The financial news that actually matters
A divorced account holder who updated a will but never changed a retirement-plan beneficiary form can unintentionally leave tens of thousands of dollars to a former spouse. Federal law treats the name on that form, not the will, as the final word on who receives the money. The Supreme Court settled this question in 2001,…
Taxpayers filing 2025 returns have until April 15, 2026, to make an IRA contribution that counts toward the prior tax year, a window that could reduce what they owe or increase a refund. Federal statute treats any deposit made by the filing deadline as if it were made during the tax year itself, giving filers…
Borrowers paying interest on a car loan or mortgage see a figure called the annual percentage rate, or APR, on their disclosures. Savers parking cash in a deposit account see a different metric, the annual percentage yield, or APY. These two numbers are calculated under separate federal rules, and the spread between what banks charge…
Investors who borrow from their brokers to buy stocks face a straightforward but punishing math problem: when prices fall, losses grow faster than they would in a cash account, and the broker can sell holdings without waiting for permission. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warns that losses in a margin account can exceed the…
Every American with a credit file can now check their reports from all three nationwide bureaus every single week, at no cost, through the only federally authorized website. The three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, permanently extended free weekly access through AnnualCreditReport.com after a pandemic-era pilot program proved the demand was real….
American diners are pulling back from restaurant spending, and the fallout is hitting some of the country’s most recognizable chains. Red Lobster filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions in the Middle District of Florida, joining a growing list of casual-dining brands struggling to hold customers as menu prices climb. The filing exposed how deeply the…
General Motors is signaling to Wall Street that its cost-cutting campaign will reach deep into the technology side of the business, raising hard questions for thousands of software engineers and IT workers who joined the automaker during its aggressive push into electric vehicles and digital services. The company has told investors it plans to strip…
OTB Hospitality closed every company-owned On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina location and then filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on June 19, 2026, choosing a full shutdown over any attempt to reorganize. The voluntary petition sets up an orderly wind-down under a court-appointed trustee, ending decades of casual-dining operations and leaving workers, landlords, and…
American retailers closed 8,270 stores in 2024, the highest annual total in three years, as chains accelerated efforts to shed unprofitable locations. The shutdowns hit discount outlets, department stores, and specialty shops, with some of the biggest names in retail filing for bankruptcy protection to restructure their real-estate footprints. Workers and communities that depend on…
Elchonon “Elie” Schwartz, a New York-based commercial real estate developer, collected more than $60 million from at least 700 investors through an online crowdfunding platform between May 2022 and March 2023. Prosecutors say he then spent large portions of their money on a penthouse, luxury watches, and shoring up failing deals instead of the properties…