Personal finance

Tom Werner | DigitalVision | Getty Images The IRS may have the ability to automate nearly half of tax returns, according to a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The agency could correctly auto-fill an estimated 62 million to 73 million returns with information it already has, covering 41% to 48% of…

Prasit photo | Moment | Getty Images U.S. stocks have a case of whiplash. Stocks slumped Thursday in one of the worst sessions seen so far this year. During intraday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,000 points or 3%, while the S&P 500 lost 4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped…

A customer purchases lemons at a supermarket on April 12, 2022 in San Mateo County, California. Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty Images Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may have said it best when he addressed the public at a Wednesday press event following the Federal Open Market Committee’s half-point rate hike. “Inflation…

Parents and children participate in a demonstration organized by the ParentsTogether Foundation in support of the child tax credit portion of the Build Back Better bill outside of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 13, 2021. Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took to the Senate floor Wednesday to decry the…

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is seen in the U.S. Capitol during a Senate vote on Feb. 10, 2022. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images The federal government has no business interfering with the ability of American workers to invest their 401(k) plan savings as they see fit. Sadly, that’s not the Biden…

New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a “Defend Democracy” rally, taking place on the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., January 6, 2022. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Eight attorneys general, including those of New York, Illinois and Washington state, wrote a…

Guido Mieth | DigitalVision | Getty Images Catch-up contributions for retirement savers could get more generous for certain savers, if legislation proposed in Congress becomes law. But the benefits of the increased limits will likely be concentrated among higher-income plan participants. Today, preretirees ages 50 and up can put away an extra $6,500 toward retirement…

JohnnyGreig | E+ | Getty Images When stocks gyrate, stock investors invariably hear this advice: “Stay the course.” In other words, don’t sell in a gut reaction; stick to your financial plan. This counsel generally makes sense for long-term investors. Stocks are likely to recoup losses by the time owners need the money many years…

Peter Dazeley | The Image Bank | Getty Images The pandemic-era trend known as the “Great Resignation” is still red-hot, as workers enjoy the perks of record-high demand for their labor. However, economic headwinds mean those benefits may not last much longer, according to economists. A record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in March,…

Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) questions Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the CARES Act, at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, September 28, 2021. Kevin Dietsch | Pool | Reuters A bill to change Supplemental Security Income benefits for…

Camille Tokerud Photography Inc. | Stone | Getty Images A federal benefits program for blind, disabled and elderly individuals could get a long-overdue update if a proposal in Washington is approved. Two Ohio senators — Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Rob Portman — have teamed up to introduce a bill to update the…

President Joe Biden returns to the White House from a day trip to Minneapolis on May 1, 2022. Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden recently said that he’d be making his decision around student loan forgiveness within weeks. That means borrowers uncertain of the future of their debt, who’ve been hearing…