Warren Cohen, Author at The Financial Wire

Spirit Airlines executives requested $10.7 million in “retention bonuses” — while 17,000 workers just lost paychecks and health benefits

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago014 mins

Spirit Airlines flew its last flight on May 2, 2026. By that evening, roughly 17,000 employees, including pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and gate agents, had lost their paychecks and their employer-sponsored health insurance, according to company wind-down documents distributed that day. Hours later, bankruptcy court filings in the Southern District of New York (Case No….

Portrait of two senior Business people working together with computer on the table

Workers aged 60 to 63 can now put $35,750 into their 401(k) in 2026 — that’s $11,250 more than everyone else gets

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago011 mins

A 62-year-old worker who maxes out her 401(k) in 2026 will be allowed to contribute $35,750, roughly $670 per week before her employer even chips in. That ceiling is $11,250 higher than what a colleague under 50 can defer and $3,250 above the limit for most other catch-up-eligible workers over 50. No other age group…

Handshake meeting and welcome with business people in boardroom of office for bonus or promotion Deal success or thank you with happy employee group shaking hands in workplace for agreement

The economy added 115,000 jobs in April — nearly double the forecast — but the household survey lost 226,000 workers and participation hit a 5-year low

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago012 mins

The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April 2026, nearly doubling the 60,000 that forecasters in the Bloomberg consensus survey had expected. On most Fridays, that headline would have carried the morning. But a second federal survey, published in the same Bureau of Labor Statistics employment situation report, told a sharply different story: 226,000 fewer…

Depleated former employee sitting with his belongings stuffed in a box next to him

128,270 tech workers lost their jobs in 2026 so far — and research shows companies that replaced staff with AI are just as likely to see losses as gains

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago013 mins

The number on Layoffs.fyi ticked past 128,270 in late May 2026, each digit representing a person who opened a calendar invite or a Slack message and learned their job no longer existed. Engineers at Microsoft, which confirmed a performance-focused reduction spanning thousands of roles across divisions. Product managers at SAP, where leadership tied a sweeping…

auto business sale and people concept close up of customer giving credit card to car dealer in auto show or salon

Credit card issuers raised the average APR to 22.12% — even after three Fed rate cuts — and the average borrower with a $6,600 balance is paying $1,462 a year in interest

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago011 mins

Picture a borrower we will call Maria: she carries a $6,600 credit card balance, makes her minimum payments on time every month, and assumed the Federal Reserve’s three rate cuts between September and December 2024 would eventually lower her interest charges. They never did. The average annual percentage rate on credit card accounts assessed interest…

Meat department shelves with typical Italian raw meat inside grocery market in Italy

Steak is still at its all-time record of $12.74 a pound — the U.S. cattle herd hit a 75-year low and prices won’t drop before 2028

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago014 mins

The price tag on a pound of uncooked steak at the average American grocery store now reads $12.74, the highest the Bureau of Labor Statistics has ever recorded in its decades of monitoring beef costs. That figure reflects the March 2026 monthly reading from the agency’s consumer price tracking, and it has held at that…

a woman in a graduation cap throwing papers in the air

Student loan borrowers have 53 days to pick a new repayment plan — miss the July 1 deadline and you get auto-enrolled in the most expensive option

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago013 mins

The clock is ticking for millions of federal student loan borrowers, and the math is unforgiving. If you are among the estimated 8 million people who enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan, that plan is being shut down. Starting July 1, 2025, loan servicers will begin sending notices giving each borrower 90 days to choose…

The April jobs report just dropped — 115,000 jobs added, nearly double what economists predicted, but 1.55 million workers have quietly left the labor force since November

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago015 mins

The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April 2026, nearly doubling the roughly 65,000 that forecasters in the Reuters consensus survey as reported by the Associated Press had expected. The unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent. On the surface, that looks like resilience. But zoom out five months and a very different picture comes into…

Fired businessman feeling worried about loosing his job

AI was the top reason for layoffs for the second straight month — 21,490 jobs cut in April alone, 26% of all cuts nationwide

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago010 mins

For the second month in a row, artificial intelligence was the single most cited reason American companies gave for eliminating jobs. In April alone, employers announced 21,490 AI-driven cuts, roughly 26% of every layoff disclosed nationwide, according to the latest monthly report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement firm that has tracked corporate layoff…

Mature woman using credit card and smartphone to transfer money pay bills sitting on table at home

The average American is paying $1,386 a year just in credit card interest — total debt crossed $1.3 trillion and the average APR is still 21%

Warren Cohen5 months ago5 months ago015 mins

Every month, tens of millions of American households make their credit card payments and watch most of the money vanish into interest charges. On a balance of $6,600, which is close to the national average for households carrying revolving debt, a 21% APR generates roughly $1,386 in interest over a year. That money never reduces…

Warren Cohen

Spirit Airlines executives requested $10.7 million in “retention bonuses” — while 17,000 workers just lost paychecks and health benefits

Workers aged 60 to 63 can now put $35,750 into their 401(k) in 2026 — that’s $11,250 more than everyone else gets

The economy added 115,000 jobs in April — nearly double the forecast — but the household survey lost 226,000 workers and participation hit a 5-year low

128,270 tech workers lost their jobs in 2026 so far — and research shows companies that replaced staff with AI are just as likely to see losses as gains

Credit card issuers raised the average APR to 22.12% — even after three Fed rate cuts — and the average borrower with a $6,600 balance is paying $1,462 a year in interest

Steak is still at its all-time record of $12.74 a pound — the U.S. cattle herd hit a 75-year low and prices won’t drop before 2028

Student loan borrowers have 53 days to pick a new repayment plan — miss the July 1 deadline and you get auto-enrolled in the most expensive option

The April jobs report just dropped — 115,000 jobs added, nearly double what economists predicted, but 1.55 million workers have quietly left the labor force since November

AI was the top reason for layoffs for the second straight month — 21,490 jobs cut in April alone, 26% of all cuts nationwide

The average American is paying $1,386 a year just in credit card interest — total debt crossed $1.3 trillion and the average APR is still 21%

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