The stock market had yet another record-breaking year in 2020. While that means many portfolios likely ended up in the black, it could also mean substantial tax bills for investors who sold stocks last year — especially those that weren't tucked inside an individual retirement account, a 401(k) or some other tax-advantaged retirement account. ...Read more

Wall Street has slowly begun asking for more disclosure of political donations — although not every big institutional investor votes consistently for more transparency.

That's the conclusion of a new study by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Political Accountability, which found that many Wall Street investment firms voted for ...Read more

Q: A friend from out of town wants to visit you, but you are not comfortable hosting someone right now due to COVID-19. How should you respond?

A: In this particular instance, you want to be honest with the person and say exactly why you do not want to host anyone, and you should do so in a way that’s not accusatory, meaning you don’t ...Read more

Anyone who is looking to pay bills and get a tax refund in early February is out of luck. Expect some significant delays.

The Internal Revenue Service announced Friday that it is going to only begin processing 2020 income tax returns as of Feb. 12. The official kickoff for tax season will be about twor or three weeks later than the usual ...Read more

Lost jobs and income from the COVID-19 pandemic have put many people around the country, millions by the estimate of some experts, behind on their rent payments.

Eviction moratoriums, nationally and in California, expire at the end of the month, putting many at risk of losing their homes. Tenants in Los Angeles County have protection for longer...Read more

With the House having impeached President Donald Trump for a second time and corporate America distancing itself in the wake of the deadly Capitol insurrection, the Trump brand is taking a beating in the waning days of his presidency.

Even as pressure mounts to remove the president’s name from his signature property in Chicago, the Trump ...Read more

Microsoft is considering opening an office in Miami's business core.

According to multiple sources who declined to be named, Microsoft is reviewing at least two Class A options for a new Magic City footprint: one, at the still-under-construction 830 Brickell, and the other at 801 Brickell office tower. All sources cited the sensitive nature of ...Read more

Many lower-wage workers who are raising families bank on receiving a healthy, four-figure tax refund, likely their biggest single check of the year, when they claim the Earned Income Tax Credit on their income tax returns.

But what happens if you ended up being out of work much of 2020 during the pandemic? Are you suddenly shut out of the ...Read more

Coming out of the financial collapse a decade ago, when home foreclosures hit record numbers, Wall Street began buying up hundreds of thousands of single-family homes (SFH). Institutional money had long ago come to dominate ownership of U.S. apartments, but the SFH, which accounts for the great bulk of the more than $30 trillion in housing value...Read more

Q: We are buying our first home and will need to use most of our savings for the down payment and furniture. We cannot afford to make any major repairs for the first couple of years. How can we protect ourselves? –Shelley

A: While I can understand wanting to get the most house you can afford, it is crucial to afford the home you buy.

Many ...Read more

Almost a half-century after opening, Water Tower Place, the once-bustling retail mall at the north end of Chicago's Magnificent Mile, remains shiny marble on the outside, but inside it’s losing some of its sparkle.

Macy’s, which anchors the south end of the building, announced plans last week to close in a few months, leaving behind a more ...Read more

Stephen Ashley isn’t sure how much his company will benefit from a 116-word tax break for residential property owners slipped into the omnibus and coronavirus relief package late last month.

But the Rochester, N.Y., apartment developer thinks it will be worth more than the $540,000 his company spent lobbying for what he describes as a ...Read more

With the holiday season fresh in our minds — and the endless sweaters, candles and electronic gadgets still stacked on dresser tops, awaiting their spot in the back of closets — let’s review gift-giving strategies and resolve to do better next time.

Research tells us you’re probably worse at picking out gifts than you think you are. ...Read more

The out-of-the-blue economic jolt of the pandemic set off an urge among many households to double down on building emergency savings.

A T. Rowe Price survey of still-employed retirement savers last summer reported that 50% said saving for emergencies was a major financial objective, up from 38% the previous year.

Hearts & Wallets, a consumer ...Read more

A recession following the coronavirus pandemic could cause twice as much homelessness nationwide as the Great Recession did more than a decade ago, says a grim new study by Economic Roundtable, a Los Angeles research group.

Using detailed data on unemployment and homelessness from L.A. County social services, authors of the study project that ...Read more

Last April, just as employers had sent millions of office employees home to work remotely, they went on a buying binge of creepy software with names like Controlio, Sneek and StaffCop — the better to monitor your every keystroke from afar.

Orders for such programs soared 87% in April. These kinds of software programs enable your employer to: ...Read more

Americans have shaved off more than $100 billion of credit card debt during the coronavirus pandemic and, as vaccines raise hopes for a more open and mobile life again, we all need a plan to keep from diving back into debt.

The categories in which spending via credit cards fell off most noticeably, according to analysis by Money.com and Morning...Read more

Some Jackson Hewitt customers who have yet to receive their second stimulus payments could see that money after all by Feb. 1.

The tax preparation firm confirmed Monday that the Internal Revenue Service will start processing some payments once their systems come back online.

The Economic Impact Payments in question had been sent by the IRS to ...Read more