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Learn more about when hazard pay is given, who might receive it, and how it is paid. What Is Hazard Pay? Some employers provide additional pay for workers performing hazardous duties or for work involving physical hardship. Hazard pay is an increase in wages for employees who work in hazardous conditions. There is no law requiring employers to pay hazard pay: Both the amount of the pay and the conditions under which it is paid are determined by the employer....

Morsa Images / Getty Images Learn how indexed universal life insurance works, what to watch out for, and its alternatives. Definition of Indexed Universal Life (IUL) Insurance Like any life insurance policy, indexed universal life provides a death benefit if the insured person passes while the policy is in force. As a universal life insurance policy, the premiums are flexible—you can potentially delay or skip premiums as long as your cash value continues to pay your policy’s internal costs—and you may be able to increase the death benefit....

Learn the types of intellectual property and how the rights of their creators can be protected. Definition and Examples of Intellectual Property Intellectual property, also known as “IP,” is an overall term for ownership of and rights to creative works. It includes inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce and business. Intellectual property owners have specific exclusive rights to their creations. For example, creators of literary works have the right to:...

You can use MPT to choose the investments in your portfolio. MPT most often promotes a buy-and-hold strategy with occasional rebalancing. Alternate name: Mean-variance analysisAcronym: MPT Investing in growth stocks may carry a higher risk of loss when compared to the overall market. As a result, a portfolio might have a portion allocated to bonds. If the stock market and growth stocks decline, the bond investments would still earn interest and experience less volatility, offsetting, in part, the market risk of the equity portion of the portfolio....

You can see if a product is experiencing shrinkflation by comparing the price and size over time. For example, Charmin previously sold 396 sheets of two-ply Ultra Soft toilet paper for the same price as it sold a pack of 366 sheets of two-ply Ultra Soft toilet paper in July 2022. You may think that shrinkflation is a deceptive or unfair practice, but it is not illegal as long as a business is not being deceptive or engaging in unfair practices....

Let’s look in more detail at what a standard deviation means for investors. Definition and Examples of a Standard Deviation in Investing The term “standard deviation” can be used in many areas of statistics and can involve some complex mathematics. For investing purposes, you can think of standard deviation as simply a volatility metric. The standard deviation essentially tells you how much investment returns tend to deviate from a particular set of historical data that could be measured either against itself (past prices of the same security) or as compared to some average or “benchmark....

The U.S. monthly count of the trade deficit decreased to $87.1 billion in April. Meanwhile, U.S. exports increased by $8.5 billion over March’s numbers to $252.6 billion. Imports were down $12.1 billion over March, totaling $339.7 billion. Exports reduce the deficit while imports have the opposite effect. Annual U.S. Trade Deficit The annual trade deficit for 2021 was $859.1 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The U....

Even though it can be a frustrating situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t get the job. It can happen even when the hiring manager is very interested in interviewing you, and everyone’s intentions are good. What to Do If Your Phone Interviewer Doesn’t Call The reason for missing your call can be something as simple as a miscommunication or an inadvertent time mix-up on the part of your interviewer....

Contact Your Bank Report any missing ATM or debit cards to your bank first, since they are tied to money in your checking or savings accounts. Usually, the bank will ask you to review your recent account transactions to verify that you made them. Next, the bank will put an alert on your account to try to catch any future instances of fraud. The bank will also place a hold on your cards so that they can no longer be used....

On April 20, 2022, PayPal Key was officially discontinued and is no longer available to use. According to PayPal, its Key product was discontinued in order to streamline its services and focus on its current debit card product. All transactions made using PayPal Key after April 20, 2022, will be denied. What Was PayPal Key? PayPal has an ever-growing suite of payment services, so it’s easy to get confused. PayPal Key was a workaround for when you want to use PayPal, but an online retailer doesn’t offer the PayPal button on its site....

But that’s not the case for all workers. Many workers who earn a lower wage, work in certain sectors, or live in some regions don’t have access to paid sick days on the job. Learn about when employees get paid sick leave, federal and state laws governing paid leave, the average number of sick days employers provide, and how to handle time off from work when you don’t get sick leave....

You may be afraid to invest because you do not understand the market or because you are intimidated by the initial investment options in many mutual funds. While it’s always better to begin investing sooner rather than later, there are a few things you should consider before you begin building your investment portfolio. Are You Financially Fit? You should check where you are from a financial standpoint. It does not make sense to invest money if you have a significant amount of debt and no emergency fund....

Home loan refinancings typically fall into one of two categories: cash-out or no-cash-out. A cash-out refinance lets you swap your existing mortgage for a bigger one, so you can access extra cash. With a no-cash-out refinance, on the other hand, you replace your existing loan with a new one that has a different (usually lower) interest rate or term, but you generally don’t get any cash back. If you’re contemplating refinancing your mortgage, here’s what you need to know to help you decide between a no-cash-out and a cash-out refinance....

Still, there are some times when lowering your asking price is the right move. Before you do, there are a few questions to ask yourself so you can determine your home-price-reduction strategy. Are You Selling in a Buyer’s Market? Demand falls when the market is slow, and inventory is high. If that’s the case, and you don’t absolutely have to sell right now, then it may be wise to take your home off the market until things improve....

Let’s look at how bankruptcy stacks up against one of its more popular competitors, the debt management plan. What Is a Debt Management Plan? A debt management plan, or DMP for short, is a program offered by a credit counselor to help you gain control of your unsecured debt by making one monthly payment to the credit counseling agency, which divvies it up among your creditors. Most DMPs work like this:...

Unless you’re self-employed, taxpayers cannot deduct the expenses associated with tax preparation. In this article, you’ll learn more about how the tax preparation deduction works and if you’re eligible for it. Who Can Still Deduct Tax Preparation Fees? Only the self-employed can claim a deduction for tax preparation fees in tax years 2018 through 2025, if Congress does not renew legislation from the TCJA. This means that if you own a business as a sole proprietor, you are eligible for this deduction, and can claim it on Schedule C....

Borrowing against your home can be risky, however, so it may be comforting to know that there are a number of regulators overseeing the lending industry to ensure that the process is transparent and aboveboard—and that you’re not overextending yourself. Learn more about home equity loan regulators and their roles, as well as the key laws and rules that keep consumers protected. What Are Home Equity Loans and HELOCs? Home equity lending allows homeowners to borrow from the equity, or the amount of their home they own....

Daniella Flores, a software engineer who identifies as nonbinary, can speak to the truth of the statistics. In 2020, while the COVID-19 pandemic was ever-present, Flores moved from St. Louis, Missouri, to Port Orchard, Washington, with their wife. When they arrived in Washington, the couple was navigating together the new homebuying landscape of Zillow listings and virtual home tours for the first time—Flores as a first-time homebuyer and their wife as a second-time buyer....

Microenterprises (businesses with 1 to 4 employees) have a slightly lower business failure rate than other small businesses; after five years in business, 70.4 percent of micro-enterprises survived compared with 66.9 percent of other small businesses (Ibid). Why Small Businesses Fail According to an Industry Canada study, “the main reason for (business) failure is inexperienced management. Managers of bankrupt firms do not have the experience, knowledge, or vision to run their businesses” Failing Concerns: Business Bankruptcies in Canada....

A laptop insurance contract can help by providing a measure of security against life’s unforeseen incidents. Below, we explore how laptop insurance can be different from other coverages you have, its potential costs, and if you need it. Do You Need Insurance for a Laptop? You may already have some coverage for your laptop if you have a homeowners or renters policy. The personal property coverage in these policies typically covers damage and destruction to your personal belongings if it’s from a covered peril, such as fire and some types of water damage....