Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said nothing about rate hikes during a speech in Stockholm Tuesday. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's decision to sidestep the issue of inflation and rate hikes during a central banking conference in Stockholm this week, as markets bet against his previous hawkish signals, may prove as pivotal as his late…

A 42- year-old Worcester-based investment advisor who pleaded guilty to defrauding and stealing more than $2.8 million from his clients is expected to be sentenced Wednesday in Boston Federal Court. On Sept. 8, 2022, James Kenneth Couture, 42, of Sutton, pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of…

Nearly one-third (32%) had to withdraw some of their retirement savings in 2022 in order to keep up with the rising costs of living.

If you receive Social Security, you’ ve probably already heard that your checks in 2023 will be bigger— considerably bigger, in fact. Here’ s what’ s happening: For 2023, there’ s an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security benefits— the largest increase in 40 years. Also, the monthly Medicare Part B premiums are declining next year, to $164.90/ month from…

What steps need to be taken after a loved one dies? My 71- year-old uncle, who' s divorced with no children, has terminal cancer. For starters, find out where he keeps all his important papers like his trust and/or will, birth certificate, Social Security information, life-insurance policies, military discharge papers, financial documents, key or combination to a…

Rebecca Bush started her home search in January of 2020.. Home values increased nearly 20 percent across the U.S. between September 2020 and September 2021, according to Real Estate Witch. Then came inflation and the Federal Reserve's attempt to combat it, which pushed some interest rates on mortgages to above 7 percent.

For 2023, you can put an extra $1,000 in your IRAs and an extra $7,500 in a 401 plan. Once you turn 55, you can put an additional $1,000 in an HSA each year. For instance, instead of wages, which are 100% taxable, at least 15% of your Social Security benefits are tax-free, and lower-income seniors won't pay any federal tax on their benefits.

Approximately 70 million Americans will see an 8.7% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments in 2023. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January. But if you want to know your new benefit amount sooner, you can securely obtain your Social Security COLA notice…

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell was asked what was in store for the economy after yet another rate hike intended to tame inflation. "I don't think anyone knows whether we're going to have a recession or not and, if we do, whether it's going to be a deep one or not," Powell said on Dec. 14, after the Federal Open Market Committee's final meeting for 2022. "It's just not…

This is the conundrum consumers, investors and central bankers with the Federal Reserve keep struggling with— slowing, yet still fast inflation. Then, due to lots of factors, prices didn’ t just accelerate, they blasted off about one year into the COVID-19 pandemic that started in March 2020. That was the spring and summer of 2021, as consumer inflation sped up on its…

Lawrence Isen, age 69, of California, was sentenced to five years behind bars in federal court in Central Islip Friday, Jan. 6. Federal prosecutors said between 2014 and 2016, Isen and others worked with a Melville- based "boiler room" to artificially inflate the price and trading volume of stock in struggling companies with poor prospects. Islen was accused of…

The fraud trial of former First NBC Bank CEO Ashton Ryan, Jr. is set to begin Monday in federal court in New Orleans, the culmination of a sprawling investigation by federal authorities into the local bank following its descent from post-Hurricane Katrina financial darling to the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. The trial comes more…

Last week, President Joe Biden signed the Secure 2.0 Act into law, which not only created changes to retirement savings plans but also impacted student loan payments. For example, some companies may match 50 cents for every $1 employees contribute to their 401 s up to 6% of their salaries. So for people making $60,000 a year, 6% of their salaries is $3,600.

Question: I have a question about the family maximum SS retirement benefit. As I understand it, if the breadwinner is drawing retirement benefits or is deceased, the family maximum is calculated from a formula that yields a figure between 150 percent and 188 percent of the breadwinner's primary insurance amount— his or her monthly benefit if claimed at full…

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting show that some companies actually borrowed more in October and November, even though interest rates on their bonds have been rising. "There's always a certain percentage of debt that matures in any given year that will need to be refinanced," said Winnie Cisar, global head of strategy at CreditSights.