The financial news that actually matters
Workers younger than 59½ now have a narrow but real escape hatch from the 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty on 401(k) distributions. A provision added to the Internal Revenue Code allows them to pull up to $2,500 per year from a defined-contribution plan, penalty-free, to cover premiums on certified long-term care insurance. The catch: their employer’s…
Millions of Americans who financed cars during and after the pandemic are now falling behind on payments at a pace not seen in decades. Federal Reserve researchers have tracked a sharp rise in auto loan delinquencies through 2025, with the steepest increases hitting borrowers in lower-income areas. At the same time, federal data shows that…
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced that $224 million in Property Tax/Rent Rebate program payments have been sent to residents across the state, a figure that reflects both higher individual payouts and a wider pool of eligible households. The maximum standard rebate now reaches $1,000, up from $650 before the program’s 2023 expansion, and the household…
President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire “over,” triggering an oil price spike of more than 5 percent and dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average down roughly 576 points at the close. The announcement, delivered in a White House video update on retaliatory strikes against Iran, sent traders scrambling to reprice risk across energy and…
Workers who borrow from their 401(k) plans in 2026 face an interest rate near 8 percent, a five-year repayment clock, and the risk that any unpaid balance converts into a fully taxable distribution. With the bank prime loan rate recently hovering around 7 percent and most plans pegging their loan rate at prime plus one…
Ohio households served by FirstEnergy and AEP face a punishing summer billing season, with residential electric costs climbing sharply as transmission and distribution charges rise faster than general inflation. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has approved new distribution rates for FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities while separately ordering adjustments to soften the immediate hit, a signal…
People who bought Nutricost magnesium supplements may be able to file a claim without providing a receipt before a settlement deadline closes. The case centers on whether the product’s Supplement Facts panel accurately disclosed the amount of elemental magnesium, a distinction that matters because federal labeling rules require specific quantitative declarations for minerals. Consumers who…
American workers looking for jobs ran into a much thinner hiring market in June. Employers across the country added just 57,000 positions during the month, a figure that fell well short of what economists had projected and roughly half the consensus forecast. The weak number, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on July 2,…
Subscribers who paid for YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream during a period covered by a class action lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company now have until September 8 to file claims in a $50 million settlement. The deal, reached at mediation on October 3, 2025, resolves allegations that Disney imposed pricing and packaging terms in…
James Wellesley, a British national who operated under the aliases Andrew Fuller and Andrew Templar, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for running a wine investment fraud that took in more than $97 million from over 140 victims worldwide. The scheme, built around a company called Bordeaux Cellars, promised investors their money would…