Commercial air travel has plummeted in the pandemic, but interest in private jet service is surging, particularly among people who have not paid to fly privately before. For years, jet service providers have ferried corporate executives and wealthy leisure travelers who paid high fees for the privacy and security. Now, those same companies are shifting […]
How to Get Your Money to Those Who Need It More Than You
As unemployment claims pass 40 million and the anxious people who file them grow more desperate, an altruistic instinct has emerged among those who are more financially secure. But the sheer breadth of the pain is almost overwhelming, and the appeals are everywhere. And the impulse is to help — now — when confronted with […]
529 College Plans Are Hit by Stock Market Turmoil
Families are already wondering what college campuses will look like, post pandemic. They may also be reconsidering the price of a college education, after seeing the toll the virus-induced stock market turmoil took on their 529 college savings plans. The impact of recent market gyrations on the accounts depended on the age of the student […]
Column: What COVID-19 is teaching us about how to reform Medicare
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The COVID-19 pandemic has put a bright spotlight on weaknesses in many of the systems designed to protect Americans from risks. But with older people more susceptible to serious illness and death from the virus, the problems in our Medicare system that were evident pre-pandemic have come into especially sharp relief. FILE […]
Ackman says hedge fund up 27% year to date, dumped Berkshire
FILE PHOTO: William ‘Bill’ Ackman, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) – William Ackman’s hedge fund is boasting double-digit gains at a time many portfolios have sunk along with the economy during the […]
Ackman says portfolio is up as much as 27%, sold Berkshire recently
FILE PHOTO: William ‘Bill’ Ackman, CEO and Portfolio Manager of Pershing Square Capital Management, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) – Billionaire investor William Ackman told investors on Wednesday that his funds have gained as much as 27% this year and that […]
Starboard set to win eight board seats at GCP Applied Technologies-sources
(Reuters) – Hedge fund Starboard Value LP is close to having eight directors elected to the board of GCP Applied Technologies Inc (GCP.N) at the chemical company’s annual meeting, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. While not all votes have been cast before Thursday’s annual meeting and the result could change, preliminary figures […]
Long-Term Summer Rentals is the Latest Trend
Within 24 hours of President Trump’s European travel ban in March, Laura Jones had three inquiries to rent her house in the Catskills for a month. “We had never been able to rent it for more than four days before, and most were for just a weekend,” Ms. Jones said. The house has already had […]
The Pandemic Has Increased Money Anxiety. Therapists Hope to Cure That.
Dale Mackey closed her event space in Knoxville, Tenn., a week before the state issued its orders to end large gatherings. She did not think about the economic ramifications of shuttering her business, the Central Collective; she said it was the right thing to do to reduce the spread of the virus. Work dried up […]
Interest Rate on Federal College Loans Is About to Hit a Record Low
The coronavirus may be upending the way colleges operate, but at least students and their families will get a break if they borrow money from the government for an education. The interest rate on new federal student loans for undergraduates will fall to a record low this summer. Those students will pay a rate of […]
Northern Trust shutting fund; an outlier or sign of future risk?
FILE PHOTO: An employee walks past a company logo at Northern Trust offices in London, Britain August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville BOSTON (Reuters) – Northern Trust Corp’s decision to liquidate a $1.8-billion prime money market fund was seen as an outlier event by industry analysts on Wednesday, but one that could portend more problems depending […]
Retirement services provider Human Interest extends funding round to $50 million
(Reuters) – Human Interest, which helps small and medium-sized businesses set up 401K plans for employees, said on Wednesday it had extended its Series C funding round to $50 million due to more demand during the coronavirus crisis. The San Francisco-based startup said the additional funding of $10 million was led by investment firm Glynn […]
U.S. bank regulator finalizes new community lending rule
FILE PHOTO: The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is seen in the financial district of lower Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, U.S., April 26, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. banking regulator announced on Wednesday it had finalized work on a long-running effort to change […]
Northern Trust shutting fund in latest prime money market stress
BOSTON (Reuters) – Northern Trust Corp (NTRS.O) said it will liquidate a $1.8 billion prime money market fund, one of a number to come under stress this year as investors withdraw cash. In filings on Monday Northern Trust of Chicago said its fund board determined to liquidate and terminate its Prime Obligations Portfolio (NPAXX.O) around […]
Getting Help With Your Mortgage
If you are having trouble paying your mortgage or have already paused your monthly payments through a forbearance, here are some resources that may help: A guide to mortgage relief options from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers a tool to find out who owns your mortgage. The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers […]
Mortgage Relief Du
As the owner of a small marketing agency in central Florida, Edith Duran quickly found herself in a difficult spot as the coronavirus pandemic crippled the local businesses she counts as clients. She couldn’t draw her full salary in February, and by March, she was seeking relief on her mortgage. She was allowed to pause […]
Dealing With the Dark Side of Low Interest Rates
The extraordinarily low interest rates in place today are a boon when you’re buying a house, refinancing a mortgage, leasing a car or paying off student debt. If you qualify for a loan, low rates can help you spend less and get more. But there is a dark side to falling interest rates. While they […]
One Side Effect of the Virus: Free Credit Reports Each Week
The economic turmoil caused by the coronavirus has prompted a helpful — if temporary — change in the window that Americans have into their credit files. You can now get free copies of your credit report from the three big credit bureaus each week. That’s right: weekly. That’s an improvement over the one-free-report-a-year quota that […]
Your small business and COVID-19 questions, answered
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Small businesses are among the hardest hit as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause economic uncertainty in communities across the United States. FILE PHOTO: A deli is seen closed, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen […]
U.S.-based stock funds post $3.2 billion weekly inflow: Lipper
(Reuters) – U.S.-based stock funds posted $3.2 billion in inflows in the week ended on Wednesday, according to Lipper. U.S. taxable bond funds attracted $10.35 billion, the fifth straight weekly inflow, while money market funds drew $20.3 billion, Lipper data showed on Thursday. Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters […]
Florida business lender accused of accounting fraud settles with SEC
BOSTON (Reuters) – Miami-area direct lending firm TCA Fund Management Group Corp and its affiliates reached a settlement with U.S. securities regulators over allegations of fraudulent revenue recognition that inflated the value of its private funds, according to a judgment on Wednesday entered in Miami federal court. The TCA entities, including its flagship TCA Global […]
401(k) Rollover F.A.Q.: What You Need to Know
Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs as the coronavirus ravages the economy, bringing the unemployment rate to a Great Depression-level 14.7 percent — and many are looking for emergency lifelines to meet living expenses. Retirement accounts will be a tempting option. Last year, about 63 million households had defined contribution plan accounts, […]
There’s Money Stuck in Your Dependent Care Account. Now What?
You did everything right. You read the email from human resources and signed up for a dependent care account. Your employer siphons pretax money from your paycheck, and you’ll get a little back upon request after paying each day care bill, or in a lump sum after covering summer camp costs. Except now your day […]
What Happens If You Are Sued by a Debt Collector?
Americans wrestled with debt-collection lawsuits long before the coronavirus hit, a new report finds. Now, a surge of the suits may swamp consumers who lost their jobs in the pandemic and can’t afford to pay their bills. The report, published Wednesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit research group, said debt lawsuits were already […]
The Pandemic Has Slowed the Divorce Process. Here’s What to Expect.
When state and local governments announced shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread the coronavirus, predictions that the lockdowns would force a reckoning in bad marriages and lead to a rise in the divorce rate abounded. The forecast has not come to pass, but lawyers are seeing plenty of obstacles for couples who no longer want […]
Global hedge funds post April gains but still negative for the year: data
BOSTON (Reuters) – Global hedge funds posted their biggest monthly gain in more than a decade in April when stocks rocketed higher with the help of government rescue packages designed to fuel growth stalled by the coronavirus outbreak, according to new data on Thursday. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index climbed 4.8% last month, marking […]
U.S. stock funds shed $10.8 million in week: Lipper
(Reuters) – U.S.-based stock funds posted $10.8 billion in outflows in the week ended ON Wednesday, according to Lipper. U.S. taxable bond funds attracted $11.9 billion, the fourth straight weekly inflow, while money market funds draw $32.8 billion, the tenth inflow in as many weeks, Lipper data showed on Thursday. Reporting by Alden Bentley; Editing […]
Where is My Stimulus Payment? Here's What You Need to Check.
It’s been weeks since people started getting coronavirus relief payments. You’ve checked and rechecked your eligibility, just to be sure. But still, no $1,200 stimulus payment has arrived in your bank account or mailbox. Perhaps $3,400 is riding on this for you, your spouse and your two children, for whom you’re supposed to get $500 […]
My Retirement Plan Is You
Sian-Pierre Regis, 35, is used to living with roommates. For the past 10 years, he has split the rent on his apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan with two (in some cases, three) friends. But in June, he’s getting a co-tenant of a different sort: his 78-year-old mother, Rebecca Danigelis. “I don’t think either […]
Colleges Won’t Refund Tuition. Autumn May Force a Reckoning.
If you didn’t get what you paid for, and the thing you bought cost five figures, it stands to reason that you’d get some of your money back. But that is not what is happening with the nation’s residential undergraduate institutions this spring. While many offered partial refunds of room and board, administrators have held […]
Fund managers fish for dividend plays amid sharp cuts
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Some dividend fund managers are wading back into the shares of battered railroad stocks, energy companies and other economically sensitive, cyclical names, even as a host of companies have slashed their payouts. Cyclical stocks were among the worst-hit S&P 500 sectors in March’s sell-off, with the group .SPLRCD losing as much […]
Help! My Flight Was Canceled and I Still Can’t Get a Refund
Travel and travel planning are being disrupted by the worldwide spread of the coronavirus. For the latest updates, read The New York Times’s Covid-19 coverage here. Dear Tripped Up, In September 2019 B.C. — “before coronavirus” — my family and I booked a round-trip flight from Tampa, Fla., to London with British Airways, scheduled to […]
Health Savings Accounts Now Cover Telehealth and Coronavirus Testing
People with a health savings account now have more flexibility in how they use the money because of rule changes prompted by the coronavirus outbreak. Health savings accounts, or H.S.A.s, let people save and invest for health and medical costs. The accounts have multiple tax benefits. Money is deposited into an H.S.A. tax free and […]
In Philanthropy, Race Is Still a Factor in Who Gets What, Study Shows
Philanthropy often sets out to mitigate inequality. But a research report set to be released next week by two leading philanthropic organizations shows that race remains a defining factor when looking at which organizations get funded and how much they receive. Nonprofit organizations led by black and Latino executive directors lag behind peer organizations with […]
For Most Food Stamp Users, Online Shopping Isn’t an Option
Whether they need more yeast for stress baking or the comfort of Kraft macaroni and cheese, Americans sequestered by social distancing are shopping for groceries online. But for many low-income households using food stamps, that can happen only in person. About 38 million people receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but how they […]
Your unemployment questions, answered
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. jobless claims have exceeded 30 million since the coronavirus outbreak hit the country, wiping out a decade of job gains and sending many Americans scrambling to find work and cash in on government aid. FILE PHOTO: A person walks by the entrance of the New York State Department of Labor […]
US money market assets increased in latest week: iMoneyNet
NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) – U.S. money market fund assets increased by $72.69 billion to $4.652 trillion in the week ended April 28, the Money Fund Report said on Wednesday. Taxable money market fund assets increased by $74.71 billion to $4.515 trillion, while tax-free assets decreased by $2.02 billion to $137.21 billion, according to […]
Fear, sticker shock over health insurance greet laid-off workers
NEW YORK (Reuters) – If you were laid off in April, the health insurance from your job may stop at the end of the month. Then what? Rest assured there are options, even if they are all expensive. If you are losing a workplace plan, you will get paperwork explaining your benefits under the Consolidated […]
How to Ask a College for More Financial Aid
It is rarely easy to summon the will to ask for help, especially if you’re seeking more financial aid from what you believe to be your first-choice college. But this spring, the traditional time of award letters and admission deposits, is unlike any other. Normally there is an orderly process: Current and prospective students scrutinize […]
Scaramucci's SkyBridge hit with heavy redemption requests as fund fell: letter
BOSTON (Reuters) – Investors in SkyBridge Capital asked for hundreds of millions of dollars back after the fund suffered a 23% loss in March when investments made by its debt-focused hedge fund managers soured, Anthony Scaramucci wrote in a letter to clients, saying he was “embarrassed” by the loss. FILE PHOTO: Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and […]
Denied, Deferred and Ignored: 13 Applications, and No Relief
In 17 years, Graceann Dorse and her husband, Christopher Webb, have built their cinematography and special effects firm, FX WRX, into a significant creative and economic force in New York, navigating natural and financial disasters along the way. They weathered the Great Recession in 2007-9 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which wiped out their first […]
Beware the Fees That Come With Some Money Transfers on Apps
Money transfer apps, which allow you to quickly pay friends and family through your smartphone, have grown in popularity in recent years. And the coronavirus pandemic has only expanded their use — to pay gig workers, make donations or simply avoid using cash. The apps have even been promoted as a way to receive government […]
Venture firm Benchmark raises new fund without early Uber investor: source
FILE PHOTO: Bill Gurley, General Partner at Benchmark, presents during the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters) – The Silicon Valley venture capital firm known for its early backing of companies such as Uber Technologies Inc is raising a new fund, but without one of […]
Battered U.S. oil ETF to diversify investment in later-dated oil contracts
(Reuters) – The United States Oil Fund LP, the largest oil-focused exchange-traded product (ETP) in the country, is moving to spread out its investments in oil futures in response to extreme market turbulence, it said in a filing here on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Natural gas flares are seen at an oil pump site outside of […]
Securities group asks SEC to intervene for brokers in audit-trail database fight
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission logo adorns an office door at the SEC headquarters in Washington, June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. brokers should not be forced to sign an agreement that could make them liable for breaches of a massive new industry trading database that they […]
Your Money: Stimulus check confusion? Common questions, answered
NEW YORK (Reuters) – In a little over a year, when Americans file their 2020 tax returns, much of what is going on with coronavirus-linked stimulus payments will finally add up. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: U.S. currency is seen in this picture illustration taken March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Illustration Until then, prepare for confusion. Think […]
Finances
Two days before learning that she would lose her job, Lissa Gilliam spent hundreds of dollars online on baby products. A 37-year-old expectant mother, Ms. Gilliam had planned to ask local parents in Seattle for used strollers and secondhand onesies in a bid to reduce waste. But as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the area, new […]
Making the Most of Hotel Loyalty Programs When You’re Not Traveling
Travel and travel planning are being disrupted by the worldwide spread of the coronavirus. For the latest updates, read The New York Times’s Covid-19 coverage here. You got a fancy hotel credit card thinking that you’d travel often this year and redeem your free-night benefit during a luxury beach vacation. Then came coronavirus. Losing out […]
Some U.S. fund managers risk long-term bets on tanking oil sector
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Some U.S. fund managers are attempting what seems like an impossible task: making bets on the stocks and bonds of energy companies at a time when oil futures have sunk to historic lows and a swelling global glut shows no sign of letting up. FILE PHOTO: Natural gas flares are seen […]
Who Owes You a Refund? Should You Even Ask?
Among the financially unlucky right now, one question reigns supreme: Which bills can I simply not pay and for how long? A second is right behind it, and perhaps even more fraught: Who ought to give me my money back? Millions of people are wondering about refunds from airlines, concert venues and tuition-charging institutions that […]