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The Internal Revenue Service’s general rule is that “an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.” A more workable definition of independent contractor status comes from common law principles which focus on the method of compensation. If an individual is on your payroll and receives a steady paycheck, clearly that the person is an employee rather than an independent contractor....

The value of all the stocks in the S&P 500 benchmark stock index was 1.79 times the size of the entire economic output of the country for the year as of Thursday, according to data compiled by Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist of Jones Trading Co., and shown in the chart below. And stocks continued to go up on Monday after the announcement that President Joe Biden would nominate Jerome Powell for another term as chair of the Federal Reserve....

Depending on your card, purchase protection may be called “Purchase Assurance,” “Purchase Security,” or “Damage and Theft Protection.” Find out more about how credit card protection works, standard exclusions, and some standout cards offering purchase protection. What Is Credit Card Purchase Protection? If you purchase an item with your card, and then that item is stolen or damaged, you may be able to recover the cost to repair or replace it, up to the item’s original price....

Debit Cards With Cash Back Rewards The days of widespread cash back, debit card rewards are pretty much behind us. As a result of the 2008 financial crisis and new laws that limit how much banks can charge for debit card transactions, the money just isn’t there anymore. Several debit cards still offer cash back, but they’re much less generous than before. In some cases, you can use rewards to get gift cards, which might be the next best thing to cash....

However, many consumers are shocked when debt collectors continue calling them even after they’ve added their number to the registry. Before you get angry, realize the National Do Not Call Registry is likely working as it should. The reason you’re still getting collection calls is that the registry doesn’t apply to debt collectors. The Purpose of the Do Not Call Registry The National Do Not Call Registry was created to stop unwanted calls from telemarketers....

Demand for second homes fell 19.3% year-over-year in August, according to an analysis by real estate firm Redfin. That was a much steeper drop-off than the 1% year-over-over dip in demand for primary residences and the third straight month that interest in vacation properties was below where it was the year before. The three straight declines have come after a hot year for vacation homes, with 13 straight months of year-over-year increases between May 2020 and May 2021, as the chart below shows....

Role in the Mortgage Market Fannie and Freddie were government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Like private companies, they had to be competitive to maintain their stock prices. At the same time, the federal government implicitly guaranteed the value of the mortgages they resold on the secondary market. That caused them to hold less capital to support their mortgages in case of loss. As a result, Fannie and Freddie were pressured to take on risk to be profitable....

What Is Considered a Moped? If your scooter has an engine that is smaller than 50 cubic centimeters and can’t drive faster than 40 miles per hour, then it is likely classified as a moped. With low speeds, mopeds aren’t generally meant to travel on highways. In some states, such as Nebraska, the use of pedals along with a motor is a defining characteristic of mopeds. Other states may have different definitions, so it’s important to check the guidance of the state where you live....

It’s unlikely that the open house will draw much of a crowd unless the seller’s home is located in an extremely popular neighborhood with busy streets nearby. It’s possible that a buyer who cruised through might come back later to buy, but that probably would have happened even without the open house. Are the Visitors Active Homebuyers? Most buyers who are seriously shopping for a home are working with real estate agents....

In the past, HSAs only allowed you to use funds for prescription medications and not for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, but that has changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Here, we’ll explore how. HSA Basics To open to an HSA, you must be covered under a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) and not enrolled in Medicare. You can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return from the year prior, nor can you be covered under any health plan other than an HDHP....

If you need some extra space at home and decide to rent a storage unit for some of your belongings, are those items still covered by your renters insurance? In most cases, yes. However, you should expect limits on the amount of coverage offered on items in storage units. Learn more about renters insurance coverage for stored items and what options are available to protect your belongings in storage....

Licensing Levels In some states, every real estate professional is licensed as a broker, such as in Colorado and New Mexico. However, even if you are licensed as an independent broker, you must attain another higher-level license if you want to hire agents or other brokers to work under you. There can be considerable risk involved if agents are not properly trained and supervised, particularly with regard to fair housing and environmental regulations....

The U.S. economy added 428,000 jobs in April, keeping pace with its March gain and more than fulfilling the 400,000 jobs economists had expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.Although the pace of growth in March and April was the smallest in recent months, the steady contributions mean the U.S. is only about 1.2 million jobs shy of restoring all 22 million jobs lost in the pandemic and could reach a full recovery by summer....

When you are writing a resume for an entry-level position, it will be more general than when you write a resume targeted for a higher-level job. It will likely contain more information related to your education, internships, and volunteer work than a resume for a mid-career candidate. Learn how to write your entry-level resume in a way that showcases your skills, achievements, and aptitudes, and you’ll stand out from the competition....

For example, consider women in financial management. As the chart below shows, they made an average of $68,737 in 2019, 33% less on average than men in the same field—one of the bigger gaps of the hundreds of occupations tracked by the Census Bureau. Other professions with larger-than-average gaps included judges and judicial workers (women made 30% less than men) and real estate brokers (27% less). Some of the occupations with the smallest gaps were pharmacist (5%), registered nurse (7%) and graphic designer (8%)....

There were 2,567 ETFs on the market as of June 30, 2021, with almost $6.58 trillion of assets under management. Learn about ETF strategies and how you can use them in your portfolio. Why ETFs Are Good for Your Portfolio ETFs are an affordable way to invest in many stocks, bonds, or other assets. They give you diversification and professional money management. Baskets of securities are traded on exchanges such as the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)....

The widely-anticipated move, announced Wednesday afternoon, brings the crucial fed funds rate to a range of 3 to 3.25% and signals the central bank’s determination to keep raising interest rates until inflation is vanquished. My colleagues and I are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2% goal. We have both the tools we need and the resolve that it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families and businesses,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference....

Yellen’s experience as a former Fed chair gives her a unique advantage as Treasury secretary. She will coordinate U.S. fiscal policy with the monetary policy of the current Fed chair Jerome Powell, with whom she worked closely while both were on the Fed board. Powell followed in Yellen’s footsteps by continuing to gradually raise interest rates. What Does the Secretary of the Treasury Do? As secretary of the treasury, Yellen is the chief financial officer for the federal government....

Don Mason / Getty Images Commission-based: All compensation comes from commissions on the products they sell. Fees and commissions (also known as fee-based): Advisors are compensated partly by fees from clients and partly from commissions. Fee-only: Advisors are only compensated by clients and do not receive any product-specific commissions. A fee-only advisor is the only one of these three that receives compensation that is not tied to the products they sell....

The survey highlights the difficult balancing act the Federal Reserve is facing as it attempts to restrain inflation without wrecking the economy. The Fed’s main anti-inflation tactic—raising its benchmark interest rate—is meant to discourage households and businesses from borrowing and spending, which should put supply and demand more in balance. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged this week that the benchmark rate is a blunt instrument, and using it carries a risk of slowing the economy to the point where unemployment increases and people suffer....