Warren Cohen, Author at The Financial Wire

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Medicaid expansion adults aged 19 to 64 must log 80 hours a month of work or training starting January 1, 2027 — and states can start the clock earlier

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago09 mins

Millions of non-pregnant adults between 19 and 64 who receive Medicaid through expansion programs will need to document at least 80 hours per month of work, job training, or other approved activities to keep their coverage. The federal compliance deadline is January 1, 2027, but states can begin enforcing the requirement sooner. Nebraska has already…

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Cooling a home will cost an average $778 this summer — up 8.5% from last year, and South Atlantic households will pay more than $100 extra

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago09 mins

American families face a sharply higher price tag to keep their homes cool this summer, with the national average projected at $778 for the season, an 8.5 percent jump from a year ago. Households in the South Atlantic region, stretching from Delaware through Florida, stand to absorb more than $100 in additional cooling costs compared…

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The IRS cut its interest rate on unpaid taxes to 6% this quarter, down from 7% — large corporate underpayments still pay 8%

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago09 mins

Taxpayers who owe the IRS will face a lower interest charge starting this quarter. The agency dropped its standard underpayment rate to 6% for the second quarter of 2026, down from 7% in the first quarter. Large corporations, however, still pay a steeper penalty: their underpayment rate sits at 8%, two full percentage points above…

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Super-prime borrowers finance new cars at 4.66% while deep-subprime pays 16.01% — the average 60-month new-car loan now runs 6.98%

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago08 mins

Car buyers with top-tier credit scores are locking in new-vehicle loans near 4.66 percent, while those at the bottom of the credit spectrum face rates above 16 percent. The gap, spanning more than 11 percentage points, lands the average 60-month new-car loan at roughly 6.98 percent. Experian Automotive’s latest quarterly data, released on March 5,…

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The Social Security OASI Trust Fund will be exhausted by 2032 — one year sooner than the Trustees projected — triggering an automatic 23% benefit cut without congressional action

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago014 mins

Tens of millions of retirees and survivors face an automatic 23% cut to their Social Security checks as early as 2033 unless Congress steps in. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, which pays monthly benefits to roughly seven in ten Social Security recipients, is now projected to run dry one year sooner than…

The Federal Reserve just proposed letting U.S. banks use FedNow for cross-border payments — public comments on the Regulation J rewrite close June 8

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago08 mins

Banks and credit unions that want to send money across borders could soon plug into the Federal Reserve’s instant-payment rail for the domestic leg of those transfers. The Fed proposed amending Regulation J to let private intermediaries route funds through the FedNow Service on behalf of participating institutions, a change that would extend a system…

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The 30-year mortgage rate sits at 6.28% today — and Fannie Mae’s new forecast now sees that rate holding near 6.3% through every quarter of 2026 and into 2027

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago08 mins

Homebuyers hoping for meaningful relief on borrowing costs will have to keep waiting. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at 6.28 percent, and Fannie Mae’s latest housing forecast projects that rate will hover near 6.3 percent through every quarter of 2026 and into 2027. That extended plateau, paired with home prices that continue to climb,…

The Fed’s preferred PCE inflation gauge ran 3.77% year over year in April — and core PCE at 3.29% still sits more than a point above the 2% target

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago09 mins

American households still face prices rising nearly twice as fast as the Federal Reserve wants. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the PCE price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, climbed 3.8% from April 2025 to April 2026, while core PCE excluding food and energy rose 3.3% over the same period. Both readings sit…

A man sitting in the driver's seat of a bus

The 2026 IRS standard mileage rate stayed at 70 cents per business mile — a gig driver who logs 30,000 business miles a year deducts $21,000, saving about $4,620 at the 22% bracket

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago09 mins

Self-employed drivers who rack up tens of thousands of business miles each year now have a slightly larger per-mile deduction to work with. The IRS set the 2026 optional standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per business mile, effective January 1, 2026, up 2.5 cents from the 2025 rate. For a gig driver logging 30,000…

Parent PLUS borrowers have 26 days to consolidate — after June 30, they permanently lose every income-driven repayment plan and new loans jump to 9.07%

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago09 mins

Parents who borrowed Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans face a hard deadline: consolidate before June 30 or lose access to every income-driven repayment plan permanently. At the same time, new Parent PLUS loans disbursed starting July 1, 2026, will carry a fixed interest rate of 9.07 percent, the highest in over a decade. With the…

Warren Cohen

Medicaid expansion adults aged 19 to 64 must log 80 hours a month of work or training starting January 1, 2027 — and states can start the clock earlier

Cooling a home will cost an average $778 this summer — up 8.5% from last year, and South Atlantic households will pay more than $100 extra

The IRS cut its interest rate on unpaid taxes to 6% this quarter, down from 7% — large corporate underpayments still pay 8%

Super-prime borrowers finance new cars at 4.66% while deep-subprime pays 16.01% — the average 60-month new-car loan now runs 6.98%

The Federal Reserve just proposed letting U.S. banks use FedNow for cross-border payments — public comments on the Regulation J rewrite close June 8

The 30-year mortgage rate sits at 6.28% today — and Fannie Mae’s new forecast now sees that rate holding near 6.3% through every quarter of 2026 and into 2027

The Fed’s preferred PCE inflation gauge ran 3.77% year over year in April — and core PCE at 3.29% still sits more than a point above the 2% target

The 2026 IRS standard mileage rate stayed at 70 cents per business mile — a gig driver who logs 30,000 business miles a year deducts $21,000, saving about $4,620 at the 22% bracket

Parent PLUS borrowers have 26 days to consolidate — after June 30, they permanently lose every income-driven repayment plan and new loans jump to 9.07%

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