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Consumer confidence rose for the second straight month in September, increasing to 108. Consumer feelings about their current circumstances also rose, while expectations for the future also ticked upward to 80.3 in September from 75.8 in August. But even with the increasing consumer confidence, inflation and recession worries remain, as the Federal Reserve continues to remain hawkish—they’re interested in hiking rates—to fight inflation. And you don’t need to look farther than the housing market to see the impact....

What Is a Sheriff’s Sale? A sheriff’s sale is a type of public auction where interested buyers can bid on foreclosed properties. In a sheriff’s sale, the initial owner of a property is unable to make their mortgage payments and legal possession of the property is regained by the lender. The lender will then attempt to sell it to recover some, if not all, of the outstanding mortgage balance. Sheriff’s sales take place locally and are usually conducted at the county level....

Cash flow is how much money is going into and out of your business at a given time: the payments you are receiving and the payments you are making. Cash flow impacts how much money you actually have available at any given time. Profit is how much financial gain your company is making on its products or services. If you are bringing in more money than it costs to run your business, you are making a profit....

Monetary Policy “Monetary policy” is the blanket term used to describe the actions of a central bank in the United States, which is the U.S. Federal Reserve, often called the Fed. The Fed pursues policies that maximize both employment and price stability, and it operates independently of the influence of policymakers such as Congress and the president. Within the Federal Reserve, monetary policy is set by the Federal Open Market Committee, which meets eight times a year to assess fiscal policies....

However, you never know what is going to happen. It may be a bad skiing accident where you blow out your knee, or a bad kidney stone that sends you to the emergency room in the middle of the night. You may fall on your way out to the car one morning and end up with a serious concussion and stitches. Health insurance has protected these people from walking out of the hospital with thirty thousand dollars or more in debt....

What is the benefit of filing a tax return if I don’t meet the minimum income requirement? Because that may be the only way to receive thousands of dollars in payments from the government. Most individuals under 65 who earn less than $12,400 aren’t required to file federal tax returns, but there are some very good reasons to fill out the paperwork, especially these days. The IRS distributes several important government benefits based on information from tax returns, including some created or expanded during the pandemic....

With inflation at the highest in nearly 40 years, consumers are increasingly substituting groceries for eating out to stretch their monthly food budgets, a recent Morning Consult survey indicated. As the chart below shows, the share of people’s monthly budgets going to meals at restaurants (including takeout and delivery) dropped in January to the lowest level in more than a year. While grocery prices have also been rising—in some months even faster than restaurant tabs—people faced with budget constraints are more likely to cut back on discretionary things like eating out than on staples like groceries, pollsters said....

Learning more about their methods can help you appeal to your target employers, which will improve your chances of being recruited and hired. Here’s what you need to know. Steps in the Recruiting Process Before companies hire new employees, they engage in a formal recruiting process that involves three phases: planning, recruitment, and employee selection. How Companies Find Applicants Depending on their requirements, resources, and immediate needs, companies can find applicants in a variety of different ways....

Who Is an Heir-at-Law? Exactly who qualifies as an heir-at-law can depend on where the decedent died and what he owned. The rules are established individually by each state so they can differ a little. Most states’ laws are very similar, however. Heirs-at-law and their rights to inherit are typically decided in an order called “intestate succession.” The more closely related you are to a decedent, the more likely it becomes that you are an heir-at-law....

The tuition and fees deduction was in effect through the 2020 tax year but has since expired. However, there are other education-related deductions you may be eligible for. Here’s what you need to know about this deduction and your eligibility. The Tuition and Fees Deduction Expired in 2020 The tuition and fees deduction was on unsteady footing after the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017....

But China’s stock markets have been a different story. The Shanghai Composite fell nearly 25% in 2015, making it one of the worst-performing markets in the world. So, should you follow Warren Buffett’s advice and invest in this popular emerging market? An Overview of China’s Economy China has historically been one of the world’s leading powers. But civil unrest, famines, and military defeats caused it to stagnate in the 19th and early 20th centuries....

Tin Leg doesn’t have a rating issued by the Better Business Bureau. However, its parent company, Squaremouth, has a “D-” rating. The BBB file for Squaremouth was opened on 2/24/2003 with only two customer complaints listed. It had eight complaints from May 2021 through May 2022. Tin Leg was named by Forbes as the best travel insurance company for seniors. The company received high marks for its competitive rates and emergency medical coverage policy features....

How you format your cover letter, both from a content (the information you include) and a presentation (what your cover letter looks like) perspective is important. Even when applying online or via email, your cover letter needs to be properly formatted, readable, and without any mistakes. Cover letters to send with resumes follow the format of a formal business letter. They are written in paragraph form and include a formal salutation, closing, and signature....

A final walkthrough is performed before the settlement of the homebuying transaction. Buyers are often pressed for time as the transaction closing date draws near, so they might be tempted to pass on this opportunity. But many issues can come up, and it’s never a good idea to skip the final walkthrough. Vacant Home Issues Sellers often move out of their homes before closing, and it’s even more imperative that buyers conduct a final walkthrough in situations where the seller has already vacated the residence....

Who Is Paying the Claim? There are a number of basic factors involved in determining who gets the money. The first has to do with who is actually paying for the damages. This almost always depends on who caused the accident, unless you live in a no-fault state such as Michigan. If the insured (that’s you) is at fault, then your insurance company will be footing the repair bill. If it’s the other driver’s fault, the other driver’s insurer is on the hook for the expenses....

The average rate offered to homebuyers using a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.71% from 5.86% the previous business day, while the average for a 15-year mortgage stayed at 5.12%, the same as the previous business day. A few days ago they were 5.87% and 5.26%, their highest points since at least 2019. (Our daily mortgage rate data only goes back to April 2021, but our data on yearly highs and lows date back to 2020, so we know rates weren’t higher in 2020....

The average rate offered to homebuyers using a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage—the most popular type of home loan—rose to 3.57% from 3.50% the previous business day, matching the 2021 high first reached in late November. The average for a 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 2.61% from 2.58% the previous business day, hitting its highest point since early December. (The latest rates were retrieved on Dec. 30.) Fixed mortgage rates tend to track the direction of 10-year Treasury yields, which usually rise with heightened inflation fears (and fall when those fears subside....

Former President George W. Bush’s administration popularized “too big to fail” during the 2008 financial crisis. The administration used the phrase to describe why it had to bail out some financial companies to avoid worldwide economic collapse. The firms in need of rescue were financial firms that had relied on derivatives to gain a competitive advantage when the economy was booming. When the housing market collapsed, their investments threatened to bankrupt them....

Each century has its own unique economic challenges. The first two decades of the 21st century have been no different in that respect—here are the most economically impactful events that have occurred so far. The crash was fueled by global investor fears about the coronavirus spread, which was anticipated to cause oil price drops and a recession. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic....

Forex Trading Trailing Stop Strategy Example Here is an example, let’s say that you want to go long on EUR/USD, and you set an emergency stop that will be triggered if the market ultimately moves against you. After a day or so, the trade is completely in your favor, so you want to lock in some profit and see what happens. You could set a stop in positive profit territory, and make it a trailing stop....