All Economy
Ten tax moves to protect yourself from the fiscal cliff Americans are facing an unprecedented tax increase of nearly $500 billion on Jan. 1, 2013, from the so-called "fiscal cliff." Are you ready? Here are 10 year-end tax strategies I recommend:
Smart phone savings: Avoid long-term contracts
Medicare, social program cuts: Will Democrats go along?Medicare, Obamacare, and other social programs are at the heart of a disconnect over the 'fiscal cliff' in Washington. Republicans appear willing for tax increases but only if Democrats accept big cuts in Medicare and other social programs.
Progress WatchGender pay gap is eroding, especially among younger women, US data showWomen are slowly making inroads in the gender pay gap. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data for full-time workers show women earn 82 percent as much as men, up from 64 percent in 1980.
After Cyber Monday frenzy, Giving Tuesday taps the quiet impulse to giveGiving Tuesday, launched by New York's 92nd Street Y, the United Nations Foundation, and 2,000 corporate and nonprofit partners, aims to make giving as fixed a holiday feature as shopping.
Cyber Monday, Black Friday sales strong. Do they matter?Cyber Monday set sales records and Black Friday spending was robust. But the long Black Friday weekend is no barometer for overall holiday shopping – it may even be a negative.
Will Timothy Geithner lead us over or around the fiscal cliff?Timothy Geithner sees the world through the eyes of Wall Street rather than Main Street, Reich writes, which complicates fiscal cliff negotiations.
Fiscal cliff warning sends stocks slidingFrustration from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over the fiscal cliff pushed stocks downward Tuesday. Worries about budget talks have been hanging over the stock market for weeks.
The case for household debt freedomHousehold debt freedom isn’t just freedom from household debt, Hamm writes. It’s freedom from worry.
Home prices on the rise: why that is good for US economyNationwide, home prices rose 3.6 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2011, new data show. The jump points to a broad recovery in the long-sluggish housing market.
Tax cuts: How can 98 percent of us be middle-class?Politicians can fight over whether some households should be exempt from tax increases, Gleckman writes, but can they at least stop claiming that 98 percent of us are middle-class?
Home prices rise slightly in SeptemberS&P/Case-Shiller home price indices rose by 0.28 percent in September, signaling the beginning of a flattening of home prices.
FDA shuts down peanut butter factory after salmonella recallsThe FDA has suspended production at Sunland, Inc. after batches of the manufacturer's peanut butter was linked to a widespread salmonella outbreak and led to an expansive recall of Sunland nut products. The shutdown marks the first time the FDA has used new shutdown powers granted by the Food Safety Modernization Act.
2014 Chevy Spark to cost less than $32,500Chevy is hinting at a price "below $25,000 with incentives," for the 2014 Chevy Spark EV meaning a pre-incentive price of under $32,500, Ingram writes. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV will be unveiled in full at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Mobile phone overage fees? It's time to upgrade your planIf you repeatedly exceed your monthly minutes on your mobile phone contract, it may be time for a mobile phone plan upgrade, Hamm writes.
Cyber Monday: Work ethic is no match for shoppers' zeal for a dealBlack Friday just set a record for e-commerce in a single day: $1 billion. But deal-hungry digital shoppers, despite being back at work, were pushing the tally for Cyber Monday higher still.
Fiscal cliff: Why is the White House helping Republicans?A new report by the White House's Council of Economic Advisers scares the middle class about the effects of the fiscal cliff, Reich writes.
Europe debt defaults are poised to rattle stocksAt least five eurozone nations will need to restructure their debts, says a new Citigroup report. Greece will probably leave the eurozone within a year.
Stocks end lower after strong weekStocks retreated after one of their best weeks of the year. Anxiety over the 'fiscal cliff' and European debt drove stocks down.
Chicago Fed: US economy at near-recession levelThe Chicago Federal Reserve National Activity Index fell notably in October 2012, slumping to a near-recessionary level of -0.56.
