Author: News Room

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday unveiled an economic plan, including an expanded child tax credit worth up to $6,000 in total tax relief for families with newborn children.The Democratic presidential nominee’s plan aims to restore the higher child tax credit enacted via the American Rescue Plan in 2021, which provided a maximum credit of up to $3,600 per child, according to a fact sheet from the campaign.The 2021 credit was up to $3,000 or $3,600, depending on the child’s age and family’s income. Harris’ proposed tax break would increase for middle- to lower-income families for one year after a…

President Joe Biden’s administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a block on the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which is designed to ease the burden of student loan debt for millions of borrowers. Biden introduced SAVE after the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. The White House said that the SAVE plan could lower borrowers’ monthly payments to zero dollars, reduce monthly costs in half and save those who make payments at least $1,000 yearly. Additionally, borrowers with an original balance of $12,000 or less will receive forgiveness of any remaining balance after…

Mortgage rates moved up a bit this week but are still at the lowest point they have been in more than a year. Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage edged up to 6.49% this week from 6.47% last week. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 7.09% a year ago. “While rates increased slightly this week, they remain more than half a percent lower than the same time last year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “In 2023, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage nearly hit 8…

The Inflation Reduction Act has generated many initiatives to cut drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. So, it’s possible that those past the age of 65 and still working probably don’t care about any of them. However, the IRA may have created a dilemma. Will the drug coverage incorporated into the employer group health plan still be considered creditable? Creditable Drug Coverage and Employer Plans Creditable means that the employer plan is expected to pay on average as much as the standard Medicare prescription drug plan. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has formulas and criteria for determining creditable coverage.…

The Secret Service has begun bolstering Donald Trump’s security detail and plans to surround the former president with bulletproof glass at campaign rallies. A senior official told CNN that additional security measures also include increasing the number of agents and certain technological changes, though the official declined to provide more details for security reasons. The measures are being implemented in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump at his rally last month in Butler, Pennsylvania. Some of the measures have already been rolled out. Ballistic glass is commonly used for the protection of sitting presidents and is moved into place by the Department…

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for freeThe stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White HouseThe US is easing its restrictions on sharing sensitive technology with the UK and Australia, removing barriers to trilateral defence co-operation as the allies try to counter China in the Indo-Pacific.The US Department of State is amending its International Traffic in Arms Regulation rules to facilitate military-related technology sharing with the allies, erasing some hurdles for Aukus, the submarine and advanced technology development accord the allies agreed in 2021.The state department said the reform would mean the UK and…

Vornado Realty Trust’s (NYSE:VNO) Series O Preferreds (NYSE:VNO.PR.O) are my single largest preferred position, forming 22% of my fixed-income securities portfolio. VNO’s balance sheet, the preferreds deep discount to par value, and pending Fed rate cuts formed the basis of this investment decision. The preferreds are trading for $14 per share, a substantial 44% discount to their $25 per share liquidation value with a $1.1125 per share annual coupon driving a healthy 8% yield on cost. Hence, my purchase comes with significant capital upside on a gradual return to liquidation value on the back of Fed rate cuts. Seeking AlphaThe…

The standard, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% this week, up slightly from the prior week’s level, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. But that’s still well below this year’s peak and the two-decade high last fall — and that appears to be enough to entice homeowners to refinance. Mortgage applications surged 17% last week, driven by homeowners seeking to refinance, up by a staggering 35%, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Mortgage rates plummeted last week to their lowest level in more than a year, according to figures from mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac. And borrowing costs are expected to fall even further…

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets rally : Stocks are higher across the board Thursday, with the S & P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rallying and erasing their losses for August. The session marks the sixth straight positive session for the S & P 500, a move that started last week when initial jobless claims came in lower than expected and eased concerns of a quickly deteriorating labor market that had been sparked by the July…

About 2.9 billion people may have had their personal information hacked, a new proposed class action lawsuit alleges.If true, reports suggest all Americans may have had valuable personal information compromised — including full names, current and past addresses, Social Security numbers and information on parents, siblings and other relatives.  The alleged April 2024 breach occurred when a background check company doing business as National Public Data, owned by Jerico Pictures Inc., failed to properly safeguard information it scraped, the lawsuit states. The company provides instant search access to billions of records.Neither National Public Data nor Jerico Pictures returned requests for…