The financial news that actually matters
K-12 teachers who buy their own classroom supplies can subtract up to $300 from their taxable income each year, according to the IRS. The deduction applies before itemized deductions are calculated, which means educators can claim it even if they take the standard deduction. With school budgets still tight heading into the 2026-2027 academic year,…
The S&P 500 closed at 7,609.78 on June 2, 2026, setting yet another record even as options markets continued to price in above-average turbulence. That split between rising equity prices and persistent implied volatility has defined much of the spring and early summer, creating an unusual environment where the index climbs while the cost of…
Homebuyers who paid mortgage discount points at closing during the 2025 tax year face a narrow window to claim a federal deduction that can cut their tax bill by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. The deduction hinges on whether the buyer itemizes, whether the loan finances a principal residence, and whether the points meet…
Property investors who sell a building at a profit face an immediate federal tax bill on the gain, unless they reinvest in another qualifying property under a specific provision of the Internal Revenue Code. That provision, Section 1031, allows the full deferral of capital gains tax when real property held for business or investment use…
Individuals earning above $200,000 in modified adjusted gross income face a 3.8% surtax on their net investment income, a charge that has been in effect since January 1, 2013. The Net Investment Income Tax, or NIIT, was created through the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and applies to the lesser of a…
Prospective homebuyers hoping for a rebound in housing activity just lost one of their strongest cheerleaders. Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors and widely regarded as the nation’s top housing economist, slashed his 2026 home-sales forecast to roughly 4 percent growth, a sharp retreat from the 14 percent jump he projected…
Ray Dalio has flagged that Bridgewater Associates’ proprietary bubble gauge now sits at the 77th percentile, according to his recent public remarks. That reading places the current U.S. equity market closer to the conditions that preceded the 1929 and 2000 crashes than at any other point in the gauge’s modern history. The signal arrives while…
EchoStar and its subsidiary DISH DBS are racing to close a roughly $22.65 billion spectrum sale to AT&T while simultaneously managing a prepackaged bankruptcy process that began with a restructuring support agreement signed on March 19, 2026. The twin transactions represent the company’s clearest path to shedding billions in debt, but several conditions and regulatory…
Freelancers, sole proprietors, and other self-employed workers paying their own health-insurance premiums can subtract the full cost from taxable income without filing an itemized return. The deduction, codified in Section 162(l) of the Internal Revenue Code, functions as an above-the-line adjustment reported on Schedule 1, line 17, bypassing the 7.5% of adjusted gross income floor…
Federal prosecutors in New Jersey are moving to dismiss all charges against Matthew Brent Goettsche, the man they accused of masterminding the BitClub Network, a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that took at least $722 million in bitcoin from investors. Three co-defendants have already pleaded guilty. The reversal, after years of building what appeared to be a…