The financial news that actually matters
American workers and retirees are losing faith in their financial futures at a pace not seen in years, driven by a collision of persistent cost increases and growing anxiety over Social Security’s ability to pay full benefits. The Social Security Board of Trustees reported in June 2026 that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund…
People affected by past data breaches can still collect cash payments from active settlements, and several of those claim windows close in September. Some of these payouts require little or no documentation beyond a valid name and email address, which lowers the barrier for consumers who never got around to filing. The Federal Trade Commission…
Michigan households served by Consumers Energy began paying higher electric bills on May 1, 2026, after state regulators approved a $276.6 million annual rate increase that adds 8.9 percent to residential rates. The utility had originally asked for roughly $436 million, and the gap between what it sought and what it received raises direct questions…
More than 111 million utility customers across the United States now face nearly $95 billion in approved or proposed rate hikes, a figure drawn from federal customer data that captures the scale of cost pressure building in regulated electricity markets. The surge follows a period in which net rate increases authorized by state commissions more…
Craig Kirsner, an adviser associated with AE Wealth Management, LLC, has told investors he is “100% certain” that a market downturn will persist from now through the fall. That bold declaration puts him at odds with nearly a century of equity return data covering election cycles, raising a direct question for anyone deciding how to…
Millions of taxpayers who requested extra time to complete their 2025 federal returns now face a single hard deadline: October 15, 2026. Missing that date triggers the failure-to-file penalty, and for anyone who also owes a balance, the financial hit compounds fast. The IRS has made clear that the extension granted back in April bought…
Families settling the estates of deceased reverse-mortgage borrowers are facing unexpected fees that surface only after a loved one dies, according to allegations in a lawsuit targeting a major servicer. The complaint centers on charges that heirs say were never disclosed during the life of the loan, emerging instead during probate when survivors have the…
Patients whose personal and medical records were exposed in the Onsite Mammography data breach have a narrowing window to file claims for a cash payment, with the deadline set for August 11. The breach, logged with Massachusetts regulators as case 2025-698, traced the exposure to unusual activity in an employee email account. Categories of data…
Christopher Alexander Delgado, the president and CEO of Goliath Ventures, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering after admitting to at least $250 million in investor losses. The scheme ran from at least January 2023 through January 2026, during which Delgado funneled approximately $17 million in…
American households carrying credit-card debt are falling behind on payments at rates not seen since the aftermath of the Great Recession. Serious delinquencies, typically defined as accounts 90 or more days past due, have climbed to a 15-year high even as total revolving balances now exceed $1.25 trillion. The Federal Reserve’s own research ties this…