Author: Press Room

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As the world’s largest official bilateral creditor, China should participate in meaningful debt relief for countries facing problems, but it has served for too long as a “roadblock” to necessary action, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a major speech on U.S.-China relations on Thursday. Yellen said the United States expected China to make good its pledge to work constructively on issues such as debt relief and climate change, noting that delays in restructuring raised costs for both borrowers and creditors. Speaking at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, Yellen welcomed China’s…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled a bill this week that would pair $4.5 trillion in spending cuts with a $1.5 trillion increase in the federal debt limit, laying out an opening position in what is likely to be a tense partisan debate over government borrowing. Here is a summary of his plan: DEBT-CEILING INCREASE McCarthy’s bill would suspend the nation’s borrowing limit, currently $31.4 trillion, through March 31, 2024 or until it increases by another $1.5 trillion — whichever comes first. At that point, Congress would have to address the issue again, as the…

Improving digital payments on transit could be seen as a major green issue, Aaron Klein at the Brookings Institution suggests in a recent paper, “How Better Payment Systems Can Improve Public Transportation”. Current systems are often too slow, they are almost always too expensive in their charges for small value transactions, and their requirements are complex with different fares for seniors, students and disabled individuals. “The existence of these numerous fare categories can present a challenge for transit agencies looking to implement open payments,” he added, while citing efforts in California to provide confirmation of riders’ ages so they could…

Key takeaways Meta, Disney and Amazon have all made headlines this week as the highly anticipated job cuts hit workers across multiple divisions Meta and Disney’s stock prices dipped while Amazon gained very slightly More layoffs not off the table as economy worsens Meta, Disney and Amazon have forged ahead with their mass layoffs rounds this week, with some workers finding out on Wednesday that their jobs were gone. The departments affected range from advertising to on-air presenters, with no stone left unturned and workers feeling the pressure. Wall Street was largely indifferent to the news, but it wasn’t the…

After three decades of relentless (a) offshoring of its manufacturing capacity and (b) deterioration of its essential infrastructures, the U.S. at long last is embarked on a grand national project of industrial and infrastructural renewal. Enactments including the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS & Science Act include massive subsidies, tax abatements, and other inducements to investments in and purchases from what are expected to be the next generation of globally dominant industries. Meanwhile, the author’s recently introduced National Development Strategy and Coordination Act (NDSCA), cosponsored by one House Democrat and one Senate Republican, reconfigures the White House Cabinet and…

We hear a lot about federal student loan forgiveness programs in the news, and that’s especially true when it comes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and income-driven repayment plans that offer forgiveness after 20 to 25 years. However, 47 different states and Washington D.C. all have their own state-based student loan forgiveness plans as well, and some of them are better than the options available from the federal government. As with some federal forgiveness programs, most options from states require you to work in a specific public service field, which may include healthcare, teaching, legal services and more. Most…

The IRS recently released its 2023 “Dirty Dozen” tax avoidance and fraud list consisting of nine consumer-targeted fraud schemes and three categories carried over from 2022. Consumer-Focused Fraud Employee Retention Credit. The ERC is a refundable tax credit designed for businesses that closed during COVID-19 but still paid their employees or that had a significant decline in gross receipts during the eligibility periods. It’s not available to individuals, and employers cannot claim it on wages reported as payroll costs in obtaining Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness. The IRS warns that ERC promoters are not describing eligibility limits and are often…

Losing a spouse can be an overwhelming and emotional experience. While it’s possible to organize financial documents ahead of time, there’s no way to truly prepare for the death of a spouse. Unfortunately, during the grieving process surviving spouses also need to navigate the complex financial issues that arise after the death of their partner. Here’s a financial planning checklist for surviving spouses. What to do After the Death of a Spouse Let’s face it, there’s a lot to do after the passing of a spouse. But not everything needs to get done today. In addition to making funeral arrangements…

Since 2020, home prices have increased by 42%, while inflation has risen by 16%, according to a study by the real estate brokerage firm Home Bay. To put that into perspective, spending $100,000 on a home in January 2020 would require spending $142,249 today, Home Bay reported. Meanwhile, spending $100,000 on goods and services in 2020 would require $113,739 today. The combination of rising prices for basic goods as well as homeownership could be creating a very difficult situation for potential first-time home buyers, Home Bay suggested. The median sales price of a home in the third quarter of 2020 was…

A CSX train derailed near Chicago, crushing multiple vehicles. Between 13 and 15 cars came off the tracks in the accident in Blue Island, Illinois, at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, according to law enforcement.”CSX appreciates the swift response of the local first responders. Safety is our top priority as we work to clear the crossings impacted by the incident and fully restore the area,” CSX said. CSX TRAIN DERAILED BY WEST VIRGINIA ROCK SLIDE, CAUSING DIESEL FUEL SPILL The derailed train cars crushed several vehicles near the crash, according to ABC7.The cause of the derailment is under investigation by…