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COVID-19 caused the market’s third entry into bear territory since the bull market began in March 2009. The good news is that the market recovered 50% of its losses by April 28, opening at 2,909 despite the widespread damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. It held steady through May 11, 2020, when it opened at 2,915. Investments for a Volatile Market Conventional wisdom would have investors moving into the defensive sectors—health care, defense, utilities, consumer staples—and that has happened....

If you participate in a 401(k), you’ll pay fees that can vary significantly from plan to plan, and they aren’t always obvious. You’ll need to make a conscious effort to figure out what your fees are, which is good to know, because you may be able to reduce them. Your 401(k) fees typically fall into one of three categories. Learn how these fees work and who pays them. Types of 401(k) Fees There are three main types of 401(k) fees: administrative, investment, and service....

While there aren’t any rigid rules when it comes to placing stop orders, there are some generally accepted guidelines. For example, forex day traders might set up stops just outside the daily price range of the currency pairs traded. This way, if the market direction that initially prompted the trade suddenly reverses, the stop loss protects the position. In another example, those who favor a swing trading style might set stop losses further into loss territory—perhaps two to three times greater than the average daily trading range....

The Bottom Line Is the Outcome of All of the Work of the Business It is not uncommon to hear some variation of the phrase, “we are managing to the bottom line.” It is a misnomer. A company may set bottom line profit targets, but circumstances in the marketplace (and the firm’s strategy and operations) ultimately combine to create the revenues and costs that determine the bottom line. For example, an organization chooses to invest its resources in a strategy to find and keep customers....

Your Experience Rating Worksheet and Modifier Are Issued by a Rating Authority Experience modifiers are calculated by a workers’ compensation rating organization. A modifier that’s less than 1.0 will reduce your annual premium while a modifier greater than 1.0 will increase your premium. If your business operates in one of the NCCI states, your modifier should be calculated by the NCCI. If your business operates in a monopolistic or independent state, your modifier is likely calculated by your state’s workers’ compensation rating bureau....

When women are paid less because of their gender, it is a form of sex discrimination and is illegal. The following statistics show how women are often underpaid in the United States. Women Earn Less Than Men Across the Board A woman working full-time on average earns 83 cents for every dollar a man earns, and women’s median annual earnings are more than $10,000 less than men’s.Meanwhile, the pay gap is larger for women of color as Black women make 63 cents and Latinx women make 58 cents....

The U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department reported today, higher than the 250,000 gain that economists had forecast. While job growth slowed from the revised May increase of 384,000, the number confirms that the labor market remains strong, even as the Federal Reserve considers raising interest rates again and Americans worry about a potential recession. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6%, in line with expectations, and now sits just above the pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 3....

However, they aren’t the right choice for all homeowners. How To Use a HELOC for Home Renovation If your renovation is ongoing or requires you to make a series of payments over time, a HELOC can be a good choice. That’s because this loan works much like a credit card. Your lender will approve you to borrow a certain limit based on how much equity you have in the property....

Over the next few weeks, all of the roughly 70 million users of the app will be able to buy, sell, or hold four different cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, the mobile payment service said. Clicking “Crypto” in the Venmo app’s menu gets users started. They can also access in-app guides and videos to answer commonly asked questions or learn more about cryptocurrencies in general, and they can share their experiences through the Venmo feed....

If you don’t have car insurance, any damage to your vehicle will result in an out-of-pocket payment, but you really want to avoid that scenario—even if you live in a state where car insurance isn’t mandated by law. Where such insurance is required, you’ll face steep legal penalties in addition to financial repercussions regardless of where you live if you get into an accident or cause other damage with your vehicle while uninsured....

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not mandate that employers pay employees for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays. Paid holidays, paid vacation, and paid sick leave are determined by the employer (or negotiated by the employee’s representative, such as a union). An employee with paid holidays typically receives a day off with pay for certain holidays, most often those recognized by the federal government. According to the U....

Paying a premium for a bond may not seem like a good financial decision on its face, but there are times when premium bonds can protect against changes in the interest rate. Learn how they work and what they mean for individual investors. Definition and Examples of Premium Bonds A premium bond is a bond that trades above its par value. Bonds are issued by a business or a federal, state, or local government to raise capital....

Understanding your bank statement can help you learn more about your money habits and make better financial choices. Let’s take a look at what’s included in a bank statement and how it can provide you with a detailed picture of your finances. What Is a Bank Statement? Your bank statement details all of the transactions made with your account in a month. By looking at your bank statement, you can see all of the money that has come into your account and out of your account in one place....

Definition and Examples of a Chattel Mortgage A chattel mortgage is a type of mortgage used to purchase movable property, like a manufactured home, but not the land the property sits on. Lenders more commonly refer to chattel loans by the type of property being financed, such as a mobile home loan or farm equipment loan. Alternate name: Security agreement How Does a Chattel Mortgage Work? A chattel mortgage is used to purchase movable personal property, other than real estate, which serves as collateral for the loan until it’s repaid....

One example of a credit card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. It offers cardholders rewards in the form of points that can be redeemed for things like airline miles and more. How Do Credit Cards Work? To make a purchase at a brick-and-mortar retailer, you typically insert the credit card into a card reader so it can read the security chip on the card. You may also be asked to enter your billing ZIP code....

For example, if a credit card issuer has charged off $1.4 billion of credit card debt during the year, and it has $100 billion of average credit card debt outstanding, its credit card charge-off rate is 1.4%. The charge-off rate can be determined with charge-offs from different time periods, such as monthly or quarterly. Then, that month’s or quarter’s charge-offs are annualized (multiplied by 12 in the case of a month or four in the case of a quarter)....

Deposits come in several forms. Cash Deposits If you take cash to a bank teller or ATM and ask them to add it to your checking or savings account, this is a cash deposit. Deposit Accounts Bank accounts that let you deposit and withdraw money are called deposit accounts. They can include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as CDs. Demand Deposits Your checking account’s deposits are generally available “on demand,” which is why they’re sometimes called demand deposit accounts, transaction deposits, or current accounts....

The graduated repayment plan is one among several options to lower your initial payments when your income is low. Over time, your monthly payment increases—the idea being that as your income and finances improve, you’re more able to handle the payments. What Is the Graduated Repayment Plan? Under the graduated repayment plan, your payments start low and then increase every two years, and the repayment term is determined by how much you owe in federal student loans....

Typically, employers institute hiring freezes when business is flat or in decline. However, companies may also use hiring freezes to protect profits even when business is relatively stable. Examples of a Hiring Freeze In 2022, Facebook’s parent company Meta instituted a hiring freeze across most teams in the wake of a decline in quarterly revenue and profits. The New York Times reported that the hiring freeze would affect engineers and some data scientists....

Your will should name your primary beneficiaries and what they are to receive from your estate. If you want your brother Joe to inherit your classic car, the will should say that. But it should go one step further and state who would receive the car if Joe were to predecease you. The probate process is necessary to move ownership of many of your assets to living individuals. Not leaving a will won’t avoid it unless you’ve formed an alternate estate plan, such as a living trust....