Warren Cohen, Author at The Financial Wire

A stunning panoramic view of the Dallas skyline under dramatic clouds, capturing the city's iconic skyscrapers.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index rose just 1.5% year over year in April — the smallest annual climb since 2012 — with Tampa, Phoenix, and Dallas posting sub-zero YoY readings

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago011 mins

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index rose just 1.5% year over year in April – the smallest annual climb since 2012 – with Tampa, Phoenix, and Dallas posting sub-zero YoY readings. U.S. home prices are growing at their slowest pace in more than a decade. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index rose just…

a golden bitcoin sitting on top of a table

Crypto “pig butchering” scams drained $11.4 billion from Americans last year — the typical victim lost $177,000 to a fake trading app a stranger introduced over text

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago014 mins

It started, as it almost always does, with a text from a stranger. A wrong number. A friendly correction. Then a conversation that stretched from small talk into something that felt like genuine connection. Weeks later, the stranger mentioned a cryptocurrency trading app that had been quietly making them rich. They offered to walk their…

High angle view of vegetables for sale in market

The April PCE inflation index hit 3.8% — the Fed’s preferred gauge above its 2% target for the 8th straight month — and core PCE at 3.3% climbed to a 7-month high

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago09 mins

Americans paid 3.8 percent more for goods and services in April than they did a year earlier, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in late June 2026. That marks the eighth straight month the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure has overshot its 2 percent target, a streak stretching back to September 2025 that is visible…

USA Social security cards laid on dollar bills

The Social Security earnings test claws back $1 for every $2 of wages above $23,400 for early claimers — and the docked dollars return as larger checks once the worker reaches 67

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago017 mins

Linda, a 63-year-old administrative coordinator in Ohio earning $60,000 a year, opened her bank statement last January and found three months of Social Security checks missing. She had claimed benefits at 62, expecting $1,600 a month to supplement her paycheck. Instead, the Social Security Administration withheld $18,300 over the course of the year. She was…

The bank of ornate classical columns and facade

The FBAR foreign-account threshold has stayed at $10,000 since the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 — frozen 55 years while $10,000 in 1970 dollars equals about $82,000 today

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago013 mins

Suppose you left India, South Korea, or Germany a few years ago for a job in the United States. You still have a savings account back home, maybe a small pension from your first employer. The combined balance sits around $14,000. That is enough to trigger a federal reporting obligation most immigrants and dual citizens…

Closeup of customer paying to a waitress in a cafe

Tipped workers can now deduct up to $25,000 a year in cash tips from federal taxes through 2028 under the OBBBA — worth about $5,500 to a server in the 22% bracket

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago013 mins

A full-time server at a busy steakhouse pulling in $800 a week in tips just got a reason to pay closer attention to her tax return. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, tipped workers can deduct up to $25,000 in tip income from their federal income taxes…

Couple reacting with excitement to a document

Roth conversions still lock in today’s 22% bracket through 2029 under the OBBBA — but the cuts snap back to pre-2018 rates in 2030, so converting now could save tens of thousands in lifetime tax

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago018 mins

A married couple in suburban Ohio, both 62, with $600,000 sitting in traditional IRAs and a comfortable but not extravagant retirement income, faces a question that will quietly shape their finances for the next three decades: should they pay tax on those IRA dollars now, at a rate they know, or wait and hope that…

Financial advisor businessman using his laptop and doing some paperwork while sitting at desk and working

Rolling an old 401(k) into a traditional IRA loses the federal ERISA shield that protected the workplace plan — bankruptcy courts still honor a $1.7 million IRA carve-out, but civil-suit creditors can reach the rest

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago013 mins

A physician in Los Angeles rolls a $2.4 million 401(k) into a traditional IRA after leaving a hospital system. Two years later, a malpractice plaintiff wins a judgment and moves to garnish the account. Under California law, a court can order part of that IRA turned over if it decides the balance exceeds what the…

Happy smiling customers family caucasian couple man woman buy new car smile clients buyers female

The OBBBA auto-loan-interest deduction lets new-car buyers write off up to $10,000 a year in loan interest through 2028 — phasing out above $100,000 single or $200,000 joint income

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago011 mins

For the first time in four decades, Americans who finance a new car can deduct the interest on their auto loan from their federal taxes. The provision, tucked into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law in 2025, revives a write-off that vanished after the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and gives qualifying…

black Android smartphone near laptop computer

Scammers are calling Apple Pay and Google Pay users posing as “Apple Support” to say their account was compromised — Apple never calls uninvited or asks you to move money to a “secure wallet”

Warren Cohen4 months ago4 months ago012 mins

Your phone rings. The caller ID says Apple. A recorded voice warns that suspicious activity has been detected on your account and asks you to press 1 to speak with a support advisor. A live person picks up, sounds professional, and tells you the only way to protect your funds is to transfer them to…

Warren Cohen

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index rose just 1.5% year over year in April — the smallest annual climb since 2012 — with Tampa, Phoenix, and Dallas posting sub-zero YoY readings

Crypto “pig butchering” scams drained $11.4 billion from Americans last year — the typical victim lost $177,000 to a fake trading app a stranger introduced over text

The April PCE inflation index hit 3.8% — the Fed’s preferred gauge above its 2% target for the 8th straight month — and core PCE at 3.3% climbed to a 7-month high

The FBAR foreign-account threshold has stayed at $10,000 since the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 — frozen 55 years while $10,000 in 1970 dollars equals about $82,000 today

Tipped workers can now deduct up to $25,000 a year in cash tips from federal taxes through 2028 under the OBBBA — worth about $5,500 to a server in the 22% bracket

Roth conversions still lock in today’s 22% bracket through 2029 under the OBBBA — but the cuts snap back to pre-2018 rates in 2030, so converting now could save tens of thousands in lifetime tax

Rolling an old 401(k) into a traditional IRA loses the federal ERISA shield that protected the workplace plan — bankruptcy courts still honor a $1.7 million IRA carve-out, but civil-suit creditors can reach the rest

The OBBBA auto-loan-interest deduction lets new-car buyers write off up to $10,000 a year in loan interest through 2028 — phasing out above $100,000 single or $200,000 joint income

Scammers are calling Apple Pay and Google Pay users posing as “Apple Support” to say their account was compromised — Apple never calls uninvited or asks you to move money to a “secure wallet”

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