The financial news that actually matters
More families are juggling late payments on credit cards, auto loans, and student debt at the same time, according to new credit-bureau analysis prepared for Bloomberg News. Researchers at the Urban Institute report that student loan delinquency has climbed back to prepandemic levels and is now concentrated among borrowers carrying larger balances and more types…
Starting in 2026, workers aged 50 and older can contribute up to $32,500 to a 401(k) plan, combining a $24,500 base limit with an $8,000 catch-up contribution. The IRS set these figures through Notice 2025-67, which covers all retirement-plan cost-of-living adjustments for the coming year. For millions of older Americans trying to close a retirement…
Homeowners who bought during the pandemic-era price surge and sell now could walk away with six-figure gains and owe nothing in federal capital gains tax. Under 26 U.S. Code Section 121, married couples filing jointly can exclude up to $500,000 of profit from the sale of a principal residence, while single filers can exclude up…
Importers who paid tariffs later struck down by courts are still waiting on the vast majority of the money owed to them. Of roughly $166 billion in disputed duties, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has directed the Treasury to return just $20.6 billion so far. The agency has accepted $85 billion in refund applications for…
A married couple collecting Social Security typically receives two separate monthly payments, one based on each spouse’s earnings record. When one partner dies, the household does not keep both checks. Federal rules allow the survivor to receive only the higher of the two benefits, not the combined total. For couples where one spouse earned far…
Brent crude has dropped to about $93 a barrel after spiking to $114 earlier this year, yet the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage that channels roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil, has remained effectively shut to commercial tankers since late February 2026. The price retreat suggests traders are betting on alternative supply…
Most married couples filing their 2026 federal tax returns will claim a standard deduction of $32,200, a figure large enough to make itemizing pointless for roughly nine out of ten filers. The IRS announced the amount as part of its annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2026, incorporating changes from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill….
Any consumer in the United States can lock down their credit files at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at no cost, blocking most attempts to open fraudulent accounts. That right, established by federal statute and in effect since Sept. 21, 2018, requires each bureau to accept freeze requests by phone, website, or mail and to lift…
Millions of people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans stand to pay less each month starting in 2026, with the federal government projecting the average premium will fall to about $14, down from $16.40 this year. The drop comes as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalizes a 5.06 percent average payment increase to plans,…
American households and investors woke up to a sharply higher inflation forecast from the Federal Reserve on June 17, 2026. The central bank’s median projection for 2026 PCE inflation jumped to 3.6 percent, up from 2.7 percent just three months earlier. That 0.9-percentage-point upward revision in a single quarter is unusually large and signals that…