Most areas in the United States are susceptible to some form of natural disaster, whether it’s a wildfire, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or flood. A severe storm or other catastrophic event often strikes with little warning, can result in costly damage... Read more
Higher taxes could follow in the wake of soaring government spending on pandemic relief measures — a likelihood that shines a new light on the tax advantages of life insurance. Permanent life insurance offers a tax-free death benefit, and a... Read more
Global economic growth is projected to drop from an estimated 6.1% rate in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022, as the world grapples with repercussions from the Russia-Ukraine war and ever-changing conditions wrought by the pandemic. Growth forecasts of 2.3% for... Read more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, is a package of climate, energy, health-care, and tax legislation. It authorizes about $440 billion in new spending and will generate an estimated $740 billion in revenue and... Read more
When thinking about life insurance, you might focus on the death benefit that can be used for income replacement, business continuation, and estate preservation. But life insurance policies may include other provisions that allow you to access some or all... Read more
If you earn money through an app or online digital platform, you may be affected by a tax reporting change that took effect on January 1, 2022. A provision of the 2021 American Rescue Plan requires third-party payment processors to... Read more
The average price for a new vehicle reached $47,077 in December 2021, which amounts to a 14% price hike in just one year. Perhaps more startling, the average price paid for a nonluxury vehicle was $900 above the Manufacturer’s Suggested... Read more
An extraordinary number of new business applications — nearly 5.4 million — were filed in 2021, far surpassing the previous record of 4.4 million set in 2020.1 Although some of these start-ups will replace businesses that closed earlier in the... Read more
For the 12-month period ending in June 2022, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) — the most widely used measure of inflation — increased 9.1%, the fastest pace in more than 40 years.1 The rate may trend... Read more
In an early July poll, 58% of Americans said they thought the U.S. economy was in a recession, up from 53% in June and 48% in May.1 Yet many economic indicators, notably employment, remain strong. The current situation is unusual,... Read more