The financial news that actually matters
Maryland residents who pay electric bills through Pepco and other state-regulated utilities can expect roughly $150 a year in savings after Governor Wes Moore signed the Utility RELIEF Act into law. The measure, introduced as HB 1532 during the 2026 Regular Session and enrolled as Chapter 353, shifts infrastructure upgrade costs onto data centers and…
More than 5 million borrowers in default on federal student loans will keep their paychecks intact for now. The U.S. Department of Education has again delayed involuntary collections, including Administrative Wage Garnishment and the Treasury Offset Program, reversing a plan that had set both to restart on May 5, 2025. The decision gives temporary breathing…
Homeowners across the United States are losing insurance coverage based on satellite photos and AI-scored roof assessments they never knew existed. On April 30, 2025, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance issued Bulletin 2025-02, titled “Underwriting Actions Based on the Use of Aerial Imaging,” responding directly to a wave of complaints from policyholders who received nonrenewal…
Christopher Alexander Delgado, described by the Department of Justice as the CEO of Goliath Ventures, pleaded guilty to three federal counts tied to a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that collected at least $250 million from investors. Federal agents seized luxury vehicles, real estate, and roughly 30 watches purchased with investor funds. The guilty plea, entered on…
Low- and middle-income workers who contribute to a retirement account can claim a federal tax credit worth up to $1,000 per individual, or up to $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. But the benefit has a structural flaw: it is nonrefundable, meaning filers who owe little or no federal income tax receive a reduced credit…
Investors holding state and local government debt receive a tax benefit that directly reduces their federal income tax bill, a feature that has shaped the municipal bond market for decades. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 103, interest earned on most municipal bonds is excluded from federal gross income, a rule confirmed across IRS guidance, SEC…
Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven, plans to close 645 convenience stores across North America during its current fiscal year while opening just 205 new locations. The net reduction of roughly 440 stores, disclosed in earnings filings published last week, signals a deliberate reshaping of the chain’s physical presence rather than a…
Berkshire Hathaway closed the first quarter of 2026 with $397 billion in cash and short-term investments, the largest reserve in the conglomerate’s history. Warren Buffett, who has spent decades warning against speculation, has told investors they have “never” been in a more gambling mood. The gap between that warning and the company’s growing cash pile…
Millions of workers who earn tips on the job can now subtract up to $25,000 from their federal taxable income, but only if their occupation appears on a specific government list. The Treasury Department and the IRS issued proposed regulations spelling out exactly which workers qualify for the new “No Tax on Tips” deduction, how…
Buyers shopping for a home in mid-2026 are finding something they have not seen in years: asking prices that sit 2.5 percent below where they stood a year earlier, according to listing-level data. At the same time, the federal government’s own sales records show supply measures for new homes climbing while median transaction prices hold…