fraud has unfor....
Lawmakers are asking the Internal Revenue Service to expedite the processing of Employee Retention Tax Credits and not to penalize small businesses for incorrectly paying their estimated quarterly taxes as they await their claims. During a hearing, Thursday before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, R....
For almost the past decade, there has been an annual spike in illicit voice, and now text, communications during tax season in the United States. Truecaller’s Clayton LiaBraaten shares tips on how tax professionals can educate clients and protect them from scams. As we go through another tax season, it’s imp....
It can be pretty satisfying to tell the IRS they are too late to audit you. But when might you be able to say that? Your exposure is at least three years after when you file your return, but many people are surprised that you might be a risk for years more. The time periods can be downright frightening in some cases. Tax la....
KEY POINTS Some 13% of Gen Xers and baby boomers say they have postponed or considered delaying retirement due to inflation, according to a Nationwide survey.However, these shifts may reflect a lack of understanding and confidence in their financial plan, experts say. As inflation rises, many....
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told House members in a hearing Thursday that the Service will process its backlog of unprocessed work — some of it dating back to 2020 — by the end of 2022. Rettig appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight to report on the cu....
U.S. stock indexes rallied for a third straight day, putting the S&P 500 on pace for its biggest weekly gain since late 2020. Stocks started Thursday nearly unchanged, but pushed into the green late in the morning, with gains accelerating into the end of the session. Indexes finished near their highs of the day. The....
Summary Russia was due to pay $117 mln by Wednesday's deadlineCreditors see this week's deadline as a test for MoscowRussia says it has cash, any default 'artificial' Some creditors have received payment, in dollars, of Russian bond coupons which fell due this week, two market sources said on Thursday, meanin....
Summary Fed lifts policy rate by a quarter of a percentage pointU.S. central bank sees more rate hikes in 2022, 2023Powell says Fed needs to limit inflation hit for families The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates for the first time since 2018 and laid out an aggressive plan to push borrowi....
The IRS issued sharply higher new depreciation limitations Wednesday for passenger automobiles, reflecting inflation of vehicle prices in the past year. These limits are updated annually for inflation according to the automobile component of the chained consumer price index for urban consumers. Rev. Proc. 2022-17 contains the Sec.....
As many of you know, the deadline for submitting IRS Form 2553 was March 15. The clients that did so may now be asking, "so, now what?" CorpNet's Nellie Akalp helps you answer that question in this pointed article. Many of your clients that have filed for the S Corporation election this tax season may now be wondering what will....
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has extended the deferment period for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) payments for the third time in 12 months. In a news release, the SBA said that small businesses and not-for-profits that received EIDL funds do not have to begin payments on the loan until ....
KEY POINTS “Under reasonable circumstances,” savers can earn the same amount investing in either traditional or Roth retirement savings accounts, says Steve Rosenthal of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.Owning both types of accounts can give you flexibility wh....
The Internal Revenue Service’s ambitious plans to hire 10,000 more employees over the next year are going to be difficult to attain as a new report reveals that the IRS met only 67% of its hiring goals for last year in a key area. The report, released Monday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, revie....
On Wednesday the Federal Reserve will likely take the first steps in paring back its stimulus — by raising interest rates for the first time since the global pandemic began. High inflation makes it a near certainty that the central bank will move to “tighten” its policies of printing money, by raising the target federal fund....
Available positions include temporary, term, and permanent jobs. Many are entry-level clerk and tax examiner positions in the Wage and Investment Division. No prior tax experience is required. The Internal Revenue Service says it is hiring more than 5,000 positions in its service processing centers located in Austi....
A lot of inherited IRA owners are in for a surprise. In a switcheroo, the Treasury Department has reinstated annual required minimum distributions for most folks who’ve recently inherited Individual Retirement Accounts, according to proposed regulations released late last month that interpret the 2019 retirement law k....
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s economists warned the probability of a U.S. recession in the next year may be as much as 35% as they cut their forecasts for growth due to the hit from soaring oil prices and other fallout from the war in Ukraine. Economists led by Jan Hatzius cut their prediction for expansion this ....
Most Americans carry some debt, be it from student loans, a mortgage, a credit card, or a car loan. But what happens to debt management when you’re in or near retirement? While many Americans were able to pay off some of their debt in the early days of the pandemic when restrictions on activity and aid such as ....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index for February rose 7.9% from a year ago, the highest level since January 1982.Excluding food and energy, both of which moved sharply higher during the month, core inflation still rose 6.4%, in line with expectations but the highest sinc....
Inflation is at a 40-year high. For those nearing or in retirement, it could pack a painful punch, but there are things you can do now to address inflation and make sure you don’t run out of money in your golden years. So many retirees budget for their ideal retirement but don’t always consider one piece of th....
When it’s just the yield curve narrowing, oil jumping, or stocks falling into a correction, maybe you can hold off on panicking over a recession. When all three happen at once, the argument gets stronger that it’s time to take the threat seriously. That’s the case now when a concerted move in the dir....
Russian financial conditions at tightest since 2008Global financial conditions at tightest since the pandemic heightConditions could tighten further if inflation rises further Global financial conditions, perceived as strongly correlated with future growth, are at the tightest in two years, driven by soaring en....
The IRS intends to use an expedited hiring process to hire about 10,000 workers for processing tax returns and managing taxpayers' accounts, according to a union that represents employees in the Service and other federal agencies. National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) National President Tony Reardon said in a statemen....
Another version of your “retirement number,” a simple wealth gap calculation could be eye-opening for retirement savers – especially business owners. Whether they admit it or not, many business owners wrestle with anxiety surrounding their financial futures. Maybe you’ve dealt with this yourself. But you don’t have to be f....
Oil prices gave up most of their big overnight gains in a wild session, briefly dipping into negative territory after surging above $130 earlier in the session. On Sunday evening, prices jumped as trading began with the market reacting to supply disruptions stemming from Russia’s ongoi....
The departure of corporations from investments in Russia has been swift following the country's invasion of Ukraine, and individual investors may be examining their portfolios with similar divestment goals. It's unlikely that most investors have substantial holdings in Russia-based bonds or ....
The U.S. economy grew at a modest to moderate pace from mid-January through early February as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 disrupted businesses and held back consumer spending, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. The Feds periodic compilation of business anecdotes from around the country known as the Beige....
Effects on the U.S. from Ukraine war ‘highly uncertain,’ he saysFed must be ‘nimble’ in data response, evolving outlook Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell backed a quarter-point interest-rate hike this month to commence a series of increases and didn’t rule out a larger move at some stage, despite unc....
“We are getting a payment provider to accept crypto equivalent and deposit the dollars into the state’s treasury for that amount. It is kind of like credit card payments, with the bonus that there are no returned payments.” Story at a glance Colorado will begin accepting cryptocurrency for tax payments....
Economic sentiment among U.S. CPA decision-makers in business and industry remains positive overall, but the finance executives have concerns about inflation — which they knew about when the survey was open — and the uncertainty brought about by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which had not begun until this....
What You Need to Know SOSEPP stands for Series of Substantially Equal Periodic Payments taken from an IRA or 401(k) commenced prior to age 59 ½.There are very strict rules for SOSEPPs that can trigger stiff consequences if violated.New IRS rules will serve to increase the number of payments for SOSEPPs initiat....
Homebuying in the U.S. was slower than anticipated in the first month of 2022. Pending home sales, a leading indicator of the health of the housing market declined for the third straight month. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks the number of homes that are under contract to ....
In today's environment, a tax practitioner must be patient and document all contact with the IRS.Although the IRS is opening correspondence within the normal time frames, the processing is taking longer than usual.Practitioners can obtain assistance with their clients' tax issues from a variety of sources in the IRS including the Practitione....
Oil prices jumped on Thursday, with Brent rising above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014 before easing, after Russia's attack on Ukraine exacerbated concerns about disruptions to global energy supply. Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air, and sea in the biggest attack by one state against another ....
KEY POINTS Consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud in 2021, a 70% increase over the prior year, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday.Almost 2.8 million people filed a fraud complaint, an annual record.Imposter scams were most prevalent, but investment scams cost the typical victim the m....
“Outright conflict” in Ukraine coupled with “punitive sanctions” could push U.S. stocks another 6% lower from Friday’s close, with worse losses seen in Europe and Japan, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. With geopolitical upheaval notoriously hard to trade, Goldman strategists are basing their calcul....
US companies and financial institutions are starting to settle on a new interest rate benchmark to replace the troubled London Interbank Offered Rate, which underpins trillions of dollars of financial contracts. Sales of corporate loans and derivatives tied to the secured overnight financing rate or SOFR have soared in....
When Ben Snyder started his first business, he felt like he was being suffocated. He was stuck in the weeds didn’t know how to stay focused. “That’s true for a lot of new CEOs,” said Synder, now a Vistage speaker and principal at Bizexe. Snyder figured out that CEOs are responsible for managing resource capacity, both....
KEY POINTS Wages are rising but it’s not enough to keep up with the increased cost of living.Nearly two-thirds of Americans are still living paycheck to paycheck, according to one recent report. The economy is recovering but workers are still having a hard time making ends meet. ....
There's still time to salvage this year's tax filing season, or at least make a difference, if the IRS adopts recommended taxpayer relief measures, Jan F. Lewis, CPA, the chair of the AICPA's Tax Executive Committee, told the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance in a hearing Thursday. Lewis, who is also a tax partner with H....
Prices appear likely to continue rising in a pandemic-altered environment that continues to see high inflation in many countries, according to Tim Mahedy, a senior economist and senior director at KPMG. The pandemic has led to extremely high inflation in some countries. The 7.5% year-over-year increase in the consume....
Federal Reserve officials said last month the bank may need to raise interest rates and reduce its bond holdings faster than they currently anticipate if inflation continues to rise above their target, according to minutes of the meeting released on Wednesday. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which....
If you’ve been feeling depleted while running your business, you could be dealing with more than just a rough patch. Burnout, which the World Health Organization officially recognized in its 2019 International Classification of Diseases, is a syndrome that results from chronic workplace stress and requires its own unique atte....
The pace of blank-check mergers failing to cross the finish line is accelerating as the industry grapples with waning investor interest. At least six mergers with special-purpose acquisition companies have been canceled this year, on pace for a record number of nixed deals in a single quarter as investors and sponsors navigate a ....
KEY POINTS The producer price index, which measures wholesale prices, rose 1% in January and 9.7% for the 12-month period, the latter just off the record high.Core PPI rose 0.9%. Both increases were at least double the Wall Street estimates.Manufacturing in the New York region increased modestly in Fe....
Nearly 24 million taxpayers are still waiting for the Internal Revenue Service to process their tax returns from last year — a number far larger than previously reported by the agency — with many refunds being held up for 10 months or more. The inventory of unprocessed returns and re....
The IRS announced Wednesday in a news release the letters and notices it will not send taxpayers as it works through its backlog of unprocessed prior-year returns. In a Jan. 27 announcement, the Service said it was suspending certain automated letters and notices without identifying them specifically, saying only that they....
Last year saw some fundamental shifts in the startup funding landscape that will have a profound impact by this time next year. Interest rates were at an all-time low, which meant that there were few asset classes providing high returns (venture capital [VC] being one of the main ones). Vast sums of money poured in from ....
Billions of dollars earmarked for takeovers by blank-check companies have piled up unused as the hot-then-not mania fades for speculative stocks. Almost 600 special-purpose acquisition companies holding nearly $160 billion in trust are searching for something to buy, data compiled by Boardroom Alpha show. Tha....
A big year for car and home shopping helped push Americans to take on a lot more debt last year.Household debt increased by $1 trillion in 2021, the biggest annual increase since 2007, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.In the fourth quarter alone, household debt grew by $333 billion to $1....
Two of Wall Street’s largest banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc., are recommending bets against a super-sized rate hike from the Federal Reserve in March. Speculation that the Fed would kick off its hiking cycle with its first half-percentage-point rate increase since 2000 surged on Friday after....
The IRS reversed course Monday on earlier plans to require taxpayers to authenticate their identities with a nongovernmental facial-recognition service to use certain online services. In a news release, the IRS announced it will "transition away from using a third-party service for facial recognition to help authenticate people crea....
The way you calculate your required minimum distribution just changed, and if you don’t need the money for living expenses, that could be good news for you. Here’s why. While the process may seem mysterious, the methodology of calculating your required minimum distribution (RMD) is rather simple. Your yearly RMD is calc....
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers that received only partial loan forgiveness from their lenders have a new process for appealing the lender's decision to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In a procedural notice published Jan. 27, the SBA said the new appeals process was creat....
In a Program Manager Technical Advice memo from the Chief Counsel's office (PMTA 2021-07), the IRS determined that a failure to deposit any portion of the federal employment taxes deferred by Section 2302 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136, by the applicabl....
The US stock market has suffered its worst start to the year since the global financial crisis, as the threat of rising interest rates, slowing corporate earnings growth and geopolitical tensions sent stocks tumbling across the board. The S&P 500 index fell 5.3 per cent in January, its biggest monthly declin....
A study conducted by the American Psychological Association in 2021 shows 61% of Americans cite “money” as a “very/somewhat significant” cause of stress. This was the leading cause of stress (unless you were employed, in which case “work” was the top source of stress). You can’t blame Covid a....
Employers spent 4% more on wages and benefits last year as workers received larger pay raises in a tight labor market, rebounding economy and period of accelerating inflation marking an increase not seen since 2001. The US employment cost index a quarterly measure of wages and benefits paid by employers show....
KEY POINTS Tech start-ups raised a record $621 billion in venture capital funding globally in 2021, according to CB Insights.Some VC investors worry the boom times may not last much longer as tech stocks fall amid talk of higher interest rates.VCs say they’re already hearing about ....
KEY POINTS The core personal consumption expenditures price index, a closely watched inflation gauge at the Federal Reserve, rose 4.9% from a year ago in December.That was the fastest gain since September 1983 and a touch above the Wall Street estimate.Employment costs increased 4% from a year ago, th....
The Federal Reserve signaled it would begin steadily raising interest rates in mid-March, its latest step forward removing stimulus to bring down inflation. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank was ready to raise rates at its march 15-16 meeting and could continue to lift them faster than it did dur....
KEY POINTS Gross domestic product accelerated at a 6.9% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, well ahead of the 5.5% estimate.Consumer activity and business spending led the gains, which propelled the U.S. economy to its strongest full year since 1984.Jobless claims remained elevated at ....
KEY POINTS The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its 2022 global growth forecast to 4.4%.In its World Economic Outlook report, published Tuesday, the IMF said it expects global gross domestic product to grow 0.5 percentage points less than previously estimated.The revised outlook is largely due to gro....
The launch of income tax filing season this week comes as taxpayers are already feeling frustration and even despair with the IRS over unprocessed prior-year returns and unanswered correspondence, representatives of a broad coalition of organizations including the AICPA said Tuesday. More than a dozen representative....
The UK's security agency has told organizations of the steps to take to beef up their defenses "when the cyber threat is heightened" by zero-day software flaws or geopolitical tensions. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is not alone in warning companies to take action. Last week, the US Cybersecurity and ....
The U.S. will likely move forward with its own digital currency, with issuance occurring between 2025 and 2030, according to Bank of America Corp. U.S. government-backed coins, also known as central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, “are an inevitable evolution of today’s electronic currencies,” strat....
Jerome Powell and his fellow Federal Reserve policy makers are expected to signal their first interest-rate hike since 2018, paving the way for a March move as the U.S. central bank tries to extinguish red-hot inflation. Financial markets in the coming week will get another read on U.S. inflationary developments when....
SPAC’s or special purpose acquisition companies, burst onto the scene in 2020 as the hip way to take Silicon Valley's hottest startups public. Unlike traditional initial public offerings, SPACs were seen as modern and accessible, allowing any investor to put money into the companies of the future at the same time as pr....
Creating an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could give Americans more, and speedier, payment options, but it would also present financial stability risks and privacy concerns, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in a long-awaited discussion paper released on Thursday. The paper made no policy ....
KEY POINTS U.S. companies are expecting to pay an average 3.4% raise to workers in 2022, according to a Willis Towers Watson survey.That growth would be higher than in 2020 and 2021 — and is expected across all types of positions, regardless of seniority.Difficulty finding and retaining workers is ....
The great inflation trade on Wall Street has reached a tentative peak, judging by a slew of cross-asset signals including the world of passive money. Investors have pulled cash out of the largest exchange-traded fund tracking Treasury Inflation Protected Securities at the fastest clip since May. That’s just as B....
KEY POINTS The next 1000 billion-dollar start-ups will be those “that help the world decarbonize and make the energy transition affordable for all consumers,” wrote BlackRock CEO Larry Fink in his annual letter.Currently, most clean energy solutions are more expensive than their incumbents, and that’....
Veteran investors have been nervous on and off for several years about the risk of a potential bubble forming in the venture capital markets. That anxiety has been especially pronounced among VCs who saw their portfolio companies obliterated in the dot-com crash of March 2000. Today those same industry veterans are increas....
SPACs can’t put disclaimers in their financial statements that their financial reporting could run afoul of U.S. accounting rules, market regulators are warning. At issue is just how far special purpose acquisition companies—blank-check outfits whose sole purpose is to acquire and take a promising company publ....
KEY POINTS The consumer price index, an inflation gauge that measures costs across dozens of items, rose 7% in December from a year earlier, the fastest pace since June 1982.That was in line, however, with economist estimates, and stock market futures rose after the release.Excluding food and energy, so-called core CPI....
The IRS will begin accepting and processing 2021 tax returns starting Jan. 24, the Service announced Monday. In News Release IR-2022-08, the IRS stated the date will allow it time to perform necessary programming and testing in advance of return filing, which it urged taxpayers and paid preparers to do electronically. "F....
KEY POINTS The start of the year is the perfect time to review your retirement savings, including pre-tax versus Roth 401(k) contributions.Pre-tax savings offers a write-off and tax-deferred growth, while Roth deposits may grow levy-free. However, there’s more to consider than future brackets, according to ....
How much should you be worried about inflation’s impact on your retirement income plan? If you plan right, you shouldn’t have to worry at all. Right now, inflation is top of mind for everyone, perhaps especially retirees. Inflation is important. But it is only one of the risks that retirees have to plan for and manage. And ....
The IRS provided guidance to taxpayers and internally on its new documentation requirements for administrative refund claims of the Sec. 41 business tax credit for increasing research activities (the R&D credit). The taxpayer guidance comes in the form of 16 frequently asked questions (FAQs) posted Wednesday on the ....
KEY POINTS While one recent TV plot twist had a character intentionally leave money to an ex-spouse, that situation is far from real life, an estate planning attorney says.Still, there are ways your ex could inadvertently inherit your money if you’re not careful.Plus, you may not r....
After a failed attempt to secure another deadline extension, 2022 is—for real—the year private companies have to tally up all the real estate, equipment, and vehicles they rent and report them on their balance sheets for the first time ever. By all accounts, figuring out how to comply with the Financial Account....
Three ways to be ready to lead: #1. Ready to say YES: Consistent results require stable environments. ‘No’ protects the status quo; ‘Yes’ disrupts. If you aren’t careful, ‘no’ becomes your default response to input and ideas. If you frequently say ‘no’, people choose sleepwalking over engagement. 5 ways to lean toward ....
New concept statements released Wednesday address financial statement elements and factors FASB should consider in developing accounting guidance. The statements are presented as new chapters of FASB's Conceptual Framework, which is a collection of interrelated objectives and fundamentals that provides FASB with a....
If you’ve got the Monday blues, you’re starting the week off on the wrong foot. Here’s how to stop longing for the weekend, feel better about the day, and prepare for the week ahead, according to nine successful business leaders and advisors in The Oracles. Think of everything you wa....
The stock market’s rise this year has narrowed around a shortlist of big tech companies, a sign of possible weakness heading into 2022.Five of the biggest stocks in the S&P 500 account for more than half of the broad benchmark’s gain since April, analysts at Goldman Sachs found. Of the S&P 500’s....
Soft skills are becoming an increasingly important part of the finance and accounting professional's toolbox. But finding the time and space to build up your interpersonal skills can be challenging in the pandemic era of uncertainty and disruption. In today's rapidly evolving business, technological, and workplace ....
KEY POINTS Retirement bills that aim to build on the 2019 Secure Act have bipartisan support.A House committee last month unanimously approved the RISE Act, a series of retirement-related provisions that fall under its jurisdiction.Here are some of the main proposals....
The rise of SPACs helped initial offerings hit 1,000 for the first time ever in 2021, but post-IPO valuations have fallen as Chinese startups have seemingly been locked out of the U.S. market and blank-check offerings declined, leaving concerns about 2022 While 2021 was a record-breaking year for initi....
In the past year and a half of a global health crisis, most of us have just been focused on getting to the next day. But as important as short-term survival strategies may be, we need to balance that out with a healthy dose of long-term thinking. That is the advice of speaker and author Dorie Clark, whose new book "The Long Game....
As you’re wrapping up your finances this year, you may want to take advantage of a few investment and tax strategies that could become more expensive or go away altogether in 2022. Financial advisors, retirement consultants and tax experts recommend these savvy money moves to make now — or at least by Dec....
Just over a week ago, the AICPA highlighted several issues important to the accounting profession in the House-passed reconciliation bill (H.R. 5376) that garnered public feedback from our tax advocacy group and volunteers. Now that the Senate Finance Committee has released language fo....
Under guidance in Rev. Proc. 2022-9 issued Thursday, taxpayers may obtain the IRS's automatic consent to change their tax accounting methods to comply with final regulations relating to simpler tax accounting methods available to smaller businesses. Those final regulations, issued early in 2021 (T.D....
Portfolio managers and other investment professionals surveyed by the CFA Institute last week would prefer the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) not travel back in time 20 years to attempt to improve the U.S. accounting standard for goodwill. FASB, however, seems intent on making the journey. Goodwill is....
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday appeared to acknowledge that his Build Back Better spending bill may not pass Congress in the remaining weeks of this year, saying Democrats would seek to advance the legislation "over the days and weeks ahead." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has set a Christmas deadlin....
After decreasing two years in a row, the rate by which taxpayers may compute their deductions for costs of using an automobile for business purposes will go up to 58.5 cents per mile for the 2022 tax year, an increase of 2.5 cents per mile over the 2021 rate. Notice 2022-03, in which the IRS announced the update on Friday, also provides....
KEY POINTS Wholesale prices rose 9.6% from a year ago, the highest level going back to November 2010.The pace was even faster than the 9.2% estimate.The core producer price index increased at a 6.9% pace, a bit slower than estimates but still the fastest ever in records dating to August....
New challenges are emerging for businesses in the United States and old challenges are persisting, according to finance decision-makers in a recent quarterly survey. Ken Witt, CPA, CGMA, and Mellissa Reed, CPA, explain some of the headwinds and also the reasons for optimism in the future. What you'll learn fro....
So often, we get excited about a new process but lack the tools, commitment and/or mindset to see it to completion and long-term integration. This is particularly true when there are multiple elements to it and a number of people involved. Just because we decided to become more productive and took initial action toward that end doe....
KEY POINTS SEC Chair Gary Gensler on Thursday floated several potential SPAC rules he hopes the regulator will consider as it works to oversee the popular take-public option.Among the ideas Gensler pitched were new rules around marketing practices, tougher disclosure requirements and liability obligations.Gensle....
KEY POINTS Inflation rose 6.8% from a year ago in November, slightly higher than estimates according to the consumer price index released Friday.Excluding food and energy, the CPI increased 4.9%, in line with expectations.Surging prices for food, energy and shelter accounted for much of the....
U.S. investment bank JP Morgan predicted on Wednesday that 2022 will mark the end of the coronavirus pandemic and see a full global economic recovery. The bank's outlook report for next year said new vaccines and therapeutics would result in a "strong cyclical recovery, a return of global mobility, and a release of pent-up demand....
Startup entrepreneurs face some of the toughest odds when it comes to achieving success. With 90% of startups failing — more than half by Year 3 — there’s seemingly little hope for those looking to start their own company. Yet, small business owners are vital to the U.S. economy. These mom-and-pop shops make up....
U.S. unit labor costs surged more than initially thought in the third quarter, suggesting inflation could remain high for a while. The Labor Department said on Tuesday that unit labor costs, the price of labor per single unit of output, accelerated at a 9.6% annualized rate last quarter. That was revised up from the 8.3% p....
Improper use of non-GAAP measures, which has been an item of scrutiny in public company reporting for years, remains an area of concern for the SEC staff. "The regulations and guidance over non-GAAP measures have changed very little in recent years, but that's continued to be a popular comment topic," SEC Deputy Chief Accounta....
The pandemic exposed rigid budgeting and forecasting processes that couldn’t handle rapid changes. Armed with experience from last year, finance leaders share how they’re planning for 2022. As companies go into another year with the pandemic lingering, flexible budgeting and frequent forecasting approaches that helped businesses....
Some financial statement preparers are struggling with application of FASB's revenue recognition guidance in certain areas, according to SEC officials speaking Monday at the AICPA & CIMA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments. In particular, preparers are encountering difficulties applying principal-versus-....
Jerome Powell’s pivot toward a quicker withdrawal of stimulus paves the way for a more agile Federal Reserve in 2022, one that’s willing to raise interest rates faster than expected if inflation lingers or hold back if the pandemic worsens. Powell, recently picked for another four years as chair, is respon....
Did your “Great Resignation” lead you to start a business or become your own boss this year? You may be able to write off the cost of your home office come tax time. “Knowing that you’re not a 9-to-5 [worker] anymore, you can now take advantage of the home-office deduction,” said S....
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said he continues to expect inflation to recede over the next year as supply and demand come into better balance, but warned that the new strain of COVID-19 muddies the outlook, and prices could continue to rise for longer than earlier thought. "It is difficult to ....
A recent IRS legal memo specifying information that taxpayers must provide starting early next year in a claim for refund for a tax credit under Sec. 41 for increasing research activities (research and development, or R&D credit) applies to claims on amended returns only, said Holly Paz, deputy commis....
The Federal Trade Commission released a report on the myriad of online scams and how thieves get their virtual hooks into would-be victims It’s an oldie, but a baddie. Supply-chain issues and shortages of certain electronics, toys and other products, the holiday season and letting off steam after a second year of a global ....
The venture industry has continued to prove its resiliency in 2021—a year marked by outsized funds, numerous mega-deals and the soaring interest of multistage investors looking to back younger startups. As a result, valuations of VC-backed companies are on the rise across most stages in the third quarter. Our latest U....
Since my company went fully remote at the beginning of 2020, I have been working remotely more and more from #bermudaful Bermuda. As a lifelong swimmer, one of the great appeals of the island is the ability to hop into the ocean year-round and swim (275 days consecutively at one point). The swimming has....
Investors are betting that newly renominated Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will need to step up the pace at which the central bank is normalizing monetary policy to better grapple with surging consumer prices. For months, Powell has insisted the current bout of inflation is likely to be ....
Fueled by a cocktail of slick trading apps and social-media hype, retail trading has soared since competition between brokerages squashed commissions in 2019. Stocks were the focus initially. But these days much of the excitement appears to be in options, which offer a cheap way for traders to bet on a stock g....
KEY POINTS With five weeks left of 2021, there’s still time for year-end moves to slash a tax bill or boost a refund, experts say.Employees may adjust withholdings or increase 401(k) contributions for remaining paychecks.Investors may also consider harvesting losses or gains or making charitable gifts ....
There has never been more venture capital available to entrepreneurs. In the first half of 2021, startups raised $288 billion in venture funding, shattering the record set in 2020 by almost $110 billion. Private companies with a valuation over $1 billion were originally dubbed “unicorns” because they were so rare; thanks to gene....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released updated guidance Friday regarding applications for loans, advances, and appeal requests with the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program. While the previously established Dec. 31 deadline remains in place, the SBA said it strongly recommends that businesses s....
The House of Representatives on Friday morning passed H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act, by a vote of 220–213. The bill encompasses a wide range of budget and spending provisions and has been the focus of protracted negotiations for the past several weeks. For more on the nontax provisions of the bill, see, "House Passes Build Bac....
The U.S. Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates from September 2022, economists at the country's biggest bank said in a 2022 outlook note. JPMorgan expects the central bank to raise rates by 0.25% from the third quarter of next year and keep raising them by 25 basis points every quarter "at least....
When I arrived as a new agent on my squad, I was the only female and by far the youngest. Everyone was polite, but my caseload was full of dead-end leads that the older and more experienced agents didn’t want to waste their time on. My desk was at the end farthest from the supervisor, which is where all new agents we....
For years you’ve focused on your career and saving for retirement. In doing so, you may have lost sight of the big picture of what your ideal retirement would look like – and how you might make it happen. As your primary working years wind down, and the reality of retirement begins to set in, there ....
A FASB standard issued Wednesday will require businesses to disclose information in the notes to the financial statements about certain government assistance they receive. Previously, GAAP contained no specific, authoritative guidance for business entities on accounting for or disclosing government ass....
The global economy is expected to grow at 6% this year, Barclays analysts said on Thursday, adding that the slow pace of growth was still heightened compared with the standards of the past decade. The brokerage expects growth to be led by advanced economies with longer bond yields remaining anchored. Here are the bank'....
Q. You have an unusually varied background that includes roles in the Treasury and Commerce Departments, the National Security Council, and also running tech firms before moving into your current role in finance. What was your playbook for building your career and moving into such different environmen....
Latest accounting issue deals with classification of certain sharesRegulators expecting restatements The Securities and Exchange Commission will require blank-check companies known as SPACs to restate their financial results because they incorrectly followed accounting rules on how to classify certain shares they....
The 100% deduction allowable as a business expense in 2021 and 2022 for food or beverages provided by a restaurant applies to the meal portion of a per diem rate or allowance, the IRS clarified Tuesday in Notice 2021-63. Under Sec. 274(n)(1) and Regs. Sec. 1.274-12, a deduction of any expense....
Studies continue to uncover the ways different forms of exercise can be advantageous for our mental health, and a new study has drilled into how chronic anxiety might best be treated through such interventions. The authors have uncovered a relationship between the intensity of physical activity and relief fro....
KEY POINTS The 4% rule, a popular strategy to gauge withdrawals from one’s retirement portfolio, won’t work as well in coming decades due to lower projected stock and bond returns, according to a Morningstar paper published Thursday.The withdrawal rate should instead be 3.3%, the paper said. That c....
Private companies and not-for-profits will not see further relief from the effective date of FASB's new lease accounting standard after the board voted unanimously Wednesday to reject a request for a two-year extension that was submitted by the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs (PICPA). The current effective date ....
The employee retention credit will be terminated early and broker reporting of cryptoasset transfers will be required as a result of legislation (H.R. 3684) that passed the House of Representatives late Friday and is headed to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law. Known as the Infrastructure Investment and....
Lease accounting requirements for federal agencies were amended and clarified Thursday through the issuance of guidance by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). FASAB issued Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) 60, Omnibus Amendments 2021: Leases-Related Topics, as well as Fede....
Some companies are weeding calls out of calendars to boost worker productivity. The idea is good in theory – but how about in practise? Victor Potrel hasn’t had a meeting in years. In 2019, when he began his executive role at digital-media company TheSoul Publishing working remotely from London, there were no lengthy....
Starting a business doesn’t make most people rich, but it makes plenty of people happy. Despite dismal failure rates, long hours, low income, high stress levels and a host of other problems, entrepreneurs report consistently higher rates of happiness than wage-earning employees. All of those problems do take away from entrepren....
Daniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist and a science journalist, he is, in fact, known as the father of emotional intelligence. He’s also the bestselling author of several books including Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Th....
The rules for interim disclosures in financial statements would change and be clarified under a proposal issued Monday by FASB. Part of FASB's disclosure framework project for improving the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements, the proposal issued Monday would: Add a requiremen....
Acquiring entities are required to measure contract assets and liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with FASB's Topic 606 revenue recognition guidance, according to a new FASB standard issued Thursday. To eliminate diversity in practice, FASB issued Accounting Stan....
The Social Security Administration's announcement on Oct. 13 of a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for benefits in 2022 may have come as a surprise to many. After all, the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) on which the COLA was based had maintained average annual increases under 2.5% since 2012 un....
Most countries expected to adopt IFRS standardsA week before conference, U.S. guards silence Mandatory sustainability reporting standards are brewing for companies in the run up to the UN Climate Change Conference starting this weekend, posing the question of what course the U.S. will choose if it spurns the pat....
Change is bearing down on the accounting discipline. MIT researchers detail five forces global business leaders need to be aware of as the industry evolves. For years, the accounting industry has been viewed as a time-honored practice whose core responsibility is to help businesses maintain accurate and timely records of their finances. But as ....
What should a company do when cyber criminals attack its systems and demand a ransom? Unfortunately, the increase in ransomware incidents forces a growing number of businesses to answer that question. How organizations handle the minutes, hours, and days following a ransomware attack determines how much it hurts their finances, reputation, a....
1 of 8 A Strong Economy Should Give Firms a Lift Expect GDP to grow 5.5% in 2022, with consumer spending increasing 4.7%, as both subsiding coronavirus infections and massive federal spending bills keep the economy humming. Unemployment should dip below 4% before 2022’s end. Corporate earnings figure to jump 13%....
Think of the last time someone at work—maybe your boss, your boss’s boss, or an HR person—told you a change was coming. Some new way to do something, or a restructuring, or a new system to learn. What was your immediate response? If you’re like most people, your first reaction was probably more negative than ....
A key measure of investors’ inflation expectations has climbed in recent weeks, adding fuel to concerns about rising consumer prices. As of Thursday, the gauge known as the 10-year break-even rate suggested that the consumer-price index will rise by an annual average of 2.64% over the next decade, according to Federal R....
Matt Crisp rang the bell a couple of weeks ago opening trading on the New York Stock Exchange after an IPO for his St. Louis-based company, Benson Hill. Investors promptly rewarded the CEO of the ag-tech startup by bidding the price of its shares down by about 30% over the next two weeks. But Crisp is taking the long ....
Keep the "help wanted" signs handy. In September, a record 51 percent of small business owners reported job openings they were unable to fill, according to the National Federation of Independent Business's report published yesterday. The job vacancies for the mo....
While tax season 2022 may be months away, New Year's Eve will be here before you know it. The fourth quarter is the time for some proactive tax planning to lower your 2021 tax bill. For business owners, tax planning shouldn't be a once-per-year exercise when filing your taxes. With extensions, you may be able to delay filin....
The maximum amount of an individual's taxable earnings in 2022 subject to Social Security tax will be $147,000, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Wednesday. An increase from $142,800 for 2021, the wage base limit applies to earnings subject to the tax, known officially as the old age, survivors, and disab....
Any hope that U.S. small businesses would begin to see a pre-autumn turnaround in their economic fortunes was dashed on Tuesday with the release of the NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index. The optimism index, a popular measure of small business owner sentiment, fell only 1 point for September, to 99.1, but it was the....
Tax Planning is an essential part of being a business owner. As your income grows, the options may seem more complicated, but they are also more valuable. Filing your taxes is not fun, and most business owners are busy, so proactive tax planning tends to get pushed aside. This can often result in higher than necess....
The biggest burst in U.S. inflation in three decades is likely to last longer than expected and no longer should be considered “transitory,” a senior Federal Reserve official said. Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic on Tuesday said a sharp increase in prices in 2021 tie....
The pace of bankruptcy filings in 2021 is at 10-year lows, as federal stimulus money and lender forbearance efforts keep financially strapped businesses from heading to the courts to restructure their debts. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, commercial bankruptcy filings during the first ....
Like a lot of measures that are well-intentioned but ultimately dysfunctional, performance reviews started in government. Feedback as a tool to improve performance is much older. But in the United States, it was the Performance Rating Act of 1950 that enshrined an annual feedback ritual across departments of the federal government. At the tim....
Investors are primed for another period of strong U.S. profit growth as third-quarter reports from Corporate America flow in starting this week. But as business continues to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, new problems are arising that are taking center stage for Wall Street, including supply-chain snag....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday she was confident the U.S. Congress would approve legislation to implement the global corporate minimum tax agreed by 136 countries. Yellen said the actions to bring the United States into compliance with the global minimum tax would likely be include....
The good news: The Internal Revenue Service says it’s on track to dig out of the pandemic-related backlog of tax year 2020 returns by year end 2021—just in time for the 2022 tax filing season to kick off. The bad news: Millions of taxpayers are still waiting for refunds and/or struggling to unders....
Now that it’s officially in the 4th quarter of 2021, your clients will likely seek your advice about what needs to be accomplished before year-end. Accounting tasks aside, you can help guide them to wrap up their businesses’ compliance and legal responsibilities. The following is a handy checklist to ensure your clien....
Goldman Sachs cut its U.S. economic growth target to 5.6% for 2021 and to 4% for 2022 citing an expected decline in fiscal support through the end of next year and a more delayed recovery in consumer spending than previously expected. The firm previously expected 5.7% gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2021 a....
A vast overhaul of corporate taxation won support from 136 countries, as nations resolved key differences over the level of a global minimum rate and an end to new digital taxes that the U.S. has deemed discriminatory. The group includes all nations in the Group of 20, European Union and Organization for Economic Cooperation....
Self-employed workers have become a prominent demographic amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Labour Market Information Council reports that in Canada, as much as 73 percent of self-employed people are working for their solely-owned businesses. While the numbers are less clear in the U.S., where nearly anyone can set up an LL....
Cash conversion performance is a barometer for overall business quality. This is something I remind clients who either tell me that they have enough cash or that interest rates are low, debt is cheap, and cash conversion is not a necessary focus. I respond that our clients in the upper quartile of working capital perf....
Windows 11 has arrived (a day early in the US), and yet many Windows observers thought we'd never see this day. At the company's 2015 Ignite conference, Microsoft’s Jerry Nixon famously announced that "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows." He was referring to the fact that Windows 10 updates would subsequently....
"Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow)" -- a great Fleetwood Mac song and lyric, an even better strategic leadership concept. The new year is on the horizon. Still, there is much terrain to cover in the current year. Melding the future-state vision with tasks of today is the strategic leader’s responsibility. &n....
#1. I should have. ‘Should have’ is backward facing. Do your best to speak into the future. Instead of shoulding-yourself, say, “Next time.” #2. You should have. Why didn’t you? See #1. ‘Next time’ is better than ‘last time’. #3. What can we do about that? ‘We’ is a tiny act of cowardice that softens ....
U.S. consumer confidence dipped to a seven-month low in September as optimism over the economy cooled with the continued COVID-19 surge. The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 109.3 last month from 115.2 in August, the third straight monthly decline. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 114.5.....
Given all the advantages of owning real estate as an LLC, it's no suprise that a client might come to you for advice. Here, Melissa Pedigo runs through what your client will need to do to transfer real estate to an LLC, from forming and registering the LLC to opening business accounts to keep personal expenses separate. Follow these easy....
Claiming Social Security benefits at the right time means more money in your pocket. Here's a guide to everything from knowing your full retirement age to taking Social Security spousal benefits. For many Americans, Social Security benefits are the bedrock of retirement....
KEY POINTS While state taxation of nonresidents’ income can be complicated, it’s worth knowing which rules apply to your situation.Most people (72%) are either “very” or “not at all” familiar with their state’s tax requirements for remote work, according....
Generally, you can claim deductions for vehicle expenses as a self-employed taxpayer, but there are a few twists and turns along the way. Notably, the tax law includes several “speed limits” that can affect your write-offs. The new 2022 car and truck models will be in dealership showrooms soon. If you’re in the mar....
If you haven't started already, it's time to begin thinking about your 2021 tax return. After all, the more tax planning you do, the more money you may be able to save. However, proper tax planning requires an understanding of what's new and changed from the previous year — and there are plenty of tax law changes and updat....
Once, we navigated the digital world on a “trust but verify” policy. Companies had perimetric security controls (e.g., a firewall) to safeguard their network and data, and once traffic cleared that single checkpoint or “border wall,” it could freely communicate within the network without further checks. This worked well, f....
The Internal Revenue Service says newly-expanded tax benefits can help both individuals and businesses give to charity before the end of this year. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted last December, provides several provisions to help individuals and businesses who give to charity. T....
In an increasingly digital world, embracing Bitcoin could benefit companies in a significant way, said one CPA. “The payoffs are being ahead of the curve on the next iteration of the internet,” said Nick Ward, CPA, manager of blockchain and digital assets at Armanino LLP. “Bitcoin is only the starting point.” ....
I just finished the book, All In, which is Billie Jean King’s autobiography. Wow! She has accomplished so much in her life – for women, for people of color, for the LGBTQ community, and numerous others. She surely, in the eyes of a great many, is helping form the world for the better. While I wanted to read the book as I know a lot about Billie Jean, I wa....
Bloomberg Tax & Accounting issued its 2022 Projected U.S. Tax Rates report today, which provides a detailed and comprehensive projection of inflation-adjusted amounts in the tax code. The report’s projections are based on changes to the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which were pub....
Sometimes weeks after a headline exits our news feeds, a story still resonates. That’s been the case for me and a fraud suit the Securities and Exchange Commission filed in late August against Manish Lachwani, former CEO of once high-flying software startup HeadSpin. In its six-year history, Palo Alto-based HeadSpin rais....
Persistent labor shortages are changing the employee-employer relationship, increasing the importance of benefits, salary and flexibility — a dynamic that could boost the growing on-demand pay industry, Scot Parnell, CFO of DailyPay, believes. On-demand pay enables employees to ac....
Private companies and nonprofits have leeway to choose the discount rate they use in calculating the value of their operating leases under new lease accounting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) decided this week. The decision is intended to make it easier for organizatio....
Dive Brief: Manufacturers during the next 12 months plan to increase wages and full-time employment by 3.5% and 3.8%, respectively — record rates in quarterly surveys dating to 1997, according to the National Association of Manufacturers. They expect to push up capital spending by 3.6%, the highest increase since 2018.....
It took more than four decades for congress to raise the age for required minimum distributions in 2019 from 70½ to 72. Less than two years later, Congress is considering raising it again. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 had bipartisan support, and experts believe that Congress's encore, the Sec....
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen is pressing Representative Richard Neal, the Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, to include the Biden administration’s full proposal for bolstering the Internal Revenue Service in its $3.5 trillion spending package, arguing that mor....
Many self-employed taxpayers are booking trips now in an effort to reenergize their business opportunities. Good news: If you meet certain requirements, you can write off the bulk of your travel costs, even if you “mix in a little pleasure” with your business. Background: Generally, you can deduct business travel expenses away from ....
Back in 1997, a bi-partisan Senate and House cut a deal with President William Jefferson Clinton. They overwhelmingly passed and he signed legislation that amended Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code. The amendment introduced rules that allow home owners to sidestep taxes. Owners are able to “exclude” (IRS lingo f....
When it comes to claiming Social Security retirement benefits, you may want to consider waiting to start benefits when you’re 70. That means not starting benefits when you’re 62 (which is still popular with many), nor even full retirement age (which is somewhere between 66 and 67 for most Baby Boomer....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced major modifications to the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) program, including raising the loan cap from $500,000 to $2 million and adding business debt payments to the list of ways businesses can use the loan proceeds. In a news release issued late Thursday a....
Are retroactive tax increases constitutional or even fair? Up until now, the tax rate on capital gain has been zero, 15% or 20%, depending on your income. In some cases, you add the 3.8% Obamacare tax, but at worst, your total tax bill is 23.8%. The long term capital gain tax is graduated, 0% ....
A stock option is an agreement between a buyer and a seller to exchange stock for a pre-set price within a specific period. Employee stock options, for example, are agreements between the corporation and the employee to purchase common stock at a price set by the corporation. The stock must be purchased within a s....
KEY POINTS The Covid pandemic caused a backlog of almost 8 million paper-filed business tax returns at the end of 2020, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.That’s a 3,230% increase relative to the same time in 2019, the watchdog said.The IRS had reduced th....
The IRS issued its annual update Friday of special per-diem rates for substantiating ordinary and necessary business expenses incurred while traveling away from home (Notice 2021-52). The new rates are in effect from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022. Specifically, they are the special per-diem rates, including the transportation indus....
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists revised down their forecast for growth in the U.S. economy this year, pointing to a “harder path” ahead for the American consumer than previously anticipated. Overall expansion in 2021 is now seen at 5.7%, economist Ronnie Walker wrote in a report to clients on Monda....
Labor shortages and mounting inflation fears combined to dampen business executives’ outlook on the U.S. economy, according to the third-quarter AICPA Economic Outlook Survey. The survey polls chief executive officers, chief financial officers, controllers and other certified public accountants in U.S. compa....
The Internal Revenue Service has extended the ability to digitally sign a wide variety of tax forms through the end of year, lengthening what had been a temporary grant of relief for the pandemic. The IRS updated the web page Wednesday on using e-signatures for certain forms, explaining the move wou....
I generated half a million euros in revenue within the first year I started Strategy Sprints. Whenever I would relentlessly relay this fact to anyone who would listen, those that actually replied did so with something along the lines of: “uh, you must be so happy?”. I was miserable. I was always o....
Andrew Song’s restaurant and karaoke bar is a ghost of what it used to be. The shuttered business in Manhattan still has an outdoor dining structure up and a menu posted by the door. A phone sits on the dusty host stand inside. After eight years in business, Song shut down Le Midi last summer, during the pandemic. No....
Finance professionals remain optimistic overall about their businesses’ economic prospects, but that optimism is tempered by the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant and other concerns in the third quarter. A new AICPA survey of finance decision-makers, including CEOs, CFOs, and controllers, shows that 51% of res....
The Social Security trust fund for retirement and survivors benefits is estimated to have its reserves depleted in 2033, one year earlier than previously projected, according to the trustees’ report released Tuesday. At the time of depletion, income flowing to the trust fund would be enough t....
Microsoft has warned Office 365 customers that they're being targeted by a widespread phishing campaign aimed at nabbing usernames and passwords. The ongoing phishing campaign is using multiple links; clicking on them results in a series of redirections that lead victims to a Google r....
It comes down to what type of owner you are. Do you like to hold onto your car for years or switch it out frequently? Do you drive a lot of miles? Do you dislike paying for comprehensive insurance? How you answer could help steer your decision. After buying a home, one of the next major purchase decisions (and expenses) is a car. The latest headli....
People tend to choose ruminating on the past or worrying about the future over being present. Being present is being engaged in the moment. But how much should you think about the past and the future? Powerless or powerful: “You are never at your best when you’re ruminating on the past or worrying about the future.”....
What’s possible for you and your team? A landmark study shows that it depends on what you think is possible. You know those vision tests at the eye doctor? The ones that have the big E on top and then eleven subsequent rows with an increasing number of letters that are smaller in size? It’s called a Snellen chart (named after Dutch....
Using a retirement-specific account to save for later in life is generally smart. But, when planning for early retirement, saving outside of retirement accounts will be necessary.And, it could help you diversify the types of accounts you have, and how your money will be t....
KEY POINTS Nearly 70% of retirees will need some type of long-term care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The median costs for these services ranged from $53,768 to $105,850 per year in 2020, a survey from Genworth finds.However, paying for long-term care can be tricky....
Investing in real estate is a great way to build wealth, and it’s a strategy that is increasingly used by businesses, rather than individuals. Because of this trend, many individuals who are interested in investing in real estate for the first time may be wondering whether they should buy an investment property in their own nam....
Blank-check companies are booming again—in the courts. Two law professors are aiming at high-profile targets, filing suits that question the legality of a specific type of special-purpose acquisition company. Among them are billionaire William Ackman’s $4 billion Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd. , Go Acquisition Corp , co-founded....
Global corporate profits in the third quarter are likely to fall for the first time in 18 months after record earnings in April-June, Reuters calculations showed, as the spreading COVID-19 Delta variant squeezes supply chains and raises labour costs. Massive fiscal stimulus to support economic recovery and....
Valuations for U.S. venture-backed companies are at record highs, per data released this morning by PitchBook. Between the lines: It's the new normal, in which nontraditional investors are traditional, unicorns are pigeons and startups are in the driver's seat. Inside the numbers: Valuation creep can be seen....
U.S. business activity growth slowed for a third straight month in August as capacity constraints, supply shortages and the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus weaken the momentum of the rebound from last year's pandemic-induced recession. Data firm IHS Markit said on Monday its fla....
Even with climbing Covid-19 case numbers and ever-increasing inflation, employed retirement savers have been socking away record amounts of cash in their retirement investment accounts. Average 401(k) account balances and savings rates reached record highs in the second quarter of 2021, accordin....
Revenue recognition and lease accounting remain a challenge for private companies after a one-year, pandemic-related delay in effective dates provided financial statement preparers some relief. Changes to accounting for revenue under Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue From Contracts With Customer....
The Biden administration on Thursday said few small-business owners would see their taxes increase under the president’s proposal to raise the top income tax rate for high earners. The White House issued a fact sheet highlighting a new Treasury Department analysis that found that less than....
The new 2022 car and truck models will be in dealership showrooms soon. If you’re in the market for a vehicle for your self-employed business, don’t forget to factor taxes into the equation. Starting point: Generally, you can claim deductions for vehicle expenses as a self-employed taxpayer, but there are a few twis....
EXECUTIVESUMMARY The legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, eliminated the general deduction of business entertainment expenses under Sec. 274(a). The TCJA mostly left intact, however, the deductibility of food and beverage expenses as a business expense (generally, at 50% of the expense amount). But becau....
When it comes to maximizing your Social Security benefits, there are a lot of elements to take into consideration. One factor that can be especially enlightening is your Social Security break-even age. Here's how to calculate it, and how it could help you time when you take your Social Security benefits. “When s....
The special sauce that's flavored blank-check firms has become potential poison. It’s time to reform their financial incentives. Last month, Atlas Crest Investment Corp., a blank-check firm created by investment banker Ken Moelis, spectacularly lopped $1 billion off the enterprise value off its $2.7 billion deal with flying ....
KEY POINTS With rock-bottom interest rates and fears of inflation, retirees may worry about their cash reserves and how much they need to have handy. Retirees may consider a buffer for living expenses to avoid selling their investments in a down market. But the exact amount depends on a retiree....
KEY POINTS Have an emergency savings account? Great.But make sure you’re not making some of these common mistakes, such as neglecting credit card debt or letting your hard-earned cash earn little to no interest. Having an emergency savings account may be one of the first lines on the checklist for healthy finances.....
Running out of money is any retiree’s biggest fear. If you don’t want your retirement security to come down to dumb luck, you need to protect yourself from a risk that might be scarier than inflation or taxes: sequence of returns risk. Dealing with the unpredictability of the markets can be a challenge for any investor. No....
The U.S. and China are trading places in the economic growth race. U.S. gross domestic product rose 12.2% in the second quarter of this year from a year earlier, outpacing China’s 7.9% gain. The American edge should continue for at least the next few quarters, many economists say. That wo....
“Small business owners are losing confidence in the strength of the economy and expect a slowdown in job creation." Small business optimism over the U.S. economy declined in July, reflecting concerns over labor shortages and supply-chain disruptions, according to a closely-watched survey. The National Federation of Independent Bus....
Tim Ferriss makes his bed, meditates, does push-ups, writes in his journal and drinks water. Gary Vaynerchuk’s morning ritual takes three hours to complete. The way you start your morning often dictates how the rest of your day goes. Smart entrepreneurs know they ne....
Startups backed by venture capital—and their investors—often lose tax savings because they organize as corporations rather than limited liability companies, finds a UC Riverside-led study. The reason? Venture capitalists, or VCs, are more familiar with corporations, or C-corporations, and pay....
Employers impacted by COVID-19 that may be eligible for the employee retention tax credit (ERTC) finally have some additional guidance from the IRS that addresses a few unanswered questions, although some outstanding questions are still unanswered. Background The ERTC was originally enacted by in ....
The IRS on Tuesday issued a safe harbor that allows an employer to exclude certain amounts received from other coronavirus economic relief programs in determining whether it qualifies for the employee retention credit (ERC) based on a decline in gross receipts (Rev. Proc. 2021-33). The amounts that can be excluded in calculat....
Business owners appealing their PPP loan forgiveness decisions no longer have to start paying principal and interest fees during their loan's repayment period. The Small Business Administration is trying to eliminate a bureaucratic nightmare in which borrowers who are appealing their Paych....
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many family business owners to consider gifting equity interests in their businesses due to the current low interest rates, the $11.58 million estate tax exemption and the somewhat depressed valuations for these businesses.If the long-term growth prospects of a business remain favorable and if an owner....
WASHINGTON—The Senate passed a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint early Wednesday, the first step in an arduous process designed to allow Democrats to push through a sweeping package of education, healthcare, climate and other provisions without GOP support. The party line vote, 50-49, came just before 4 a.m., ....
The infrastructure bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday (H.R. 3684) would terminate the employee retention credit early and would require broker reporting of cryptoasset transfers. It also contains a few other tax provisions along with spending on a wide variety of infrastructure and other projects. H.R. 3684....
KEY POINTS When it comes to retirement, how much would it take in order to feel financially secure?New research finds that the median number across workers of all generations is $500,000.However, because people have a median of $93,000 saved, many still have a ways to go. When it comes to....
The IRS issued its annual inflation-adjusted update of depreciation limitations for passenger automobiles (including passenger vans and trucks) placed in service in 2021 (Rev. Proc. 2021-31). The revenue procedure similarly updates income inclusion amounts by lessees of passenger automobiles with respect to vehicles with lease terms ....
The pandemic changed the way many finance professionals work, for better and worse. As some people transition back to the office, this liminal period could be the perfect time to reset your boundaries and achieve your ideal work/life balance. “Before the pandemic, everybody thought they knew what work should look ....
In a sign of the political divide over death taxes, Iowa is repealing its inheritance tax, with a phased-in reduction of the tax bite retroactive to January 1, and full repeal as of January 1, 2025. Abolishing the state inheritance tax was a key priority for Republican Governor Kim Reynolds; it....
In an effort to speed forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans, the government on Wednesday opened an online portal through which small businesses that borrowed up to $150,000 can apply to have their loans eliminated. The Small Business Administration, which administers the program, hopes the new s....
Usually, the IRS has three years to examine the personal returns of taxpayers and impose deficiencies and penalties and interest. However, in certain situations, it can go back even further as witnessed in a new Tax Court case. In a new case, Pragrias TC Memo 2021-82, 6/30/21, the Tax Court allowed the IRS to go past the ....
The contours of debate within the U.S. central bank over when to dial back support for the economy burst into the open on Wednesday as a key architect of the Federal Reserve's new policy strategy said he feels the conditions for raising interest rates could be met by the end of 2022. "Commencing policy norm....
The IRS issued Notice 2021-49 Wednesday that includes guidance on the extension and modification of the employee retention credit (ERC) under Sec. 3134, added by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), P.L. 117-2. The notice amplifies Notices 2021-20 and 2021-23 (see also “IRS Issues ....
KEY POINTS Many Americans would have had a hard time paying an unexpected $400 expense, even before the Covid-19 pandemic.After three stimulus checks, many Americans were able to build up some of their cash reserves.But whether or not those balances stay remains to be seen. ....
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department released guidance Wednesday on the employee retention tax credit, including guidance for employers who pay qualified wages after June 30, 2021, and before Jan. 1, 2022, as Congress weighs a proposal to end the tax break next month to....
Although small businesses in general continue to climb back to their pre-pandemic level of sales, a recent national survey found the smallest firms are still hurting. Small-business sales as a whole have reached 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent survey conducted ....
KEY POINTS This year's winners of Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have collectively paid roughly $515 million to the IRS so far via 24% withholding on their windfalls.The top tax rate of 37% means winners can expect to owe more.The chance of winning Powerball is about 1 in 292 mil....
Even though it’s a highly volatile asset, cryptocurrency can help investors build wealth, especially if they invest in digital coins over the long-term. It’s a portfolio play that’s gained traction in recent months and is catching up to stock trading as something that Americans are looking at f....
A warning from the Securities and Exchange Commission about accounting for the warrants used by special purpose acquisition companies has prompted hundreds of them to issue financial restatements. SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, have become an increasingly popular way for companies to go public by merging a priv....
Today’s lesson is short, but not so sweet for the losing taxpayers in BRC Operating Company LLC, Bluescape Resource Company LLC, Tax Matters Partner v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2021-59 (May 12, 2021) (Judge Pugh). The taxpayer had claimed $160 million in Cost of Good Sold (COGS) for tax years 2008 and 2009. Bu....
WASHINGTON—Public companies could be required to disclose climate-change related risks to investors in regulatory filings under a proposal being formulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a step that could expose them to new litigation threats. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said Wednesday he has asked agency ....
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark interest rate near zero and said the economy continues to progress despite concerns over the pandemic spread. As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee concluded its two-day meeting by keeping interest rates in a target range between ze....
The stock market has been relatively quiet lately. The benchmark S&P 500 hasn’t suffered a 5% pullback since October and has advanced 35% since the end of that month. The last time the index enjoyed a respite of such length was from June 2016 to early February 2018 when stocks charged steadily higher before the 2016 pr....
The agency overseeing PPP wants to expedite forgiveness for the remaining 7.8 million loans, worth $385.4 billion. Here's the plan. The Small Business Administration is expected to release details on its forthcoming Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness portal on Wednesday. That should mean ....
Updated: The one-day deadline for taxpayers to approve authorization requests only applies to authorizations for multiple representatives. All representatives must be approved on the same day or later approvals will overwrite prior approvals. Currently there is no deadline for taxpayers to approve authorization requests. B....
U.S. economic growth will likely slow significantly in 2022 as the services sector’s recovery fades, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The U.S. bank expects the world’s biggest economy to return to trend-like expansion of 1.5%-2% in the second half of next year. It also cut its forecast for gross domestic ....
KEY POINTS Although most non-retired U.S. adults have some savings, only 36% say their nest egg is “on track,” according to the Federal Reserve. Those eager to boost retirement savings may be considering more volatile assets, such as cryptocurrency, to achieve higher returns.Howeve....
A parent of a new college graduate recently lamented good-naturedly that just when the steady stream of tuition bills had finally stopped coming, "now there is going to be free college." While higher education may not become tuitionless anytime soon, the fact that the topic is being seriously discussed is notable. As of ....
Economists see continued spending, hiring and limited disruptions as health officials try to avoid restrictions and boost vaccinations. The highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 doesn’t pose an immediate risk to the strength of the U.S. economic recovery, with analysts expecting a robust expansion....
I’ve finally been able to travel and have had the opportunity to hear from CPA firms, small and medium business owners and tax-exempt organization managers around the country about their outlook for jobs and growth. Most of the news has been heartening as busi....
What You Need to Know Of the firms who plan to adopt them, 90% plan to have an allocation in portfolios by 2026, Fidelity Digital Assets found.Adoption rates are higher in Asia, at 71%, but 56% of European institutions and 33% of U.S. institutions hold digital investments.Price volatility remains the main b....
Clients who rent out vacation homes can generally write off qualified vacation home expenses. However, if their personal use exceeds the tax law limits, they can’t deduct an annual loss. This could affect the way they use their vacation home the rest of 2021. Are your clients back to spending more time at their vacation....
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday said an increase in prices was expected to be temporary, but his administration understood that unchecked inflation over the longer term would pose a "real challenge" to the economy and would remain vigilant. Biden said he told Federal Reserve Board Chair Jero....
“Did you file your 83(b)?” If your client’s answer is no but should have been yes, an array of unwanted consequences may already be in process. But all hope may not be lost. The Sec. 83(b) election often comes up when a company’s founder or other employee receives stock or other equity that is subject to vesting — that ....
KEY POINTS U.S. lawmakers trying to salvage a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill have dropped a provision to beef up tax enforcement, Republican Senator Rob Portman said on Sunday.The provision will instead likely be added to a separate budget “reconciliation” bill being pushed by Democrats a....
While the White House and the Federal Reserve describe U.S. inflation risks as “transitory,” data from the CFO Survey by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond paints a different picture. Finance chiefs expect the large increases to their input costs that they are suffering to last 8 to 12 months or longer. An....
With so many options and variables involved, it’s easy to make any of these three errors with your Social Security benefits. Social Security benefits serve an essential role in most Americans’ retirement plans. Yet many people — even soon-to-be retirees — know little about how the program works or how to get ....
The basic idea behind recently propsed changes to the self-employment tax rules is to expand the tax base subject to payroll tax (“General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals,” Department of the Treasury, May 2021, pp. 65-67 of 107 pages). Mike Pusey, CPA explains what it could mean for af....
To rank America’s Top States for Business in 2021, CNBC scored all 50 states on 85 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness. Each category is weighted based on how frequently states use them as a selling point in economic development marketing materials. That way, our study ranks the states based on the attributes the....
U.S. consumers expect the economy to continue its rapid resurgence from the COVID-19 pandemic over the next year, with forecasts for inflation, earnings, income growth and spending all increasing in June, according to a monthly survey released on Monday by the New York Federal Reserve. One-year-ahea....
Generally, your net profit for tax purposes is the amount of your winnings minus any entry fee. For instance, say you win $10,000 in a big stakes league and your entry fee was $1,000. As a result, your net profit is $9,000. Assuming you’re in the 24% tax Are you a “player” in Fantasy sports? In recent....
U.S. employers posted a record-high number of open jobs for the second straight month as a rapidly rebounding economy generates intense demand for workers. The number of available jobs on the last day of May rose slightly to 9.21 million, from 9.19 million in April, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That is t....
As the country emerges from the pandemic this summer, more people are going places, engaging in recreational activities and enjoying the great outdoors. This can lead to tax-saving opportunities for both individual taxpayers and small business owners. Accordingly, we have developed a six-part series devoted to tax strategies in the summ....
On Friday, July 2, the Small Business Administration (SBA) officially advised lenders involved in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that they would no longer be required to obtain Loan Necessity Questionnaires, SBA Forms 3509 and 3510, from borrowers seeking forgiveness on loans over $2 million.After significant media attention on large lo....
Running your own business can come with many perks, like setting your own work schedule and the potential to increase your income. But without the benefits typically offered by large employers, saving up for retirement is often solely up to you. "When you are a small business owner, almost every part of your business is int....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the closure of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) after awarding the program’s full $28.6 billion appropriation to more than 100,000 restaurants, bars, and other businesses that provide on-site food and drink. Congress created the RRF to provide relief to a sect....
Even before Covid-19, the lines between our work and private lives were blurring. As we edge out of the pandemic, why does setting better boundaries still feel so tough? One of my most vivid pandemic memories involves hurtling angrily down a hill on my bike. I was desperately late to meet friends for a run because I’d been ca....
More clues on just when and how the U.S. Federal Reserve may begin to cut its pandemic-induced bond-buying spree are likely to emerge on Wednesday when the central bank publishes minutes of last month's pivotal meeting. Fed officials opened debate on dialing down their $120 billion a month of bond purchases at the Ju....
Receiving phone calls from numbers that look almost identical to your own is a common technique used by nuisance callers and scammers. So how does the scam work, and what can you do about it? What Is Neighbor Spoofing? This behavior is part of a wider technique known as “neighbor spoofing,” which is designed to tric....
A growing number of states are using a workaround to help their taxpayers avoid a Trump-era cap on a critical income tax break. Whether it will influence the ongoing push in Congress to repeal the cap altogether remains to be seen. Colorado recently became the 14th state to enact the new work....
The Internal Revenue Service is hiring thousands of new auditors as it gears up for a potentially massive tax-enforcement push if Congress is able to pass an infrastructure plan that includes $40 billion to expand audits on the wealthy. The IRS small business and criminal investigations divisions are adding ....
Survey after survey suggests many employees are thinking about leaving their jobs Whether or not the so-called "great resignation" comes to pass, turnover and the war for talent is always a concern for employers. Which is why smart managers and senior leaders should be aware when valued employ....
The recent drop in U.S. Treasury yields reveals some investors’ doubts about how strong the economy will be in the coming years, even as inflation pushes to its highest level in more than a decade. Yields, which fall when bond prices rise, have surprised many by sliding in the second quarter of the year. Th....
Summary World stocks set for 5th straight month of gainsEuropean shares dip but on course for best H1 since 1998Dollar headed for best monthly rise since March World shares hovered within a whisker of record highs on Wednesday, on track for a 12% gain for the half-year following strong U.S. consumer confidence data, th....
Back in November, the Planet Money newsletter reported that — despite a deadly pandemic and an ugly recession — America was seeing a boom in the creation of new startups. We spoke with University of Maryland economist John Haltiwanger, one of the leading scholars of business formation. Now Halti....
Thieves stealing economic impact payments and unemployment benefit checks head the list of this year’s IRS “Dirty Dozen” of tax-related scams and schemes (IR-2021-135). The warning Monday about “pandemic-related scams” was the first of four installments this year in which the IRS highlight....
The Internal Revenue Service is hiring thousands of new auditors as it gears up for a potentially massive tax-enforcement push if Congress is able to pass an infrastructure plan that includes $40 billion to expand audits on the wealthy. The IRS small business and criminal investigations divisions are adding thousands of new tax enforce....
A gusher of money is spilling out from the U.S. economy and rippling around the world, driving the global recovery to an extent it hasn’t in decades and giving confidence to businesses to invest in meeting the huge American demand. The U.S. economy, turbocharged by stimulus worth almost $6 trillion and hungr....
The Internal Revenue Service is focusing on cryptocurrency tax evasion with virtual currencies like Bitcoin and nonfungible tokens, employing data analytics to uncover transactions that crypto users assumed were hidden. The IRS has been training its spotlight on crypto users, adding a question to the front page of the ta....
The IPO market is lighting its fireworks a bit early, with a whopping 17 companies planning to list this week on U.S. exchanges. Driving the news: Chinese ride-hail company Didi is expected to be the week's top float, with plans to raise nearly $4 billion. Other big issuers should be cybersecurity company SentinelOne, Turkish e-comme....
The U.S. economy is rebounding rapidly from last year's decline, but much improvement is needed in the labor market, two Federal Reserve officials said on Thursday. U.S. economic growth "has come roaring back" and some metrics including consumption, housing, and manufacturing are now "extremely h....
New sales tax nexus standards are creating a larger compliance footprint for U.S. companies and, potentially, foreign entities selling into the United States. With the change from physical presence to economic nexus, states have become more aggressive in identifying and requiring entities to comply with sales tax collection and filing rules. S....
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (Secure) Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019, with little fanfare. However, the Secure Act is a significant piece of retirement legislation that includes provisions designed to help businesses offer retirement plans for their employees and for individuals ....
Trillions of dollars in assets need more sunlight and may require tighter rules, a problem highlighted by this year’s disruptions in financial markets, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said Wednesday. Gensler, speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview, said he’s directed the agency’s....
A period of high inflation in the United States may last longer than anticipated, two U.S. Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday, prompting one to pull forward his views on when the central bank should start raising interest rates. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said with growth....
Whether you’re a corporate real-estate agent or a marketing guru, innovative thinking is often what is needed to take your business to the next level. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to get stuck in a rut. If you’re not careful, that stagnation can easily cause your business to flounder. If you need ....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday reaffirmed the U.S. central bank’s intent to encourage a “broad and inclusive” recovery of the job market, and not to raise interest rates too quickly based only on the fear of coming inflation. “We will not raise interest rates preemptively because....
The anxiety experienced by many state and local governments at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 has eased. “When the economy shut down last year, a lot of localities panicked,” observed Mike Bernard, chief tax officer for transaction tax at Vertex. "In most instances, transaction tax represents close to one-third of t....
A third of employees picked up bad cyber security behaviors while working from home, according to Tessian’s Back to Work Security Behaviors report. Despite the remote workers’ bad security practices, 9 out of 10 organizations prefer the hybrid workplace a....
American families and professional money managers will drive demand for stocks for the remainder of 2021, plowing $500 billion of cash flows into equities through year’s end, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank told clients it expects U.S. households and corporations to continue to add to thei....
Taxation of CPA services was a hot topic in several state legislatures this year as states sought to fix expected revenue shortfalls. “Some states will be dealing with some sort of budget difficulties going into 2021 and 2022,” said Megan Kueck, lead manager–State Regulation & Legislation at the AICPA.....
Over half of all employees want to keep working from home at least part of the time, which means employers will be facing tax consequences. Requirements are different for remote and in-office staff members, and the nexus laws in a state also affects what employers pay. The country's workforce has changed significantly because of ....
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that would improve discount rate guidance for lessees that are not public business entities—including private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and emplo....
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggested in remarks before a Senate panel that if Congress were to pass a capital-gains tax hike effective starting in April 2021, that wouldn’t count as a retroactive increase. “I don’t see a prospective change in rules pertaining to the taxation of future realization of capital ....
With the economy and inflation set to surge this year as the nation emerges from the COVID-19 recession, the Federal Reserve is starting to ease back from pandemic era policies aimed at jolting growth. Citing an upgraded economic outlook and a spike in in....
Business executives’ optimism about the U.S. economy has reached its highest level in three years, fueled by government relief funds, vaccine rollouts, and relaxed workplace restrictions. In its Economic Outlook Survey for the second quarter, the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants said 70% of res....
No one likes paying taxes, and no one likes being audited. If you are audited, you should hire someone to represent you as there are risks in handling it yourself. For one thing, most criminal IRS cases come out of regular old civil audits and even simple interactions can go south. A good example of how to land yours....
Congress introduced bipartisan legislation Friday to recognize accounting as part of the STEM programs in schools, as part of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula. Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Indiana, and Haley Stevens, D-Michigan, introduced the Accounting STEM Pursuit Act, which would amend the Stu....
Many small- and medium-size businesses have been sailing through incredibly turbulent waters for over a year. As of May 2021, 34% of small businesses in the U.S. remained closed. Even as the economy picks up and GDP growth surges back, overall confidence in the small business sector remains low, with inflation, increased ....
Proposed changes in capital gains taxes under the Biden administration are worrying investors and their tax advisors, especially the possibility of making them retroactive. The Treasury Department released its Green Book containing the administration’s fiscal year 2022 budget tax proposal....
Rich nations are bracing for China to seek exemptions from a global minimum corporate tax, a potential stumbling block for governments racing to reach wider international consensus on the plan next month. Some officials see China as not easily signing on to the global minimum tax rate of at least 15% endorsed ....
Lindsay DesLauriers was on a roll early last year. Her family had recently bought back the Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont, which her father had originally developed in the 60s. The business was on a “really positive growth trajectory,” she said. Then the pandemic hit. Vermont’s shutdown in March 2020 came a....
As a startup founder, you care a lot about the dollar value placed on your company. So it’s natural that negotiating that value with investors is typically a fraught process. For example, founders often get so concerned with the amount of dilution they’re going to experience as a result of taking on new funding that they fo....
KEY POINTS Under the agreement, G-7 nations will back a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15%, U.K. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced in a series of tweets.The reforms will affect the largest companies in the world with profit margins of at least 10%.U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is in London for th....
Finance Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations reached a landmark accord on Saturday backing the creation of a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15%, an agreement that could then form the basis of a worldwide deal. Such a deal aims to end what U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a “30-y....
KEY POINTS President Joe Biden wants Republicans to increase their infrastructure spending offer as the sides try to strike a bipartisan deal.He will talk to GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito on Friday following a Wednesday meeting.The parties are still divided over what to put in an infrast....
Call it revenge spending. With many parts of the U.S. reopening, tens of millions are expected to make up for lost time by shelling out for experiences they’ve been missing over the past 15 months. More than a year after Covid-19 upended lives around the world, America....
KEY POINTS Generally, if you already were taking required minimum distributions before 2020, you should resume them.The amount you must withdraw each year is determined by dividing the balance of each qualifying account by a “life expectancy factor” as defined by the IRS.If you reached (or will....
Whether the day you stop working is a decade away or around the corner, these to-do items will help you retire on your own terms. Ideally, you should start planning for retirement the day you receive your first paycheck. But in reality, most of us don’t focus on retirement until much later—and that’s fine, as long as you’ve been saving th....
KEY POINTS President Joe Biden has proposed a 39.6% top marginal income tax rate, up from the current 37%, to help fund the American Families Plan.That rate would affect single individuals with taxable income of more than $452,700 and married couples filing jointly with income over $509,300, according to....
It is no secret that the IRS wants you to report your crypto gains. You can report crypto losses too, but the IRS cares less about that. The government still seems to think millions of transactions and dollars might still be unreported. You might think you won’t be caught, but the risks are growing. The best way to avoid penalties....
U.S. President Joe Biden wants to boost the budget of a Department of Labor unit that investigates whether gig workers are misclassified as independent contractors and thus missing out on benefits they are entitled to. The White House on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget proposal that would ramp up spending o....
The Treasury Department on Friday released details about President Biden’s tax-related proposals, which would raise a net $2.4 trillion over 10 years. The release of the “Greenbook” of revenue proposals coincides with the unveiling of Biden’s $6 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2022. It fleshe....
President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled its proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 on Friday. Treasury says the $6 trillion proposed budget focuses on infrastructure, clean energy, and research and development, and among its many provisions are a host of proposed tax changes affecting individuals and corporations. One....
Nine out of 10 organizations will be combining remote and on-site working, according to a new McKinsey survey.This is following the proof that businesses are able to adopt remote working, continue to be productive and see employee satisfaction rise as a result.These eight charts show the CO....
You likely have a company mission statement, a short declaration of your organization’s purpose. Tesla’s mission statement, for example, is “To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” For Google, it’s: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” ....
This year and perhaps next could turn out to be the best time to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Income tax rates are likely to increase in the coming years. This year’s tax rates could be the lowest for the rest of our lifetimes. Lifetime income taxes could be substantially lower if you pay taxes on today’s IR....
KEY POINTS Though the deadline for filing federal tax returns has passed, it may not be too late to claim missing stimulus check money.You can still file in order to get any money that is due to you.Because you could have to pay interest and penalties if instead you owe the ....
Microsoft isn’t talking about its big Windows plans at Build 2021 this week, and that’s because the company is preparing to detail what’s next for its PC operating system separately. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella teased this announcement during his Build keynote this morning, revealing he has be....
CFOs often look at return on invested capital (ROIC) to enhance the capital required to grow their businesses, particularly with the need for fast-paced transformation. But the denominator of the ROIC equation, “invested capital,” often takes a back seat; this can hamper long-term value creation and result in a less nimble t....
The number of audit firms registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board declined from 2019 to 2020, continuing a decade-long trend. The PCAOB’s Annual Report for 2020, which was released Monday, noted that 1,726 public accounting firms are registered with the board. That’s off from 1,796 at the end of 2019, and down fr....
When Carmelo Ramos, 36, got his second-draw loan from the Paycheck Protection Program in February, he was grateful. The $11,458 loan was more than the roughly $6,200 he got in the first round of the program in 2020. Though it didn’t cover all the business his training consult....
U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said he expects strong backing from G7 peers for Washington's proposed 15%-plus global minimum corporate tax, which should help solidify support in the U.S. Congress for domestic corporate tax legislation. "My sense is that you're going to see a lot of unifi....
Tension between sticky job markets and rising prices could pose a growing problem for U.S. Federal Reserve officials who have staked an aggressive monetary policy on the belief they can avoid a conflict between returning U.S. employment to pre-pandemic levels and keeping inflation under con....
Investing more in tax compliance, including regulating preparers, beefing up cryptocurrency reporting, and modernizing old IRS technology, would yield $700 billion in tax revenue over the next decade, according to a new report. The report, released Thursday by the Treasury Department, details the tax compl....
Good leadership is focused on others, but self-serving leadership undermines that principle to focus on the ego and the symptoms can take hold and begin damaging your leadership before you’re even aware. Be on guard against these signs so you can recognize them in yourself before they take root and grow: Arguing. If you f....
The Treasury Department on Thursday said it has proposed a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent after meeting with officials from other countries as part of international tax negotiations. "Treasury underscored that 15% is a floor and that discussions should continue to be ambitious ....
Almost anyone can muster enough gumption for a short burst of high-energy effort. Maybe it’s making a shining impression your first few weeks on a job, hitting the gym with fervor at the start of January, or spending a weekend on a remodeling project exhibiting all the peppiness of an HGTV star. But what about after that initial....
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) will officially stop accepting applications Monday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced. While the application window won’t close until Monday, it realistically remains open only to the smallest providers of on-site food and ....
Your dreams are living things. Like other living things, they flourish when they have room to grow. You can have the goals that self-help books recommend. You can have daily rituals and affirmations and all that. But if you don’t give your dreams room to grow, they’re not likely to come true. It’s easy to let your past accomplishments crowd....
Future use cases for quantum computing hold enormous potential, not just on the technological side but also commercially: Quantum technology could be used to solve optimization problems for which even the best classical computers take a very long time. It could enable fast simulations and modeling of complex structures that currently ....
My personal board of directors started as a self-created need. I’d heard other people talking about it and I just liked the idea of having someone outside the company to freely bounce around ideas, thoughts and feelings off of. I now have two external ‘board members’ that are paid, two external non-paid, and two ....
The 2020 tax season is nearly over, but people will continue to use their homes as their place of business in the months ahead thanks to COVID-19. In the second of a three-part series, tax guru Julian Block talks about what the IRS allows these individuals to deduct and what's not permitted. For those of you who’re just j....
Despite the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, college students are optimistic about their future employment opportunities. About 17% of students expect to earn more than $85,000 per year from their first job after graduation, according to a recent survey by AIG Retirement Services an....
The Internal Revenue Service is conducting an “ongoing, extensive investigation involving substantial IRS resources” into cryptocurrency holders. As part of that investigation, the IRS is serving “John Doe” summons on various cryptocurrency companies, seeking court orders to require cry....
Less than 10 days after its launch, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) has less than half the money it needs to fund a flood of relief requests from one of the sectors of the economy hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which administers the RRF, reported Wednesday....
Deciding when to take social security is a bit like playing chess. You'll need to strategize and think a few moves ahead to maximize your benefit because age and timing matter. Applying at the youngest age possible, 62, reduces a monthly benefit 25% to 30% for the rest of your life than if you had waited un....
In the latest episode of Tax Notes Talk, enrolled agents Eva Rosenberg and Jeffrey Schneider share their experiences on communicating with the IRS during the coronavirus pandemic and how the agency can improve. William Hoffman: Welcome, Eva, and welcome, Jeffrey. Today, we're talking about how tax profess....
Working from home is no longer just limited to freelancers and other self-employed individuals. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, many people spent 2020 using their residences as their offices. But what does the IRS allow in terms of deductions on your 2020 taxes? I often receive queries from freelancers, consultants and other ki....
Despite hurdles, companies could merge with a smaller foreign company and relocate outside the U.S. to avoid a big tax bite. Companies could start looking at inversions again as a way to avoid higher taxes should the Biden administration’s tax-increase plan pass, tax specialists say. Inversions h....
Business travel took a serious hit in 2020, dropping by an unprecedented 97%. As the world economy forges ahead in 2021, many experts anticipate an immediate spike in travel demand that will increase rates for airfare, hotels, restaurants, and rental cars. It’s understandable if your travel an....
One of the best ways to measure your A/P team’s success is to look at benchmarks and see how your operations compare to your peers’. And you can do just that by reviewing and sharing the latest annual numbers, outlined in Ardent Partners’ Accounts Payable Metrics that Matter in 2021. Here are some of the highlig....
KEY POINTS President Joe Biden wants to boost IRS funding by $80 billion over the next decade to fight tax evasion from wealthy Americans and corporations.The measure would beef up IRS staffing and improve technology, bringing in an estimated $700 billion in revenue over 10 years.There m....
The research and development (R&D) tax credit can effectively defray experimentation costs of cutting-edge companies. However, not all expenses involved in product innovation and design result in a credit. In a new Tax Court case, Max, TC Memo 2021-37, 3/29/71, a clothing manufacturer could not claim the R&D t....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has stopped accepting new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications from most lenders almost a full month before the $292 billion program’s application deadline. The SBA informed lenders Tuesday afternoon that the PPP general fund was out of ....
IRAs are the name of the game for today’s retirees. While they come with helpful tax breaks for savers, pulling money out in retirement comes with major tax consequences — which could get much more serious if taxes rise in the future. But there are things you can do about that. Today’s retirees face many ....
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans are eligible for forgiveness if the business uses the funds to pay for eligible items such as payroll, certain employee health care costs, interest on mortgage obligations, rent, and utility expenditures. Provided the applicable requirements are met, a borrower of a PPP loan can apply ....
Four weeks before its scheduled end, the federal government’s signature aid effort for small business ravaged by the pandemic — the Paycheck Protection Program — ran out of funding on Tuesday afternoon and stopped accepting most new applications. Congress allocated $292 billion to fund the program’s most recent round of....
The best plans anticipate what’s to come, and right now it’s looking more and more likely that the future could hold higher taxes, especially for the wealthy. Here’s what might be on the horizon, and a look at some ideas to help prepare for it. You can feel it in the air — tax increases are coming. And it’s not a matter....
In 1985, Ronald Reagan was a second-term U.S. president; Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the role of general secretary of the Soviet Union’s communist party, still tucked behind the Iron Curtain; the median price for an existing American home was about $75,000; and a basketball phenom named Michael Jordan was named the NBA’s rookie of the year. And,&nbs....
Wondering where your tax refund is? In its Covid-19 operations update, the Internal Revenue Service has added an explanation for why in many cases it’s taking longer than the typical 21 days to process tax refunds for individual taxpayers. We’re talking about tax returns filed for the 2020 tax year during the 2021 tax season that ....
The president’s “American Families Plan,” which he will detail this week, will be offset in part by a tax enforcement effort that administration officials believe will raise $700 billion over a decade. WASHINGTON — President Biden, looking to pay for his ambitious economic agenda and shift more of the na....
An historic rally in share prices for smaller U.S. companies has slowed sharply in April after six months of strong gains, leading many investors to worry that the stock market as a whole may have already priced in a strong rebound from the pandemic. "The easy money has been made for small caps and fo....
John Coates, acting director of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance (CorpFin), has a few tips about writing comment letters. His views on comment letters come as the SEC currently has a few rulemaking files open for comment, including a request for comment on climate disclosure that was issued in mid-March. (....
The Internal Revenue Service is holding up millions of tax refunds for manual processing and its systems were unable to process many of the quarterly payments that needed to be sent by April 15. The IRS is holding approximately 29 million tax refunds that need to be processed manually because of the complexities of some of....
President Biden is reportedly preparing a proposal for a near-doubling of the capital gains tax for wealthier Americans, increasing the rate to 39.6 percent, up from the current top rate of 20 percent, according to a report in Bloomberg News. The increase, in line with campaign promises, would impo....
The IRS announced a safe harbor for certain businesses that received first-round Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans but did not deduct any of the original eligible expenses because they relied on guidance issued before the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), P.L. 116-260, in Dece....
The world changed in many ways last year. One of them is the face of employment, or rather, self-employment. The pattern first appeared in the third quarter of 2020, when there were a record number of business formations, as I wrote in an article. The Internal Revenue Service received nearly 1.6 million applications for new em....
The employee retention credit could provide some businesses much-needed relief, but before claiming the credit employers should be aware of its requirements, the interplay with Paycheck Protection Program loans, payroll filing options and potential delays with amended payroll forms. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief a....
Sir Laurence Olivier was one of the greatest actors of his generation. His signature role was Hamlet, and on this night, he was magical. But when his friends raced backstage to congratulate him, they found him depressed. Olivier was sitting on a bench looking at the floor. He slammed his fist into his thigh again a....
There’s a lot you need to document properly for a startup, not the least of which is your employee handbook. When I decided to leave my previous startup and move on to a whole new idea, I put everything in writing before anybody was even on my payroll — with good reason. Rules aren’t the only thing your c....
We've rounded up our top blog posts for managing all things cannabusiness-related in areas such as tax codes, accounting, inventory management systems, cash flow management, and more. You may be wondering, “how much the cannabis industry worth in 2020?” Well, predicted sales for the year-end are $19.7 BILLION. Yep, ....
KEY POINTS Retail sales boomed 9.8% higher in March thanks to a jump in spending at bars and restaurants as well as multiple other groups.Economists already had been expecting a gain of 6.1% as consumers received their $1,400 government stimulus checks.Jobless claims added to the good economic new....
The U.S. economy picked up speed going into the spring on the back of growing confidence among consumers, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it is on track for stronger growth and hiring in the coming months. Economic activity between late February and early April ....
The U.S. securities regulator on Monday issued accounting guidance for special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, which called into question whether warrants issued by hundreds of SPACs could be considered equity instruments. The guidance suggests that many SPACs may potentially have to refile their financia....
Members of the tax community have been calling on the IRS for more clarity related to taxes on food and beverages since the new rules were enacted late last year as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). In a new Notice, the IRS has finally weighed in on the new 100 percent tax deduction for food or beverages bought by....
The head of the IRS calculated that tax evasion in the U.S. may total $1 trillion a year, a figure that is multiples higher than previous estimates from the federal government. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Chuck Rettig told a Senate panel Tuesday that previous tallies of the tax gap — which came to a cumulative amo....
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gives his thoughts on how the economy is rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic. Scott Pelley reports. A broad economic recovery is suddenly gathering speed, calling millions of Americans back to work. That's the message tonight of Jerome Powell, the chair of the Feder....
The forgivable loan program could run out of money this month. But if you act now, you may get cash easier and faster than before. Congress may have extended the Paycheck Protection Program through May, but with only $68 billion left in its coffers, the PPP may sunset well before then. That shouldn't deter you. Here....
The growing optimism "is evident in the robust expectations firms have for revenue and employment growth in 2021," according to The CFO Survey. CFOs are feeling increasingly optimistic about their firms and the U.S. economy though they don’t expect the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan to have much effect on their business,....
If your business-owning client needs more money for their company, they have plenty of options, ranging from taking out a PPP loan to heading to the bank. Financial expert Bryce Sanders goes over the numerous choices you can suggest, as well as some options business owners should always avoid. Perhaps they want their busin....
The IRS released guidance on Thursday explaining when the temporary 100% deduction for restaurant meals is available and when the 50% limitation on the deduction for food and beverages continues to apply for Sec. 274 purposes (Notice 2021-25). Under Sec. 274(n)(1), a deduction for any expense for food or be....
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a policy change to help businesses weather the financial hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic by significantly increasing loan limits up to 24 months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $500,000. These loans were previously limited to six months of ec....
Stimulus, infrastructure spending and vaccines could fuel an economic boom into 2023, he tells shareholders in his annual letter The leader of America’s biggest bank said the U.S. economy is emerging from the coronavirus pandemic into a boom that could last until 2023. In his annual letter to sharehol....
Analysts warn timetable is too ‘aggressive’ even as economy quickly recovers The quickening US economic recovery has markets pricing in a Federal Reserve rate rise as soon as next year, but analysts warn this accelerated timetable is far too “aggressive”. Recent data pointing to a strong recovery in the labour marke....
The cash crunch is sneaking up on policymakers only days after Congress and the Biden administration agreed to give businesses another two months to apply for the loans. Washington's nearly $1 trillion small business rescue, now under the watch of President Joe Biden, is about to sl....
21 percent of business executives said their companies expected some downward revision in office space in the coming year, compared to 18 percent in the third quarter last year. The lack of action by others reflects to a large degree the ... Despite widespread use of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most bu....
The IRS explained the changes to the employee retention credit (ERC) for the first two calendar quarters of 2021 in Notice 2021-23, which amplifies Notice 2021-20. The credit was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L 116-136, and amended by the Consolidated Appropr....
The IRS said on Friday that amounts paid for personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes, for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19 can be treated as amounts paid for medical care under Sec. 213(d) (Announcement 2021-7). As a result, amou....
Mortgage rates were on the rise for a 6th consecutive week in the week ending 25th March. Following a 4-basis points rise from the week prior; 30-year fixed rates rose by a further 8 basis points to 3.17%. Compared to this time last year, 30-year fixed rates were down by just 33 basis points. 30-year fixed rates ....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. central bank will keep its support for the economy in place until the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is “well and truly done,” Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on Thursday. The Fed’s near-zero interest rates and monthly bond purcha....
The Internal Revenue Service’s backlog of tax returns is way down, but it’s still significant, according to IRS operations statistics updated yesterday. As of January 29, the IRS said it had 6.7 million 2019 tax returns in line for processing. The new number: As of March 5, the IRS had 2.4 million individu....
We all know that waking up early in the morning makes us more productive. Since our childhood, we were taught to follow, “early to bed and early to rise” as a ritual. Waking up at the crack of dawn and starting our day in the right way makes us more productive and purposeful. In this technology-driven world,....
A bill to move the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application deadline from March 31 to May 31 won approval in the U.S. Senate on Thursday. The final vote to approve the PPP Extension Act of 2021, H.R. 1799, was 92–7. There was some drama, however. A measure to amend the bill was narrowly defeated 52–48. The amendment, propo....
Being your own boss has its perks, and those include special retirement savings possibilities, such as SIMPLE IRAs, SEP IRAs and Solo 401(k)s. Choosing the right retirement plan can be confusing and overwhelming. Multiple options are available, which is a good thing, but understandin....
While many taxpayers are relieved to have an extra month to wrangle their tax papers after the IRS extended the deadline, quarterly filers aren’t off the hook: they still need to pay Uncle Sam estimated taxes by April 15. The IRS pushed the federal income tax deadline back to May 17 from its usual A....
Beginning April 6, small businesses and non-profits can apply for up to 24 months of relief, with a maximum loan amount of $500,000, the Small Business Administration announced Wednesday. The previous limit for such businesses was six months, with a maximum loan amount of $150,000. ....
Cal Newport is tired of the technological inundation that comes with the modern working world. To him, a deluge of Slack notifications, emails, meeting alerts, text messages—all of the things that comprise the basis of contemporary office communication are also, ironically, an impediment t....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has set April 8 as the date it will begin accepting applications for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program. In a news release, the SBA said it has launched a splash page for the new SVOG application portal. Venue operators and other entities interested in applyi....
No matter how old you are, it’s never too early to start saving for retirement. If you have access to a 401(k) plan through your employer, that can be an easy way to start socking money away. You’ll likely need more money than you think. By 50, you should aim to have at least six times your salary saved for re....
LAKEWOOD, March 18, 2021 – The Colorado Department of Revenue announced today that it will extend the individual income tax payment and filing deadline by 32 days to May 17, 2021 , without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This extension will be ....
The IRS has extended the 2021 federal tax deadline to May 17, but state tax deadlines are still up to each state. Here are the state tax deadlines announced so far for 2021. As we all heard yesterday, the federal government has extended the tax deadline to May 17 as it pertains to federal income taxes with the exception of Louisiana, Oklahom....
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues continued to project near-zero interest rates at least through 2023 despite upgrading their U.S. economic outlook and the mounting inflation worries in financial markets. The decision, which came on a volatile day for investors with Treasury yields surging ah....
The IRS announced on Wednesday that it is postponing the deadline for all individual tax returns. Returns otherwise due April 15 will not have to be filed until May 17 this year. The IRS says it will issue formal guidance in the near future. The postponement applies only to individual taxpayers, who can postpone their federal income tax returns....
KEY POINTS The Federal Reserve concludes its two-day policy meeting Wednesday, with expectations for no change in interest rates.However, Bank of America said the meeting will be “one of the most critical events for the Fed in some time.”Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow policymakers will....
A bill to move the Paycheck Protection Program application deadline from March 31 to May 31 sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night, passing in a 415-3 vote that sends the legislation to the Senate for consideration. The nearly unanimous vote came after several dozen business groups, including the AIC....
Economists expect the rise in prices to continue into the summer, pushing inflation past the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. U.S. consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in six months in February, reflecting the rebound in the economy amid declining COVID-19 infections and the accelerating rollout of vaccines. The Labor Depart....
The third stimulus check is already hitting some bank accounts, just days after President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Act into law. But while some households will see the funds within the next few days, others may be in for a longer wait. About 85% of people will receive one of ....
Small businesses that received a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) won’t have to start making payments on the loan until 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) said. In a news release issued Friday evening, the SBA announced extended deferment periods for all of its disaster loans, including the COVID-19 EIDL loans....
Mary T. Washington Wylie in 1943 became the nation’s first Black woman to earn the CPA license, a notable achievement in a remarkable life filled with many accomplishments. Washington Wylie also made it her life’s mission to hire and mentor Black aspiring CPAs. Her story illustrates the importance of early Black....
In addition to the $1,400 stimulus payments to many Americans, the American Rescue Plan Act provides many other relief measures, and also some new business tax measures, that should be noted. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), enacted by President Joe Biden on Thursday, is an approximately $1.9....
As the March 31 deadline for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program looms, a deal to extend it for two more months is in the works. A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday introduced the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act in the House of Representatives....
The new economic relief package passed by the House of Representatives and Senate — the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act — provides a wide array of tax-related benefits for individuals. President Biden has said he will sign ... The new economic relief package passed by the House of Representatives and Senate on We....
The House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan Act, H.R. 1319, on Wednesday by a vote of 220–211. It now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature. He is expected to sign it quickly. H.R. 1319 was first passed by the House on Feb. 27. The Senate made several amendments and passed its version of ....
On Saturday, the Senate voted to pass the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which includes provisions that increase the child tax creditto $3,000 per child ages 6 to 17 and $3,600 annually for children under 6 for the tax year 2021. And Americans with children under 18 m....
Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee and accounting groups are calling for extending the tax deadline to give the IRS, taxpayers and tax professionals an extra three months. House Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard E. Neal, D-Massachusetts, and Oversight Subcommittee chairman Bill Pascrell, Jr., D-New Jersey, on Monday....
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a tax credit first put in place last year as a temporary coronavirus-relief provision to assist businesses in keeping employees on payroll. Since then, the ERC has been significantly expanded – and in the most recent relief bill that will be sent to Pre....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) rules that allow self-employed individuals who file Form 1040, Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, to calculate their maximum loan amount using gross income instead of net profit. The change opens the door for larger loans to self-....
A handful of states are looking to fix the problem, but you may not like the changes. Tax time is confusing and stressful under the best of circumstances. It could be even worse if you've taken out a loan from the government's Paycheck Protection Program. The tax status of the PPP&nb....
The AICPA called on Congress to extend the application period for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by at least 60 days. The current deadline for PPP applications is March 31, but many applications have run into problems in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) PPP processing platform, which has refused to a....
In Notice 2021-20, the IRS issued detailed guidance for employers claiming the employee retention credit for calendar quarters in 2020. The credit was created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L 116-136, and amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, P.L 116-260. The IRS says the gui....
Amid recent requests by the AICPA and National Association of Tax Professionals that the IRS extend the 2021 income tax filing season, millions of Americans are still challenged by a backlog at the IRS of income tax returns from last year. Amid recent requests by the AICPA and National Associatio....
If you didn’t get the full amount of your first or second stimulus check—or if you have no record of it, for some reason—we have some good news. The Internal Revenue Service has a spot where you can check your checks. The agency last week said it has updated its....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bouncing back from months of retrenchment, America’s consumers stepped up their spending by a solid 2.4% in January, the sharpest increase in seven months and a sign that the economy may be poised to sustain a recovery from the pandemic recession. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department a....
I often say that starting a company is like jumping off a cliff and building an airplane on the way down. It’s a vivid metaphor that contains a lot of truths. First, you’ll need courage and optimism. You have to believe you can pull it off. Next, you’ll need ingenuity. Assembling a plane takes talent and ski....
The U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 219–212, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package early Saturday morning that includes $1,400 stimulus checks to individuals, an extension of unemployment benefits, and tens of billions in aid for small businesses and not-for-profits. The bi....
California aerospace startup Archer Aviation Inc. has a multibillion-dollar vision of flying people around town in autonomous electric helicopter-like vehicles. It doesn’t have revenue or a vehicle ready for passengers, but that hasn’t slowed the three-year-old company. Instead of toiling away in ....
I grew up in Florida, and as a pre-teen, I took piano lessons, but I secretly loved playing my sister’s guitar. I would sneak and sit in her closet in her room and grab her red guitar with the white tuningknobs and play. She did not know I wanted to play it, so I had to sneak and play it. Finally, one day, she found me, and she....
‘Uneven and far from complete’ Divining why markets go up or down on any given day is usually a futile exercise. But here’s what many are saying about a late-day reversal yesterday, which snapped a streak of down days for stock and bond prices: Markets are rallying because Jay Powell thinks the economy is still weak. Or, as Mr. ....
Acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee directed the commission’s Division of Corporation Finance on Wednesday to enhance its focus on climate-related disclosure in public company filings. The division’s staff will review the extent to which public companies addressed the topics identified in 2010 SEC guidance rega....
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appear wary of signs of froth in financial markets, even as they press ahead with economic stimulus measures that are elevating the euphoria. There “may be sectors where we should be very careful,” Yellen told CNBC television last week, when aske....
The administration of President Joe Biden announced Monday that it would institute a two-week period starting Wednesday during which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees will be able to apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The exclusive application window is one of several moves ....
Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are urging the Internal Revenue Service to extend tax season beyond April 15 to give taxpayers another three months until July 15. Lawmakers on the tax-writing committee in Congress wrote a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on Thursday to make the request, po....
Taxpayers can expect a smooth filing season despite monumental challenges in getting pandemic relief to millions of people, according to the nation’s top tax official. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig told a virtual event held Jan. 17 by the New York City Bar Association that the annual season “is going seamless....
The moves by organizations into bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, highlighted dramatically by the $1.5 billion investment made by Tesla TSLA-0.8%, have been heralded by many as paradigm shifting events. While it remains to be seen how this ultimately plays out, there is one area of blockchain and c....
The Tax Court has held against a legal California medical marijuana dispensary's interpretations of Code Sec. 280E, the Code section that disallows certain deductions and credits of businesses trafficking in controlled substances. Among the Court's decisions were the disallowance of the taxpayer's dedu....
KEY POINTS Fears on Main Street about permanent business closures rose in the first quarter, with just a little over half of entrepreneurs (55%) confident their operations can last another year.The waves of lockdowns and reopenings have weighed on small business confidence.More PPP loans and President Biden’s....
Businesses around the country have been slow to evaluate, or quick to assume they are ineligible for, the 2021 Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”). The result: a significant amount of cash is still being paid to the Federal government when it could remain with companies that need it. In 2021 the m....
With lawmakers negotiating another round of coronavirus relief aid, many Americans are eager to learn if and when they'll receive a third stimulus check. Aside from Congress' time frame for passing the legislation, there's another factor that could influence stimulus payments: your 2020 tax returns. ....
FASB responded to an urgent pandemic-related accounting concern Wednesday by voting to provide private companies and not-for-profits with an alternative to the requirement to monitor and evaluate goodwill impairment triggering events throughout the fiscal year and potentially measure a goodwill impairmen....
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce—who has been calling for clear and flexible approach to regulating the digital asset market—believes that when a new SEC chair comes this spring, it will be a good time for renewed conversation about the commission’s role for the crypto market. “I think it....
The number of Paycheck Protection Program loans to U.S. small businesses more than doubled in the third week of the latest round of pandemic relief aid, as Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. each processed more than $1 billion in funding. The Small Business Administration approved 891,044 loans w....
The U.S. economy is projected to grow at a robust 4.6% annual rate this year, but employment isn’t expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday. The 10-year outlook said the economic recovery from the coronavirus got a boost from an unprecedented wave of governmen....
The COVID-19 pandemic caused 2020 to shape up as one of the most difficult years ever for taxpayers and tax practitioners alike. Taxes and other financial matters have also been significantly complicated by new relief provisions, both for tax professionals to interpret and advise clients on and for the IRS to execute and enforce. Nationwide s....
‘The pandemic still provides considerable downside risks,’ Fed Chairman Powell says The Federal Reserve kept its easy money policies in place, saying that business activity has softened with the resurgence of Covid-19 cases, but hoping the rollout of vaccines will tame the pandemic and heal the economy. Until then, the Fed is....
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 is a $900 billion relief package to deliver a second round of economic stimulus for individuals, families, and businesses. This legislation provides relief through multiple measures and expands many of the provisions already put into place under the CARES A....
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury on Tuesday published updated Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness guidance and forms, including a one-page application for borrowers that received a PPP loan of $150,000 or less. That form, called the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form 350....
The application window for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans will open Friday for lenders with $1 billion or less in assets, the US Small Business Administration and Treasury announced. The opening, which will take place at 9 a.m. ET, applies for both first- and second-draw PPP loans. The program will begin accepting applica....
Businesses have until Feb. 1, 2021, to file the revised Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, and the new Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, and provide copies to the recipients.Isaac M. O'Bannon Businesses have until Feb. 1, 2021, to file the revised Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, and the ne....
After years of low examination rates, the IRS announced it will increase audits of small businesses: by 50 percent. This news comes during a time when complex tax law changes and economic stimulus programs in response to COVID-19 have ... After years of low examination rates, the IRS announced it will increase audits of smal....
The US Small Business Administration and Treasury released borrower loan application forms Friday night for the rebooted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which will launch Monday, initially for select lenders and borrowers before a broader opening takes place a few days later The forms are Form 2483 – Paycheck Protection Progr....
For those who remember, the character Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say on Saturday Night Live, “Never mind.” The same applies to previous IRS guidance on Paycheck Protection Program expense deductions. The new economic relief law enacted late last year—the Consolidated Appropriations Act—clarified that expenses paid by busine....
PREPARING FOR retirement doesn't have to be difficult or complex. Even if you don't have a detailed plan for retirement in place, taking small steps now can make a big difference as you approach retirement. Here is how to prepare for retirement: Shake off financial fear.Make a quick start.Choose a debt to pay off.Contribu....
The second round of Coronavirus stimulus payments, $600 for most taxpayers, have started being processed, the U.S. Treasury Department has announced. People could receive them as early as Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. The second round of Coronavirus stimulus payments, $600 for most taxpayers, have ....
After much deliberation, Congress finally agreed to approve a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Included in that amount is $284 billion for a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The new relief package includes: additional funding for new PPP loansthe....
Stimulus payments are just part of it. Also: more unemployment, PPP, EIDL loans, Employee Retention Credit, EIC, CTC, eviction moratorium, and more. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 is a $900B relief package to deliver a second round of economic stimulus for individuals, families, and busines....
Trump, who called the package a ‘disgrace,’ threatened to hold up the legislation over an abrupt call to increase the second wave of stimulus checks to $2,000. AFTER DAYS OF resistance, President Donald Trump signed the $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government spending package into the law on Sunday eve....
As it does each year around this time, the IRS has released its 2021 business mileage standard rate, which now sits at 56 cents, a decrease of 1.5 cents from the previous year. The 2021 IRS business mileage rate will go into effect January 1, 2021. The IRS business mileage standard rate offers U.S. employers a tax-free threshold for th....
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill Monday night that provides $600 stimulus payments to individuals, adds $300 to extended weekly unemployment benefits, and provides more than $300 billion in aid for small businesses. The legislation, the Consolidat....
The optional standard mileage rates for business use of a vehicle will decrease once again in 2021 after increasing significantly in 2019, the IRS announced in Notice 2021-02. For business use of a car, van, pickup truck, or panel truck, the rate for 2021 will be 56 cents per mile after decreasing to 57.5 cents per mile in 2020, down fro....
Trump is expected to sign the bill later this week. The Senate approved the COVID-19 relief package and omnibus spending bill late Monday night by a vote of 92 to 6. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. Sen. and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris appeared on....
The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is hardly the first recession many financial professionals have had to endure. But no downturn from recent decades matched its suddenness. The unprecedented level of uncertainty about when the recession will ease and what the hoped-for recovery will look like poses ....
Organizations may pursue a divestiture, a spinoff, or a partial divestiture (also referred to as a carveout) for any number of reasons. From an accounting perspective, each of these terms means something a little different. For instance, a divestiture typically refers to a company disposing of an entire line of busine....
The annual ‘fresh start’ that comes with a new year is fast approaching. This is a great opportunity for Americans to review their overall financial situation, check-in on their goals and set some new ones. The annual ‘fresh start’ that comes with a new year is fast approaching. This is a great opportunity for America....
As pandemic cases and deaths reached record levels, Congress bickered over the details of the legislation. Whatever deal emerges, a reshaped PPP will be part of it. As Congress struggles to reach bipartisan agreement over the next stimulus package, one thing is clear: The Paycheck Protection Program will....
Around 6 percent of surveyed households said they have given up hope that their income will ever recover. Executives and ordinary Americans alike are worried about the future and the increased financial fallout from Covid-19. More than four in 10 respondents to a new Bankrate.co....
For the upcoming tax season, employers that they must file Form W-2 and other wage statements by Feb. 1, 2021, to avoid penalties and help the IRS prevent fraud. For the upcoming tax season, employers that they must file Form W-2 and other wage statements by Feb. 1, 2021, to avoid penalties and help the IRS preven....
It has been a very busy year for SEC rule making, guidance, executive actions and all matters capital markets. Continuing its ongoing disclosure effectiveness initiative on November 19, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to the disclosures in Item 303 of Regulation S-K – Management’....
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to create another round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help small businesses as coronavirus cases surge across the country, but the timing and details are still being ironed out. The PPP, which was first created in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act Congress passed ....
Sometimes the boring skills in life turn out to be the most important. Case in point: the market for being really good at Excel is much larger than you think. I have a friend who does lucrative consulting work mostly on his ability to be better than you at Excel. Machine learning is trendy, but most organizations don’t need....
In a Dec. 3 letter addressed to the U.S. Senate majority and minority leaders and the leaders of the House of Representatives, several hundred national trade associations, including the AICPA, and many state and regional affiliates appealed to Congress to pass legislation this year reversing the IRS’s tr....
Despite an initial freeze in investments early in the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. venture capital funding this year has already overtaken 2019 levels as many tech companies got a boost from remote work and an e-commerce boom. U.S. venture capital investments as of Dec. 1 totaled $139.6 billion acr....
Starting in January, the IRS will allow all individuals to receive an identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN). The IRS announced (IR-2020-267) on Wednesday that it will unveil a portal in mid-January 2021, expanding to all individual taxpayers the opt-in program to voluntarily receive an IP PIN. The expanded ....
As some of you may know, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) introduced a 20-percent qualified business income deduction provision, which potentially benefits all taxpayers except C corporations. For clients who are S corporation shareholders, partners and sole proprietors, they may also benefit as can trusts, estates and their ....
The Internal Revenue Service estimates that an additional 6.5 million individual tax returns were filed for 2020, a major increase it attributes to large numbers of taxpayers filing returns to be able to claim coronavirus-related stimulus payments. The projections were recently released in Publications 6186 and 6....
This chart shows a projected timeline for when a taxpayer is likely to receive their refund, based on the information we have now, and based on previous years. If your IRS income tax refund is delayed, ask your tax professional... The IRS usually opens income tax season on the last Monday in January each year. Although the 20....
In guidance issued late on Wednesday, the IRS reiterated its position that taxpayers cannot claim a deduction for any otherwise deductible expense if the payment of the expense results in forgiveness of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan because the income associated with the forgiveness is excluded from gross in....
A sharp spike in COVID-19 cases across the U.S. is threatening the economic recovery and increasing the odds of a double-dip recession. Daily coronavirus infections surpassed 100,000 for the first time earlier this month; since then, they have surged past the 150,000 mark. At the same time, congressional leaders appe....
Workforce transformation is a capability, not a process, that the World’s Most Admired Companies share. Workforce transformation has always been, and always will be, a topic of critical importance for HR—if organizations are unable to evolve and adapt to changing environments, they have no hope of lasting success. But ....
If you feel like your time and energy are slowly slipping away from you, you may be overloading on commitments. A newly promoted client of mine was struggling with managing time and tasks. She felt like she could never get on top of her task list. She had missed several important deadlines that weren’t client-criti....
During 2020, U.S. public companies have dedicated a significant amount of time and resources (both internally and externally) to revising and updating their Securities and Exchange Commission filings to both adequately and accurately report the effects and risks of COVID-19 on their business, financial condition, and results of operations. D....
The Internal Revenue Service is making some changes in its collection program to lessen the burden on taxpayers who owe outstanding tax debts and are trying to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRS said Monday that it’s making it easier to set up payment agreements and offers in co....
As fiscal 2020’s end approaches for calendar year-end entities, guidance is available on numerous challenging issues. The coronavirus pandemic has led to numerous financial reporting challenges for CPAs that didn't seem to have easy answers in U.S. GAAP. Although the foundational rules for U.S. financial reportin....
Short-term rental operators are allowed to deduct “ordinary and necessary” expenses related to their business. And there are plenty of deduction opportunities for your client’s vacation rental business, but they might not all be obvious. Short-term rental marketplaces such as Airbnb, HomeAway, and VRBO have made it easy for....
The Internal Revenue Service said Friday it would restart issuing its 500 series of balance-due notices to taxpayers later this month after they were paused on May 9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the IRS continued to issue most of its notices, the 500 series was temporarily suspended because of a backlog of mail....
The U.S. economy continued to recover at a slight to modest pace through early October as consumers bought homes and increased spending, but the picture varied greatly from sector to sector, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. The Fed’s survey was conducted in its 12 districts from September ....
The first two steps in our planning process were foundational in nature. Use any GPS you want and you’ll discover that without both a starting point and destination GPS is worthless. So is a plan! Now that you understand the “As is,” or your starting point, and you have a clear picture of your “should be” or destinati....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released guidance Tuesday confirming that Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness applications are not due on Oct. 31. Fears of a late-October PPP surprise came to the SBA’s attention because the program’s loan forgiveness application forms (3508, 3508EZ....
Late last week the Small Business Administration released additional guidance under the Paycheck Protection Program affecting borrowers with loans of no more than $50,000. The SBA created another forgiveness application form (3508S) for eligible borrowers which exempts them from the potential reductio....
As the pandemic began, you were productive and effective. You were pulling yourself up by your bootstraps (as our grandparents used to say), taking a determined approach and making it work. But as the pandemic wears on, you may be hitting a wall. Your productivity is probably suffering, and ....
Congress keeps chipping away at itemized deductions like the one for mortgage interest. This includes the latest changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) for 2018 through 2025. The good news: Generally, you can still deduct most or all of the mortgage interest you pay if you continue to itemize deductions on your personal tax re....
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities (CARES) Act, a $2.3 trillion relief package designed to help individuals and businesses weather the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The headliner of the CARES Act was the creation of t....
The US Small Business Administration released guidance Wednesday clarifying that lenders must recognize the previously established extended deferral period for payments on the principal, interest, and fees on all Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, even if the executed promissory note indicates only a six-month deferral. ....
"All indicators from The CFO Survey point towards a slow return to normal that is challenging to forecast due to the uncertainty created by this virus.” U.S. finance executives remain more optimistic about the economy than they were in the spring but very few expect to return to pre-COVID levels of employment and revenue until ....
An IRS transcript is an administrative record of the actions that have taken place in an individual’s tax history. While they are notorious for being complex, they can be incredibly helpful in the hands of tax professionals who know how to use them. But it’s important to understand and use transcripts to their fullest potential. Types of t....
The coronavirus had "a major impact" on slowing medical cost growth this year but the trend "is expected to be short-lived," a survey finds. Employer-sponsored health care benefit costs are expected to increase more than 8% globally next year as workers get treatment they had deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to ....
The "new normal" in 2020 has given many taxpayers plenty of reasons to worry about their futures, not only regarding health and work, but also retirement savings and future tax rates. But times of uncertainty like these should not prevent them from looking for planning opportunities such as the potential benefits of a Sec. 408A(d)(3) qualified ....
Reports from the U.S. Treasury Department have begun surfacing indicating that the federal agency expects to step up the pace of processing Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness applications later this week or early next week. Both the Nation’s Restaurant News and The Wall St....
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy plunged at an unprecedented rate this spring and even with a record rebound expected in the just-ended third quarter, the U.S. economy will likely shrink this year, the first time that has happened since the Great Recession. The gross domestic product, the economy’s total outpu....
If you want to succeed, make time for reflection and don't let yourself get caught up in the hustle. It doesn't matter whether I was working a full-time job (and building my business before and after work hours) or now, as a full-time entrepreneur: I always place time on my calendar for stillness, thinking, and re....
When the government pledged to give small businesses billions of dollars in rescue loans during the pandemic, it was an offer almost too good to refuse: The loans could be forgiven if employers only maintained payroll. In little more than four months, the Paycheck Protection Program doled out $525 billion in loan....
It’s nice to read a feel-good story like the one about an Arkansas man who found a massive 9-carat diamond in a public state park in Arkansas. Thirty-three year old Kevin Kinard found the 9.07 carat whopper in the Crater of Diamonds State Park on Labor Day. It is the second-largest ever found at the park, the big....
To prevent confusion, the IRS notified lenders on Tuesday that they should not file cancellation-of-debt information returns or furnish payee statements under Sec. 6050P to report the amount of qualifying forgiveness with respect to covered loans made under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) (Announcement 2020-12). T....
Common Reporting Deficiencies and Recent Changes This past year marked the 30th anniversary of the statement of cash flows as a required financial statement. FASB’s efforts in developing the then-new standard were heavily influenced by the objectives and concepts set forth in Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts (SFAC) 1,&n....
Great problem solvers are made, not born. That’s what we’ve found after decades of problem solving with leaders across business, nonprofit, and policy sectors. These leaders learn to adopt a particularly open and curious mindset, and adhere to a systematic process for cracking even the most inscrutable problems. They....
The 2020 presidential election is dominating the headlines and capturing investors’ attention, given the polarized political environment and disparate policy principles of the candidates. Despite this, we don’t think the outcome will be the determining factor in the broader direction of the financial markets over the long ru....
Entities whose operations are negatively affected by COVID-19 may need to consider testing their assets for impairment. Among the many consequences of COVID-19, impacts such as business and production disruptions, supply-chain interruptions, negative impacts on customers, volatility in the equity and ....
Businesses in industries decimated by the pandemic say the Paycheck Protection Program helped, but it's not nearly enough. It's impossible to understate the level of economic calamity in which many of the nation's small businesses now find themselves. While economic activity has pic....
KEY POINTS More than half of workers say one of the reasons they want to continue working in retirement is the positive influence it would have on their mental well-being, according to a new survey.Others say they would work during their golden years to benefit their financial situation.Many work....
U.S. business activity and employment ticked up through late August, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, but economic growth was generally sluggish as COVID-19 hotspots hampered reopening efforts that fueled an early-summer rebound. The Fed, in its “Beige Book” report, highlighted the ....
The FASB said it would work to narrow differences between the accounting models used for acquisitions of assets and acquisitions of businesses - two economically similar areas in GAAP that could be better aligned. Deliberations would not be constrained by existing models for either business combinations or acquisition....
WASHINGTON—U.S. debt has reached its highest level compared to the size of the economy since World War II and is projected to exceed it next year, the result of a giant fiscal response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that feder....
President Donald Trump’s payroll tax holiday began on Tuesday but some employers may balk at offering the temporary relief to employees. Under Trump’s executive order, employees earning no more than $4,000 every two weeks are eligible for a deferral of the 6.2% tax that is deducted from their paychecks toward Social Security. The ....
Update (August 27): The 800,000 IRS letters to taxpayers (dated July 2), reminding them to activate their stimulus-payment debit cards or call to request a replacement, “received a significant response,” according to a senior official at the US Treasury who reached out to me to comment on the a....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury issued an interim final rule Monday addressing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiveness issues related to owner-employee compensation and the eligibility of nonpayroll costs. Specifically, the interim final rule establ....
The second straight monthly decrease in consumer confidence reported by the Conference Board on Tuesday overshadowed an acceleration in new single-family home sales to a more than 13-1/2-year high in July. The housing market continues to show strong immunity to the coronavirus crisis. The e....
A few weeks ago, I wrote a Friday Forward about the leadership throughout the American response to COVID-19, which generated many passionate replies. What I saw in the various responses is that for many of us, our perspective on what constitu....
Employers must make mental health their 'absolute top priority,' experts say. The risk for depression among U.S. workers has risen a whopping 102% as a result of the coronavirus pandemic—and 305% for workers aged 20-39, according to new research. Those findings from Total Brain’s July Mental Health Index—w....
In this episode, we touch base with Ed Karl, the AICPA’s vice president–Tax Policy & Advocacy, to discuss questions the AICPA Tax Executive Committee has raised in official comments to Treasury and the IRS concerning President Donald Trump’s Aug. 8 memorandum ordering Treasury to defer the withholding, deposit, ....
Chrome extensions serve a variety of purposes, from making a particular process more efficient to saving you money; the possibilities are pretty much endless. And while you might already have a few extensions you like, there are a few that we think are essential—regardless of how you use Chrome. While each of the extensions liste....
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a draft of Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. There are several notable changes to the form proposed for the tax year 2020 - the tax return that you'll file in 2021. And… postcard-sized, it's not. Let's dive right in. Virtual currency. At first ....
Companies will not see much change in quarterly disclosure rule requirements from what they provide currently but will find it easier to know where to look, according to FASB discussions on August 19, 2020, on the topic. The board rejected adding interim disclosure rules for advertising and research and developmen....
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, who chairs the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, is asking the Internal Revenue Service to quit mailing notices for unpaid taxes to taxpayers who may have been affected by the mail backlog at the agency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many taxpaye....
Wall Street clawed back the last of the historic, frenzied losses unleashed by the new coronavirus, as the S&P 500 closed at an all-time high Tuesday. The day’s move was a relatively mild one, nudging the index up 7.79 points, or 0.2%, to 3,389.78. That eclipses the S&P 500′s previous record closing h....
With the recent economic slowdown, companies are under increased pressure to show stability, or even growth, and paint a rosy picture for investors. That pressure will undoubtedly cause some companies to engage in accounting fraud to distort their financial results, thereby misleading investors. As with most accounting scandals, companies are....
The Internal Revenue Service is now letting taxpayers submit Form 1040-X electronically when they want to file an amended tax return through commercial tax software, in what the agency called a “major milestone in tax administration.” The move comes after years of effort by the IRS to streamline th....
For the foreseeable future, remote work is here to stay. If you work for a great, people-focused company, one that has navigated the pandemic in a supportive and expedient manner, then this shift may be a welcome change for you. Sure, transitioning from an in-office environment to a completely virtual one may have had its challenges, ....
The Internal Revenue Service is reopening the registration period for parents to list their kids so they can receive an extra $500 per child in economic impact payments under the CARES Act. The $2.2 trillion stimulus package that Congress passed in March to help blunt the economic impact of the novel coronavirus p....
The U.S. Small Business Administration has posted rules about how businesses who have been turned down for forgiveness of their Paycheck Protection Program loans can appeal the decision, and about how forgivable PPP loans interact with the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The interim final rule from ....
Some questions on federal coronavirus measures were answered Tuesday in guidance issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury. SBA and Treasury issued two FAQs related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and three FAQs related to the PPP and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). An in....
KEY POINTS The Paycheck Protection Program offered small-business owners forgivable loans to keep their doors open. At least 60% of the proceeds must cover payroll costs to be eligible.More than 5 million businesses received funding, accounting for $525 billion, according to Small Busines....
LONDON (Reuters) - Almost four out of five chief executives expect remote working to become more widespread in their businesses as a result of COVID-19, a global survey from accountancy firm PwC showed on Tuesday. New York, London and some other major cities currently have only a fraction of their normal work....
A judge granted a preliminary injunction and ordered Uber UBER+0.1% and Lyft LYFT+0.5% to start treating their California drivers as employees. It is a sweeping court order for both companies to consider all their drivers as employees. The companies will appeal, of course, but it....
Such attacks have tried to capitalize on the loans provided by the SBA in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 has proved to be a field day for cybercriminals who have used the outbreak to create malware associated with the virus and its various repercussions. One popular tactic is to spoof org....
President Donald Trump signed executive actions over the weekend in the name of tiding people over during a pandemic at a time that Congress can’t agree on a longer-term package of aid. Trump directed limits to evictions, and student loan payments can be deferred until the en....
While millions of people could lose most or all of the $600 bonus in their weekly unemployment benefits, threatening to slow consumer spending and the nation's economic recovery, one thing could help cushion the blow: Americans have been saving lots of money during the COVID-19 crisis. The saving....
President Donald Trump announced four executive actions on Saturday, including continued expanded unemployment benefits and a temporary payroll tax deferral for some workers, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hobble the U.S. economy. President Donald Trump announced four executive action....
Lead Change is a leadership media destination with a unique editorial focus on driving change within organizations, teams, and individuals. Lead Change, a division of Weaving Influence, publishes twice monthly with SmartBrief. Today's post is by Eileen McDargh. In 1850, one of the greatest storms in dec....
FASB issued a new standard Wednesday that is designed to simplify financial reporting associated with accounting for convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity. The board reduced the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible prefe....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with Treasury, released guidance Tuesday answering 23 frequently asked questions regarding the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans. The FAQs, published in a new 10-page document, are divided into four sections addressing different aspects of the process....
BOSTON/CHICAGO, August 3 (Reuters) - A decline in U.S. Treasury yields over recent weeks has investors eyeing the approach of an unusual phenomenon - the entire U.S. yield curve sinking below 1%. Policymakers are looking to position the country to recover once the COVID-19 pandemic eases and allows the Fed....
But be prepared to compete with other buyers for the house you want. If you’ve been dreaming of buying a cabin in the woods, a cottage on the beach or some other retreat, you have compelling reasons to pull the trigger. As coronavirus cases surge in parts of the country, being able to shelter away from crowded areas has a lot of appeal....
In addition, 30% of small businesses opened Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration, 24% accessed cash from a business savings account, 20% used a business credit card for financing and 9% took out another type of loan. Over one-third of small business decision maker....
The National Conference of CPA Practitioners is urging Congress to automatically forgive smaller loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, and to make sure that business expenses paid for with forgiven PPP funds are deductible. In a letter to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Reps. Kevin Br....
Are you representing clients in an IRS examination or have any been recently contacted regarding an audit? A “kinder, gentler” IRS is making it easier to resolve these matters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Are you representing clients in an IRS examination or have any been recently contacted regarding an audit? A “kinder, gentler....
Small-to-midsized companies in need of capital need to leave no stone unturned. Now that the Federal Reserve Bank (the Fed) is buying Main Street Loans, when should your clients consider applying for loans through the Main Street Lending Program (MSLP)? Robert Berdanier, director of business restructuring services....
Although forgiveness for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans is a foremost topic on the minds of borrowers and the CPAs who advise them, experts are saying borrowers should not rush to apply for forgiveness. Long-expected FAQs expected to clarify many PPP-related issues are still awaited from the U.S. Small Business Adminis....
How to choose the best tax-advantaged retirement savings plan if you’re self-employed. SELF-EMPLOYED PEOPLE can still save for retirement – and benefit from valuable tax breaks – even if they don't have a job with a 401(k). Whether you're starting your own business, freelancing on the side to ear....
Many businesses have suffered during this economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. You've read about them in the media. But what you don't read about as often are the many other businesses around the country that haven't suffered as much. It probably hasn't been a very profitable year for ....
Not having to pay back Paycheck Protection Program loans is a huge benefit for small-business owners. But there are a lot of rules that must be followed to have a PPP loan forgiven. For small business owners who scored a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), not having to pay back what they borrowed is a huge bonus. Un....
I’ve been thinking about the PPP and what comes next. If you’re like me, you’ve noticed there have been innumerable articles, webinars, etc. on the PPP from the start. At first, it was all about what is it, who is eligible, how to apply for it, where to apply, how to advise clients (and should that advice be billable or free), and how to enter r....
The AICPA urged Congress to take action on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) issues, remove tax obstacles to remote work, support state and local governments, and adopt new coronavirus-related liability provisions in a letter to congressional leaders sent Monday. “While the federal government’....
A new, free tool developed by the AICPA and fintech lender Biz2Credit is designed to help borrowers and their CPA advisers complete the forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Available at PPPForgivenessTool.com, the dynamic platform automates the forgiveness process for small business own....
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that he thinks the businesses hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic should be able to receive a second round of assistance under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). “The administration supports using the existing money and topping it up ....
Hope you had a Happy Tax Day. I’m still waiting for my refund. I filed my 2019 individual income tax return electronically on May 1. The IRS owed me a refund so I also gave it the necessary direct deposit banking information. In pre-COVID-19 days. I would have received the money in a couple of weeks. But I’m still wait....
The smallest of small businesses may be able to avoid hassling with additional documents, worksheets and payroll/tax forms. A bipartisan bill called The Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act has been introduced into the Senate that would allow small businesses w....
The FASB on July 15, 2020, asked its staff to research an approach that would allow public companies to amortize goodwill, an accounting technique that would enable billions of dollars of tricky intangible assets to be split out over a period. This subsequent amortization – spreading out – of t....
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic,” wrote Peter Drucker, revered as the father of modern management. Using logic based on the new economic realities, I would like to review the changes we’ve seen in the economy recently and prop....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy will recover more slowly than expected amid a surge in novel coronavirus cases across the country, and a broad second wave of the disease could cause economic pain to deepen again, Federal Reserve officials warned on Tuesday. One by one, Fed....
This blog post explains why borrowers shouldn’t rush their PPP loan forgiveness applications. Please share with clients who participated in the program. Borrowers who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act are asking their CP....
A program to provide grants to small businesses awaiting a decision on their Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications closed after exhausting $20 billion in emergency funding provided to it by Congress, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Saturday. The EIDL Advance program provided business....
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the Trump administration is unwilling to extend a boost to unemployment benefits amid the coronavirus pandemic if it allows jobless workers to make more money than they did before losing their jobs. In a Thursday interview with....
In his weekly column, Maynard Webb tells an aspiring public CEO to rehearse by assembling a board, holding mock earnings calls, and even prepping quarterly statements. Q, We are doing well, and it feels like the next step is to go public. What are the pros and cons? How do you prepare? —Founder of a unico....
All eyes are on the Senate when it returns from its two-week July 4th recess on July 20th and will start crafting legislation for the next stimulus bill. A second stimulus check feels like a guarantee but we are still missing a lot of key details. How “generous” will it be? Who will qual....
No one has ever seen a year like 2020. These are unprecedented times for all of us — individuals, families, and organizations alike. As we continue adapting to the changing conditions, it is important for organizations to review the actions they have taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the effects of t....
President Donald Trump signed a bill Saturday re-opening the application window for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) until Aug. 8. The five-week extension had been approved last week by both chambers of Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate both passed the legislation by unanimous consent. The House’s approval on....
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday joined the Senate in passing by unanimous consent a five-week extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The bill now goes to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it. The House’s approval came after the Senate approved an extension in a surprise move Tu....
The $659 billion Paycheck Protection Program, which was scheduled to stop accepting new applications on Tuesday even though it had more than $134 billion left to distribute as of June 27, could now be extended through Aug. 8, after the Senate and the House approved the measure. The program has be....
There's no sure way to avoid an IRS audit, but these red flags could increase your chances of drawing unwanted attention from the IRS. Thankfully, the odds that your tax return will be singled out for an audit are pretty low. The IRS audited only 0.4% of all individual tax returns in 2019 (down from 0.59% in 2018). Plus, the vast majority of these exams....
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) continues to resume operations. According to the IRS Commissioner, as of mid-month, thousands of employees had returned to facilities in seven states (Kentucky, Texas, Utah, Georgia, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Missouri) with employees in four more states and Puerto Rico returning on ....
The Senate granted five additional weeks for the remaining money left in the program to be spent. WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Tuesday evening to extend a federal loan program by five additional weeks, a surprise move that would allow small businesses weathering the pandemic to continue receiving aid. Less than four ....
The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have announced that the 2019 tax filing deadline remains July 15, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the original filing deadline and tax payment due date for 2019 was postponed from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020. With many states still un....
The nation's top CEOs are as dour about the economic outlook as they have been in 11 years, according to the Business Roundtable's quarterly Economic Outlook Survey, released Monday. The Index, based on a survey that asks top executives about their plans for hiring and investing over the coming six months, dropped to 34.3 in the second q....
Timing is everything. This has never been truer when it comes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. From the moment PPP loans became available to small businesses on April 3, 2020, it has been a mad rush to get things filed and spent within certain specific dates. Further, it has not been uncommon for Treasu....
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that his department may consider further extending the deadline for tax-filing, which had previously been moved from April 15 to July 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic, though there aren’t any such plans as of now, Bloomberg News reported. KEY FACTS "As of now, ....
Updated Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) guidance issued Thursday and Friday by the Treasury Department and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) addresses PPP loan maturity dates for all borrowers as well as maximum loan amounts for certain self-employed individuals. All of the updates were designed to reflect t....
A majority of taxpayers (61%) are deeply concerned that the financial impacts of COVID-19 may force them into tax debt, adding to the $131 billion already owed to the IRS by 14 million Americans. According to a new survey conducted in May, the majority of taxpayers (61%) are deeply concerned ....
The Fed said it is requiring all 34 big banks that participated in the exercise to resubmit their capital plans. The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that it is suspending stock buybacks at large banks and capping the dividends they can pay to shareholders to ensure the firms have enough loss-absorbing capital to kee....
The U.S. economy shrank at an annualized rate of 5 percent in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic triggered an unprecedented economic collapse, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annualized rate of 5 percen....
Just a few short weeks ago, businesses that received funding during the first tranche of the PPP loan program were considered fortunate. But now, many of those businesses have reached the end of their loan money, and business still isn’t back to normal. Now what should they do? Just a few short weeks ago, ....
New Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) guidance released Monday night declares that PPP recipients can apply for loan forgiveness early but that doing so could cost them money. In a 34-page interim final rule (IFR) issued in consultation with Treasury, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) addresses....
The Trump administration is discussing another stimulus package with lawmakers that could be passed in July, the latest effort to revive the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “It’s something we’re very seriously considering,” Mnuchin said Tuesday in an in....
Internal Revenue Service employees are beginning to go back to their offices to deal with the mountain of paperwork awaiting them, even as some are testing positive for COVID-19, but they quickly adapted to working remotely in recent months, according to a group of top IRS officials. IRS employees in Utah, Texas and Kent....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury have agreed to publish the names and amount ranges for all recipients of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or more. In a news release issued Friday night, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza said they had re....
Experts foresee so many filings in the coming months that the courts could struggle to salvage the businesses that are worth saving. Already, companies large and small are succumbing to the effects of the coronavirus. They include household names like Hertz and J. Crew and comparatively anonymous energy companies like Diamond Offshore Dr....
It’s been a busy week for those of us involved with the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). Late Tuesday evening, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) and Treasury released an updated PPP Loan Forgiveness Application, a simplified Application, and instructions for both to account for the changes to PPP in....
In the last week, the Small Business Administration has released a flurry of guidance — or what passes as guidance in this situation — governing the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans, culminating this morning in the release of a new Form 3508 for borrowers to use in requesting sai....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with Treasury, released Wednesday a revised loan forgiveness application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The SBA also unveiled a new EZ application for forgiveness of PPP loans. The applications reflect changes to the PPP made by the Paycheck Protection Flex....
The SBA released a revised application for forgiveness early this morning making changes necessitated by the PPP Flexibility Act. New guidance and a new EZ form with separate instructionswere introduced as well. As for the application, some notable changes include: The application is now five (5) pages ....
UPDATE: Latest in regulations and government changes prompted by COVID-19 On June 17, the Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department released new guidance and application forms for PPP loan forgiveness. Fortunately, they cleared up a few big questions people have:· Maximum total compensation if electing ....
The Small Business Administration is reopening its Economic Injury Disaster Loan and EIDL advance grant portal to a broader array of eligible small businesses and nonprofits affected by the coronavirus pandemic, beginning Monday. The portal had been accepting applications only from agricul....
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday offered a preview of the Trump administration's priorities for the next coronavirus emergency relief bill, including willingness to consider a new round of emergency loans for small businesses. Speaking at a Senate Small Business Committee hearing....
The FASB on June 10, 2020, voted to issue new rules this summer that simplify the accounting for convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity, a tricky area in financial reporting accountants said can be confusing. The decision will finalize an amended version of proposed Accounting ....
Senators on Friday urged the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (SBA) to to simplify the process for businesses to receive loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Every member the Senate Democratic caucus signed a letter encouraging Treasury and th....
Twenty-nine percent probably or definitely will allow workers to work from home full-time through the rest of 2020; A new shows that while 53 percent of U.S. workplaces plan to reopen by July 15, at least 45 percent have yet to set a return to work date. Sponsored by the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)....
A nongovernmental entity may account for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan as a financial liability in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 470, Debt, or under other models, if certain conditions are met, according to new guidance for borrowers issued Wednesday by the AICPA. The AICPA worked with many of its volun....
On May 15, 2020, the Small Business Administration released the loan forgiveness application for the Paycheck Protection Program. The application contains a great deal of guidance and direction for assisting companies with calculating their loan forgiveness, including helpful worksheets and step by step instructions. Following....
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - Layoffs in the United States fell in April, but remained the second highest on record, while job openings dropped, suggesting the labor market could take years to recover from the COVID-19 crisis despite a surprise rebound in employment in May. The Labor Department said on Tuesday in its monthly Job ....
Borrowers under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) can qualify for partial loan forgiveness if less than 60% of the PPP loan is used for payroll, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury said Monday. Legislation signed June 5 lowered to 60% from 75% the minimum percentage of PPP funds borrowers ....
(This June 8 story corrects GDP decline in paragraph 6 to 5.0% from 4.8%) The U.S. economy ended its longest expansion in history in February and entered recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the private economics research group that acts as the arbiter for determining U.S. business cycles ....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a full three months of responding to a global pandemic under their belt, U.S. Federal Reserve officials have united around one point: lasting progress on the economic front will be dictated by success in containing the spread of the coronavirus. But agreement beyond that ma....
The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act is one step away from becoming law. Without much fanfare or warning the Act was passed by voice vote In the US Senate without objection and now heads to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue for the signature of the President. For some this will be a game c....
Companies must now adjust to a yet-evolving new normal. Businesses around the country are preparing to reopen as local stay-at-home orders are lifted. But the world looks a lot different than it did a mere three months ago, and many companies must now adjust to a yet-evolving new normal. While companies now underst....
FASB issued an update Wednesday that delayed the effective dates of its revenue recognition and lease accounting standards for certain entities in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The board issued an Accounting Standards Update that permits private companies and not-for-profits that have not yet a....
In the hard work of saving for retirement, it takes years to build nest eggs and carefully maneuver through economic bumps and potholes. In just a few months, COVID-19 and both the government’s and the markets’ reaction to the virus have spurred a rush by savers to move piles of that money int....
The United States is in crisis. As we write this article, videos of racial violence and racist threats toward Black people in America flood social and news media channels. Public demonstrations against injustice are happening in at least 30 localities. During non-violent protests, other parties have engaged in vandalism ....
Yesterday the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed HR 7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (by a vote of 417 to 1) which if approved by the Senate and signed by the President will make significant adjustments to the Paycheck Protection Program. Specifically the bill does the following:....
On May 15, 2020, the SBA published the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application (SBA Form 3508). While the application clears up several of the outstanding questions that borrowers may have with regards to forgiveness eligibility, there are still some questions left unaddressed. As a crisis management profes....
The IRS announced Thursday that taxpayers will be able to electronically file Forms 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,“later this summer” (IR-2020-107). According to the IRS, making the Form 1040-X available for electronic filing has been “a goal of the IRS for a number of years.” The current system requires ....
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the IRS to temporarily suspend processing of mailed tax documents at many of its campuses and office locations. The IRS recently communicated plans to its employees for a phased re-opening that is expected to begin June 1. It will take time for the IRS to restore full opera....
If you're like most Americans, you are probably watching Capitol Hill closely to see if new relief legislation will include another round of stimulus checks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that Congress will decide whether to pass a "final" coronavirus ....
Business owners have had a wild ride lately, learning to live with lower revenues, adapting to new contact-less business practices and deciphering what one person called a “rat’s nest” of business stimulus. Uncertainty and anxiety persists, and lots of entrepreneurs h....
With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy, the unemployment rate has skyrocketed, and it could remain high for the next two years as many job losses won't recover quickly, Goldman Sachs says in a recent note. KEY FACTS Goldman expects the U.S. unemployment rate to pea....
Treasury and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) guidance Friday night that provided some clarity on several loan forgiveness questions but didn’t address the two parts of PPP that arguably have generated the most concerns among the millions of small businesses and....
As the late nightly newscasts were running through their copy one last time before going on the air Friday evening, the SBA released more guidance to start your holiday weekend. Most of it was helpful. Here are some of the highlights: 1. Where there is both a reduction in wages and reduction in FTEs, say because employees were t....
The SEC voted to adopt amendments to its rules and forms for disclosing financial information about acquired or disposed businesses. The changes are intended to improve information for investors, facilitate more timely access to capital, and reduce the complexity and costs of preparing the disclosure. The....
FASB voted Wednesday to extend by one year the effective date of its revenue recognition standard to all nonpublic entities that have not yet issued their financial statements. The board originally had proposed amending the revenue recognition standard effective date just for franchisors that are not....
IRS website - Get My Payment Frequently Asked Questions (updated May 20, 2020) On its website, IRS has added to its FAQs regarding its "Get My Payment" website, which provides information about economic impact payments (EIPs) made under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Ba....
Under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the CARES Act, loans may be forgiven if borrowers use the proceeds to maintain their payrolls and pay other specified expenses. The Treasury Department and Small Business Administration recently released the application form and instructions for loan forgiveness. The forgiveness forms, instru....
On Friday, May 15th, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released the application borrowers of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan must use to determine the amount of the loan that may be “forgiven” by their lender. While the application included instruction, the SBA failed to pro....
With the release of its Paycheck Protection loan forgiveness application, the U.S. Small Business Administration sheds light on several long-standing questions. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses that took Paycheck Protection loans finally have a path to getting their loans forgiven, but much delayed guidanc....
The IRS announced Monday it is hiring 3,500 new phone operators to answer taxpayers’ questions about economic impact payments (IR-2020-97). The IRS cautioned, however, that “telephone assistance and other services” will remain limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the IRS announced that it was scal....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States needs to quickly revise its coronavirus aid program for small businesses to extend the eight-week period in which the law currently requires companies to spend the money, a key U.S. senator said on Sunday. The Paycheck Protection Program established by ....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, released an application form Friday for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness along with instructions for completing the form. The form and instructions offer borrowers details on how to apply f....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury and Small Business Administration clarified Wednesday that businesses that seek less than $2 million in emergency relief under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will be considered qualified unless proven otherwise. The government agencies said the “s....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Trump administration officials want to wait ad see the effects of state economies reopening before deciding the next stages of coronavirus rescue legislation, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Tuesday. Hassett told a Brookings Institution webcast event th....
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said that he’s willing to work with Congress on bipartisan fixes to a popular but controversial emergency coronavirus loan program for small businesses. Mnuchin said Monday that he was open to changing the terms of the Small Business Administration’s (....
Although talks within the Trump administration are still in the preliminary stage, NBC news has reported that the deadline could be postponed again to September 15—or even as late as December 15. On March 21, the IRS officially announced that the April 15 deadline for filing 2019 tax returns, and paying any tax li....
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday to enable small businesses to deduct their expenses even if they have received a loan from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Protection Program that was later forgiven. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protecti....
The IRS ruled that a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrower who spends PPP funds on normal business expenses cannot deduct those expenditures for federal tax purposes. But its position, which left many in congress wondering if the IRS missed the 335-page memo, may not....
Strategies for faster payment collection in a cash-strapped crisis. As the economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to unfold in the United States and around the world, many organizations face hard decisions. For example, a recent survey of finance executives by CFO found that 50% of organizations are scaling back or del....
Small businesses that manage to get their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven may find themselves losing valuable tax breaks, according to new guidance from the Internal Revenue Service. Small businesses that manage to get their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven may find themselves losing valuable tax....
It's too soon to make changes to any stock options or profit interests your management team has as part of its compensation package, financial advisors say. But once lockdowns lift and the economy stabilizes, there are ways to make changes to these equity awards to maximize executives' interest in the business. "My ....
Economic uncertainty is forcing finance chiefs to rethink the impairment testing process. The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing finance executives to reconsider their approach to impairment testing for goodwill. The problem lies in predicting fair value and future cash flows, which the current economic uncertaint....
The AICPA on Wednesday issued a series of recommendations it would like to see the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) adopt and issue as guidance for small businesses to use in calculating loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In the release, the AICPA urges that: The eight-week covered period u....
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Tuesday the government will audit any company taking out more than $2 million from the small business loan program. The government program allows companies to have their loans forgiven, provided they spend the funds on p....
A new report from the National Venture Capital Association indicates that startups will have a tougher time finding fresh capital in the coming quarters. (GeekWire photo / John Cook) Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. That’s how the National Venture Capi....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued guidance on how to calculate Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan amounts by business type and other issues shortly before it resumed accepting PPP applications from participating lenders Monday. Last week’s Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act....
The Small Business Administration's (SBA) emergency lending program reopened Monday to a crush of applications as business owners hit by coronavirus restrictions scramble to secure aid before the new round of funding runs dry. The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) began accepting new applica....
The Federal Reserve is expanding its municipal bond buying program as part of its efforts to keep money flowing for cash-strapped local and state governments. As part of its Municipal Lending Facility, the Fed is buying up to $500 billion worth of state and local government bonds. In an announcement Monday, the ce....
While the coronavirus pandemic has created work for many in the accounting profession in the form of advisory services related to business continuity, and new opportunities to help clients get the most they can from federal government stimulus programs like the Payroll Protection Program, it has also put undeni....
Over the last couple of weeks, taxpayers have been routinely frustrated with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) portal for Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), or stimulus checks. Now, the IRS has announced significant enhancements to the Get My Payment tool. The enhancements, which started last wee....
A memo to workers suggests they can make their own face masks out of t-shirts or bandanas. The agency is asking for volunteers and offering incentive pay, Reardon said in a statement, but will order employees back if there are not enough volunteers. “We are communicating with the IRS ....
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued guidance Thursday reminding larger companies with adequate sources of liquidity to support ongoing operations of their responsibility to certify their eligibility for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans if they apply or have applied. The SBA also iss....
The House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation providing roughly $484 billion in coronavirus relief for small businesses, hospitals and expanded medical testing, capping weeks of contentious negotiations that had stalled Washington’s latest round of emergency aid. The vote was 388-5-1, with four conservative Repu....
The speed and scope of the impact of COVID-19 has upended even extremely successful small businesses. But most of them just need some breathing room to weather this difficult time and resume operations once the pandemic passes. The pandemic has impacted all businesses, but small businesses in particular are facing a....
Startup Genome shows how many startups are in trouble. Startup Genome has reported that 41% of global startups have less than three months’ worth of cash available. That’s one of the grim statistics of the pandemic, and it suggests the startup ecosystem is fragile. The report was based on....
Measure expected to face vote this week and would also increase funding for hospitals The White House and Congress on Monday tried to design another giant bailout package aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic’s economic and health fallout, scrambling to resolve ....
As part of government attempts to alleviate economic pressures due to the coronavirus, the IRS has begun to pause collection activities for many taxpayers. In a memorandum to collection executives from Frederick Schindler, director, Headquarters Collection, in the Small Business/Self-Employed Division, co....
Dive Brief: Fifty-one percent of CFOs are preparing for a revenue contraction of up to 30% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Gartner survey of 145 senior finance leaders found. Twenty-eight percent of respondents believe the impact to their organization's revenue could be even higher than 30%....
The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a new interim final rule Tuesday that supplements the guidance for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) included in the first interim final rule for the PPP issued on April 2 and FAQs that are being updated periodically. The additional g....
Get My Payment also allows people a chance to provide their bank information. People who did not use direct deposit on their last tax return will be able to input information to receive the payment by direct deposit into their bank account, expediting ... Working with the Treasury Department, the Internal R....
(Bloomberg) -- Financial-technology firms PayPal Holdings Inc., Square Inc. and Intuit Inc. are starting to lend to small businesses that couldn’t get access to coronavirus relief funds through the biggest U.S. banks. Fintechs had been pushing to provide emergency loans to small businesses since mid-March, more ....
The IRS said Friday that to protect the public and its own employees, and in compliance with orders of local health authorities across the U.S., some IRS services such as live assistance on telephones, processing paper tax returns and responding to correspondence are extremely limited or suspended until further notice. All ....
Dive Brief: More than half of small company CFOs plan to slow pay vendors and 84% are either negotiating their rent payments or plan to withhold rent entirely for April and May, a Gartner survey conducted last week found.“Slow paying a vendor means delaying disbursement of payment for services already rendered....
The Internal Revenue Service introduced an online tool on its website to help people who don’t normally file their taxes receive their stimulus payments sooner in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The nonfiler tool, which was developed through a partnership between the IRS and the Free Fil....
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders are jolting ahead with another coronavirus rescue package as President Donald Trump indicated that Americans will need more aid during the stark pandemic and economic shutdown. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said another $1 trillion is needed, beyond the just-passed $2.2 ....
To help their companies navigate uncertainties, CFOs are running dozens of models. The operational changes they need to make are much more clear. CFOs balance two objectives — the financial and the operational — in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. One thing is clear: the operational is the more certain of the two. ....
With non-essential businesses ordered closed, the federal government has moved in to subsidize more than half the workforce The federal government is now on track to directly subsidize more than half of the U.S. workforce. That eye-popping estimate comes courtesy of economist Martin Sullivan, a veteran o....
Company survival during the downturn might depend on finance chiefs' willingness to spend money on real-time analytics and marketing, even if their revenues are down, so they can take advantage of shifting consumption patterns, a planning consultant says. Start with restaurants. For many of them, whether they stay afloat o....
The sinking global economy is suffering through a colossal disinflationary shock that could briefly push it into dangerous deflation territory for the first time in decades. With many national economies all but shutting down in an effort to contain the coronavirus, prices on everything from oil and copper to hotel ro....
They include temporary suspension of GAAP standards for some loan modifications. A month after the SEC announced that companies could delay earnings filings by 45 days, its chief accountant, Sagar Teotia, said the agency would allow companies to “make significant judgments and estimates” about many accou....
Small businesses and sole proprietorships affected by the coronavirus pandemic can apply for loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) beginning Friday. Starting April 10, independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply. The application can be found here on the Treas....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing activity contracted less than expected in March, but disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic pushed new orders received by factories to an 11-year low, reinforcing economists’ views that the economy was in recession. FILE PHOTO: A production line ....
The Internal Revenue Service is now accepting email and digital signatures on tax documents to make it easier for tax professionals and taxpayers to communicate with the agency during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The IRS said Monday that, effective immediately, it would “begin temporarily acce....
The following is a summary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act: This post summarizes the developments of the most massive stimulus bill in American history, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act will provide billions of dollars of ....
Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, has been redesigned for 2020. Previously, income tax withholding was based on an employee's marital status and withholding allowances or tied to the value of the personal exemption. With the revised Form W-4, however, income tax withholding is generally based on the worker's expected filing....
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on Friday that tax returns normally due on April 15 will not be due until July 15 this year. The news came in a tweet, and the IRS has not yet issued official guidance on the move. The Treasury secretary’s tweet read, “At [President Donald Trump’s] direction, ....
If you are ready to file your taxes but are missing important tax forms here's what you should do: Form W-2 You should receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, from each of your employers for use in preparing your federal tax return. Employers must furnish this record of 2019 earnings and withheld taxes no later th....
((This March 4 story has been refiled to correct proposal limit from $70 to 75 million in paragraph six)) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday announced proposals making it easier for firms to raise capital via online platforms before they me....
We recently started a new nonprofit organization that is fiduciary in nature, very complex and highly regulated. Successful operation will require a knowledgeable accountant with proven financial management skills. Having known David since 2002, and relied upon his work in the past, we did not hesitate to ask him to become part of our team. He created the pro forma financial statements for our 501(c)(3) application for tax exempt status. His work was accepted by the IRS without question. Recently he completed the year-end financials for the organization and arranged for an outside auditor to provide additional oversight. I recommend David Cutler as a very competent, dependable and thorough accounting professional, whose education and background give him an understanding of a broad range of business activities.
Rita Blackwood
T: +1 (303) 968-3281
M: +1 (303) 888-2082
+1 (303) 403-4338
contactus@cutlercpas.com
12136 W. Bayaud Ave, Suite 300 Lakewood, CO 802283
