Personal Finance
-
Tesla, Netflix earnings due: Cheaper cars, cheaper content, more workout videos, as ‘earnings recession’ seems likely
For anyone watching Netflix, the streaming services’ recent moves to cut costs could mean fewer films, lower-budget shows and — depending on your subscription — more ads. For anyone buying a Tesla, its moves to cut prices will make it easier on customers, but harder on profit-seeking investors. With both companies reporting results this week,…
-
Credit-card balances have hit historic highs. Here’s what that says about consumers’ finances.
Credit-card debt climbed to a historic high at the end of last year. That’s according to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, which adds to earlier reports of record-smashing balances in 2022’s final quarter. Credit-card balances reached nearly $765 billion in the fourth quarter — up by more than $100 billion from about…
-
We all know an emergency fund is important. Here’s how to get started.
Given all that’s going on in the world today, the concept of saving and building up an emergency fund may feel like a pipe dream. But no matter where you are or what you are dealing with in terms of your finances, there is a path toward slowly building up a safety net between yourself…
-
‘Real estate is tangible. It enjoys a host of tax benefits’: Yes, investors can still make money in a cooling housing market
Rent growth is cooling and apartment landlords are feeling the heat, especially those who will soon need to refinance debt they took on to buy buildings. Yet one company is still upbeat on the outlook for multifamily rentals, particularly in the Sun Belt. “You have major supply constraints in most rental markets [and] the housing…
-
U.S. billionaires have grown nearly one-third richer during the pandemic, while a ‘permanent underclass’ struggles, Oxfam says
Wealth inequality in the United States is “more extreme and dangerous than income inequality” and could be alleviated by a federal wealth tax, a new report says. The nation’s billionaires are almost a third richer than they were at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to new calculations by the global charity…
-
‘I am watching my inheritance evaporate’: My brother and sister constantly hit our parents up for money. What can I do to stop this?
I am 46 and single. I have a good job and own my own home but live modestly. I have been fortunate not to have had to ask my parents for anything over the years. My brother and sister, by contrast, have done so, and often. My parents are comfortable, but not wealthy. My brother…
-
Head of world’s largest asset manager says this is why Fed will struggle to bring down inflation
“‘I believe interest rates are going to be higher for longer…I believe inflation is going to be stickier for longer. In other words I think we’re going to have a 4%-ish floor on inflation.’” — Larry Fink, BlackRock Inc. That’s BlackRock Inc. BLK, +3.07% Chairman and CEO Larry Fink arguing that global “fragmentation” and reshoring…
-
‘Get out of your own head’: How to reinvent yourself in retirement
As I see it, unretirement—when you work part time in retirement after leaving a full-time job, as I’m doing—is a period of reinvention. That can be a little uncomfortable, even scary. In her new book, “Next! The Power of Reinvention in Life and Work,” Joanne Lipman has some useful ideas on how to do it.…
-
Most Americans aren’t banking on Social Security
Most Americans don’t feel they can depend on Social Security for retirement income and worry about their long-term financial stability, according to a new study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Nearly three in four (74%) say they can’t count on Social Security benefits when planning retirement income. As a result, 88% believe…
-
Florida is still tops, as retirees flock to warm weather and tax-free locales
Warm climates and tax-free havens top the list for the fastest-growing population of retirees. Florida was still the top state for retirees overall, but among cities with the biggest growth in older population, Mesa, Ariz., took the lead. According to a new report from SmartAsset, which looked at U.S. Census Bureau migration data, older Americans…