Author: Press Room

Owing taxes can be stressful. Unfortunately, the actions of some companies can make it worse. As part of its “Dirty Dozen” campaign, the IRS has renewed a warning about so-called Offer in Compromise “mills” that often mislead taxpayers into believing they can settle a tax debt for pennies on the dollar—while the companies collect excessive fees. Dirty Dozen The “Dirty Dozen” is an annual list of common scams taxpayers may encounter. Many of these schemes peak during tax filing season as people prepare their returns or hire someone to help with their taxes. The schemes put taxpayers and tax professionals…

Setting and style define a suite of ultra-luxury homes—one with a $30.6 million price tag—to be built in an unspoiled canyon in Paradise Valley, Arizona’s wealthiest community. The dozen gated residences inside the vast Phoenix Mountains Preserve will be surrounded by desert and mountains yet close to restaurants, shops and airports in the greater Phoenix area. Crown Canyon Estates takes its name from a crown-shaped rock outcropping in the canyon. In keeping with the theme, each home carries the name of a precious gem and a distinct design. The glass-and-steel homes on spacious lots that start at $11 million are…

A decline in mortgage rates has boosted homebuyer interest in recent weeks. Demand for mortgage applications climbed 2.9% from a week earlier, according to the weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.Mortgage rates have been moving lower since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank triggered fears of a broader banking meltdown. “Application activity increased as mortgage rates declined for the third straight week”, said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “The 30-year fixed rate declined to 6.45%, the lowest level in over a month.”  MORTGAGE RATES POST BIG DECLINE AMID SILICON VALLEY BANK FALLOUT The decline in…

Our goal here at Credible Operations, Inc., NMLS Number 1681276, referred to as “Credible” below, is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we do promote products from our partner lenders who compensate us for our services, all opinions are our own. Rates for well-qualified borrowers using the Credible marketplace to refinance student loans rose this week for 10-year fixed-rate loans and fell for 5-year variable-rate loans. For borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to select a lender during the week of March 6, 2023:Rates on…

Amid high inflation and rising interest rates, credit card balances increased to $931 billion in the final quarter of 2022, according to the latest Credit Industry Insights report by TransUnion.  Additionally, credit card originations hit a new record. The number of new credit cards opened spiked by 21.6 million in the third quarter, representing a 7.4% year-over-year increase. Now, more than 202 million consumers have access to credit cards. “Bankcard balances and originations continue to climb as consumers seek ways to cope with inflation, and this is particularly the case among Gen Z consumers, who have seen growth of 19% in…

Auto loan borrowers at credit unions saved an average of $13,204 in life-of-loan savings, according to the first Credit Union Auto Lending Monthly Report by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).   The median originated auto loan interest rate for subprime borrowers was 7.86% at credit unions as of September 2022, according to the report. At banks, that figure was 8.67%. The median originated car loan interest rate for deep subprime borrowers was 8.85% at credit unions.In September, a borrower with an average credit score who took out a six-year $40,000 auto loan at a credit union would pay an…

With a rising number of Americans tapping into their 401(k)s to cover emergency costs, many workers struggling with high inflation may be wondering when’s the right time to borrow from their retirement savings. According to Fidelity Investor Centers branch leader Leanna Devinney, this option should be used “as a last resort.””Our retirement savings are for our retirement or those long-term goals that we have, so when we’re taking a withdrawal or even a loan from it, but focusing on withdrawals, we’re impacting our future goals,” Devinney told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “So we do want to treat the hardship…

Binance’s Australian derivatives license was canceled at the crypto exchange’s own request, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission said Thursday, after the regulator had begun a “targeted review of Binance” in February.Beginning April 14, Binance’s derivatives clients in Australia will not be able to open or increase their existing trading positions. By April 21, Binance will be required to close out any remaining trading positions, the regulator said.related investing news”Our targeted review of these matters is ongoing, including focus on the extent of consumer harms,” ASIC Chair Joe Longo said.”Following recent engagement with ASIC, Binance has chosen to pursue a…

Companies announced nearly 90,000 layoffs in March, a sharp step up from the previous month and a giant acceleration from a year ago, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.Planned layoffs totaled 89,703 for the period, an increase of 15% from February. Year to date, job cuts have soared to 270,416, an increase of 396% from the same period a year ago.The damage was especially bad in tech, which has announced 102,391 cuts so far in 2023. That’s a staggering increase of 38,487% from a year ago and good for 38% of all staff reductions. Tech already has cut…

Bob Jordan, who took over as CEO of Southwest Airlines in February 2022, just 10 months before the airline’s epic holiday travel service meltdown, got a 75% pay hike last year. Southwest’s operational meltdown over the Christmas vacation period prompted the cancellation of 16,700 flights between December 21 and 29, ruined holiday plans for tens of thousands of passengers and cost the airline about $800 million in lost revenue. That total reflected the cost of compensating customers for out-of-pocket expenses and increased pay and operational costs. It also resulted in lost ticket sales early in the just-completed first quarter. When…