Category: personal finance

How Major US Stock Indexes Fared June 21

Tech stocks fell Wednesday, keeping Wall Street mixed and sapping more momentum from its five-week rally. The S&P 500 closed 0.5 percent lower Wednesday, its third straight pullback after rallying last week to its highest level in more than a year. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.2 percent, more than the rest of the market. The…


Lower Taxes on Your RMDs

By Sandra Block From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance When confronted with a task that’s necessary but joyless, it’s human nature to put it off until the last minute. And for some retirees, taking withdrawals from their retirement savings accounts is another chore that falls to the bottom of their to-do list. Investments in traditional Individual Retirement…


Decoding Social Security ‘Claim’ Numbers

Q: I am a 78-year-old recent widow. I got my own Social Security number when I was about 20. But since my husband and I started getting Social Security benefits about 15 years ago, the correspondence I got from the Social Security Administration showed my husband’s Social Security number with a letter “B” behind it….


Closing Prices for Crude Oil, Gold, and Other Commodities (June 20)

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for July delivery fell $1.28 to $70.50 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for August delivery fell 19 cents to $75.90 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for July delivery fell 7 cents $2.61 a gallon. July heating oil fell 7 cents to $2.48 a gallon. July natural gas fell 14 cents to $2.49…


How Major US Stock Indexes Fared June 20

Stocks closed lower in Wall Street’s first trading after a five-week rally carried it to its highest level since the spring of last year. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite fell. The U.S. stock market took a step back after rising on hopes the economy can avoid a recession…


A Good Speech Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

I wasn’t invited to give a graduation speech this spring. Still, I was prepared, and since a good speech is a terrible thing to waste, I offer it to you now. Ladies and gentlemen of the Class of 2023: You did it. You worked hard, and you stuck it out even when you wanted to…


Should You Financially Support Adult Kids?

Some parents will tell you firsthand there’s no expiration date on this raising kids gig. For some, that means they extend financial help to their kids into adulthood. When I was 21 and got into a master’s program at a college of my dreams, my mom swooped in to help me pay for my degree….


RBA Says Jobs Market Too Tight to Control Inflation

The jobs market is too strong, and the unemployment rate too low for the Reserve Bank to stamp down inflation. RBA deputy governor Michele Bullock says an unemployment rate of around 4.5 percent is roughly the lowest possible level that’s consistent with the RBA’s two-to-three per cent inflation target. The jobless rate has been stuck…


Financial Hardship Surges as Cost-of-Living Crisis Squeezes Workers

Workers in America and around the world are reporting significantly higher levels of financial hardship compared to last year, as a cooling economy and high inflation has left a growing number cash-strapped and planning to quit in search of better-paid jobs. Despite a softening economy and workers reporting growing levels of financial stress, the “Great…


7 in 10 Working Australians Do Not Know Their Credit Score

Over 14 million Australians may have no knowledge of their credit score despite the importance of the financial statistic in people’s daily lives. According to a survey by the financial comparison company Finder, seven in ten respondents did not know their credit score. Further, over 40 percent of those surveyed had never checked their credit…