The financial news that actually matters
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…
Millions of American drivers are set to hit the road for the July 4 holiday weekend as gasoline prices slip below a symbolic threshold. AAA reported a national average of $3.999 per gallon for regular gasoline on June 18, 2026, the first time the price has dipped under $4 since March. That relief at the…
American homeowners face a fifth consecutive year of rising insurance costs in 2026, with the national average premium projected to hit $3,057. That figure follows a 12 percent jump in 2025, and Louisiana policyholders are absorbing the steepest increases, with premiums up 58 percent in recent data. As costs climb, at least one state legislature…
Retirees age 70½ and older who want to give to charity while cutting their tax bill have a direct path: send up to $108,000 from a traditional IRA straight to a qualified organization, and the transfer never counts as taxable income. The mechanism, known as a qualified charitable distribution, also satisfies all or part of…
Rivian cut hundreds of jobs in its service and customer organization this week, trimming less than 2 percent of its workforce as the electric-vehicle maker works to control costs ahead of the R2 launch and a planned ramp in autonomy spending. The reductions, which also touch sales and marketing roles, took effect Tuesday and come…