You join us again to talk about trade wars. First things first, Mellody: are we in one now? As I mentioned in March, a trade war is the tit-for-tat raising of trade barriers – import duties, tariffs, or increased domestic subsidies – between countries. In the last six weeks, we have been moving in that […]
Today you are here to discuss a racial disparity few people talk about. What is it? We have covered a number of different forms of economic and financial racial disparities on Money Monday, but unfortunately we have not discussed them all, as a new study makes clear. A new report from the Equality of Opportunity […]
Though we don’t often think of it this way, there is a real cost of gun violence beyond the obvious. In the wake of the inspiring March for Our Lives, which took place in cities across the country and around the world on Saturday, I thought it important to provide some context to the consequences of […]
You are here this morning to talk about a very interesting factor affecting the financial behavior of many Americans. What is it? We all have heard that phrase keeping up with the Jones’, but not many of us give much thought to how this phenomenon has changed in our era of ubiquitous technology and connection. […]
The monthly jobs report was released Friday. How did it look? We had very strong job growth in February, Tom. Last month, the U.S. economy added 313,000 new positions, the largest monthly tally since July of last year, and one of the five best totals in the past 5 years. What is driving companies to […]
Today we are talking about trade. Why is trade on your mind? On Thursday, President Trump announced that his is planning to impose a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum. This news rattled the markets – the S&P fell 1.4% while the Dow shed 1.5% – and had many talking […]
Today we are talking about student loans again. Why? We have known for some time now that American college students and graduates are being swamped in a tsunami of student loans. Now, a new study release by the Brookings Institute last week shows that the number of large-balance student loan borrowers – individuals with over […]
What’s going on with the stock market after last week’s ups and downs? It was a bumpy ride last week. On Monday, we watched the market extend a decline it started the week before. On Tuesday, the indices recovered some of the losses, and Wednesday was pretty call. Then on Thursday and Friday, the selloff […]
Today we are talking taxes, but we are months away from April. Why? There are a couple of reasons 2018 taxes are on my mind. First, the IRS began accepting tax filing last week. But more importantly, there are a few things that our listeners need to be aware of, including the importance of filing […]
This morning we are talking about companies who share their tax windfalls with their employees and what you need to know. Mellody, in recent weeks a rash of companies have announced they will be giving employees bonuses and other benefits in the wake of the recent tax cuts. What is behind these moves? Lower taxes, […]
This morning we are discussing the government shutdown. First, how did we get here? Congress is responsible for passing budgets that authorize funding for the government. In recent years, these have often been short-term, meaning multiple new bills have been required. The bill authorizing current spending expired on Friday. However, given Republican control of the […]
You are joining us with more news following the recent tax bill. What has happened now? Last week, the Treasury Department released new guidance and withholding tables for employers that will directly impact how much your employer withholds from your paycheck for taxes. Under those new tables, the Treasury estimates that 90% of people who […]