The financial news that actually matters
If you bought a car on finance through a dealership in the past decade, there is a real chance the interest rate you paid was quietly inflated so the dealer could pocket a larger commission. Santander has now earmarked more than £460 million to cover compensation for affected UK customers, according to The Guardian, which…
A 55-year-old software engineer earning $185,000 has been maxing out her 401(k) for years, including the $7,500 catch-up contribution that goes straight into a pre-tax account. That option no longer exists for her. Starting with the 2026 plan year, every dollar of her catch-up contribution must flow into a Roth account, taxed now instead of…
Software stocks have been dragging down retirement portfolios this spring, and two of the sector’s most prominent names are at the center of the anxiety. IBM and ServiceNow have each, in different ways, signaled that artificial intelligence is changing how companies think about headcount. For the millions of Americans whose 401(k) plans hold broad technology…
American taxpayers are collecting noticeably fatter refund checks this spring. Through the first week of April 2026, the IRS reports the average refund has reached $3,462, up $346 from $3,116 at the same point last year, an 11.1% jump. The agency had issued 69.8 million refunds totaling $241.7 billion, compared with 67.7 million refunds and $211.1…
If you carry a mortgage, a student loan, or a credit card, the federal agency charged with making sure your lender plays fair may be about to change how aggressively it polices the rules. Twenty-three state attorneys general are telling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that its draft five-year strategic plan would gut federal enforcement…
A gallon of regular gasoline cost about $3.01 at the start of January. By mid-April, the national average had climbed to roughly $3.68, a jump of about 22%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly retail price series. For a family filling a 20-gallon SUV tank twice a month, that translates to nearly $27 more…
Most retirement savers picture their nest egg as locked away. Money goes into a 401(k) or IRA, sits inside familiar funds, and waits for retirement. However, the reality is less reassuring. Federal rules allow brokers and other financial firms to invest some of the cash and collateral tied to customer accounts in approved investments, and…
Nearly half of U.S. workers are still sitting on thin retirement balances, and the problem runs deeper than any single snapshot can show. Across federal data, academic research, and worker surveys, the pattern is consistent: too many households are saving too little, too many workers still lack a plan at work, and the people with…
Social Security checks are going up in 2026, but that does not mean retirees everywhere will feel the same relief. A uniform federal raise lands very differently depending on certain factors. Factors like where someone lives, rent, groceries, utilities, and out-of-pocket medical costs still vary sharply from state to state. That is what makes geography…
The seven-year countdown is no longer an abstract warning buried in a government report. It is now the central fact hanging over the future of Social Security retirement benefits. According to the Social Security Administration’s 2025 trustees report, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund, the part of the system that pays retirement and survivor…