News
Big companies are thriving while small businesses struggle. Here's what to do about it
3+ hour, 10+ min ago (427+ words) Small businesses quietly bleed cash on recurring fees they never use. Many small-business owners resist raising prices out of fear of losing customers, but here's the reality: if your prices don't cover your costs, you don't have a business. Raise…...
As President Trump floats threats, the markets churn away
4+ hour, 10+ min ago (899+ words) U.S. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tour the Federal Reserve's headquarters renovation project last July. Powell released a video this week pushing back against the Trump administration regarding a Justice Department subpoena that he says is designed…...
Social Security recipients get a raise and a tax deduction
1+ week, 4+ day ago (625+ words) For the coming year (returns filed in 2027), seniors aged 65 and older can claim a new but temporary tax break. The deduction you can claim for individual filers is up to $6,000 and $12,000 for married couples filing jointly. For elderly Americans suffering…...
Markets pull back as Santa disappoints
2+ week, 3+ hour ago (571+ words) Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on the first day of trading for the year on Friday in New York City. The Dow was down in morning trading." Yes, Santa was on the roof last…...
Investors await the Fed's decision on interest rates next week
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (655+ words) An activist records a U.S. Border Patrol agent looking for immigrant workers last month outside a Home Depot store in Charlotte, N.C. The federal crackdown on immigrants may'be behind weakening employment numbers, notes columnist Bill Schmick. When the Federal Open Market Committee…...
The Fed, mortgage rates and home prices
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (665+ words) I recently spoke with a couple who want to sell their home. Their Realtor told them the market was a little soft but added that interest rates were likely to come down this year. The suggestion was that falling rates…...
Americans are getting stingier. There are myriad reasons why
2+ mon, 2+ week ago (588+ words) In survey conducted by Empower, a retirement planning firm, more than half of respondents said gifting is over the top, and almost as many complain of gift fatigue. Many millennials are instituting a no gifts policy in 2025 among all their…...
Sticker shock forecast due to expiring health insurance subsidies
2+ mon, 4+ week ago (894+ words) BOSTON " Bay Staters who receive insurance coverage through the Massachusetts Health Connector are learning how much their premiums will rise in 2026 if Congress does not extend subsidies that are at the crux of talks over reopening the federal government. Open…...
Markets digest recent gains as government shutdown looms
3+ mon, 2+ week ago (568+ words) Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange recently during morning trading in New York City. All indexes were down three days in a row this week" and that's a good thing, says columnist Bill Schmick. Investors…...
America is shifting to a new brand of state capitalism
4+ mon, 1+ day ago (615+ words) Government ownership of private companies such as Intel, shown in Santa Clara, Calif., is among the indicators of America's shift toward state capitalism, notes columnist Bill Schmick. Over the last nine months, a 10 percent position in a huge semiconductor giant,…...