The financial news that actually matters
Federal and state authorities have charged Edwin Brant Frost IV and his Newnan, Georgia, firm First Liberty Building & Loan with running a $140 million Ponzi scheme that drew money from Christian and Republican donors. The SEC filed a civil complaint in the Northern District of Georgia, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the same…
Workers covered by 401(k) and 403(b) plans can now defer up to $24,500 of their 2026 earnings before federal income tax, a bump that also lifts the ceiling on individual retirement account contributions to $7,500. The Internal Revenue Service confirmed both figures through announcement IR-2025-111 and the accompanying technical guidance in Notice 2025-67, locking in…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 53,055.91 on Monday, July 6, 2026, crossing the 53,000 threshold for the first time. The gain itself was modest: 155.84 points, or 0.3 percent. But the session exposed a familiar tension. A rebound in AI and semiconductor stocks did most of the heavy lifting, while the broader market…
Americans 60 and older lost $445 million to imposter scammers in cases where individual losses topped $100,000, up from $55 million in 2020. The Federal Trade Commission released those figures in August 2025, calling the eight-fold increase a sign that fraud targeting older adults has grown far faster than existing safeguards can contain. Reports of…
American grocery shoppers are getting relief on one staple while paying more than ever for another. The average retail price of a dozen large Grade A eggs has dropped roughly 32 percent over the past year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, even as retail beef values continue to set fresh records. The split…
Workers who pull money from a traditional 401(k) before turning 59½ face a double hit: ordinary income tax on every dollar withdrawn, plus a separate 10% additional tax on the taxable portion. That penalty, codified in federal statute and enforced through IRS filing requirements, shrinks the net proceeds of an early withdrawal by a steep…
California homeowners will pay roughly 16 percent more for insurance by the end of 2026, the steepest projected increase of any state in the country. The spike follows a national average jump of 12 percent in 2025 and dwarfs the 4 percent rise forecast for the rest of the United States this year. Behind the…
Savers who buy a Series EE bond from the U.S. Treasury and hold it for 20 years are guaranteed to receive at least double their purchase price, a promise backed by the full faith of the federal government. That guarantee has been in place for every EE bond issued since May 2005, when Treasury replaced…
American homeowners are absorbing a fifth consecutive year of rising insurance premiums, with the national average approaching $2,500. Two federal reports released within the past year trace the increases to climate-driven losses and insurer pullbacks in high-risk areas, raising direct affordability questions for millions of households heading into the 2026 renewal season. Federal data links…
Amazon shoppers who were charged a second time after receiving a refund may soon have a path to file claims through a settlement process, but the route to relief is tangled with other Federal Trade Commission programs that could slow them down. The FTC’s dedicated Amazon Refunds page, tied to an earlier Prime enrollment and…