The rise of e-commerce has been a disruptive force in the retail sector. In fact, 5,300 store closings were announced in the first half of 2017 — about three times as many as during the same period in 2016. At this pace, the 2017 total should easily exceed the 6,163 store closings in 2008, the [...]

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax-cut package that fundamentally changes the individual and business tax landscape. The centerpiece of the legislation is a permanent reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. Among other business, provisions are a shift to a territorial tax system (in which [...]

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a $1.5 trillion tax cut package, was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The following changes are intended to put the tax treatment of U.S. businesses on more equal footing with their global competitors and to spur business investment in the United States that could drive up economic [...]

After reaching all-time highs on January 26, 2018, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 went into a two-week slide that saw both stock indexes drop by more than 10%, a decline that is typically considered a market correction.1 Analysts have been saying for several years that the long, booming bull market was [...]

On March 8, 2018, President Trump imposed a global tariff of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports.1 A tariff is a tax on a particular class of imported goods or services that is designed to help protect domestic industries from foreign competition. The metals tariffs have not been well received by U.S. [...]

Saving for retirement is complicated, so it's not surprising that a few fundamental guidelines have become popular over the years to help simplify complex ideas. Here are four that you might have come across in reading, researching, or just talking with friends. Like most guidelines, they offer helpful starting points but need to be examined [...]

January is typically a strong month for the municipal bond market, but 2018 began with the worst January performance since 1981, driven by rising interest rates and uncertainty over changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).1 The muni market stabilized through late April 2018, but uncertainty remains.2 The tax law changed the playing field [...]

In April 2018, average hourly earnings for private-sector U.S. workers grew at a 2.6% annual rate, and “real” wage growth (adjusted for inflation) increased just 0.2% year over year. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in the same month, a 17-year low that leaves many people wondering why workers are not seeing corresponding wage increases.1 [...]

The Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of the summer driving season, and — not coincidentally — often a high point in the annual ups and downs of gas prices. This year, almost 37 million drivers hit the road and faced the highest fuel costs since 2014. The national average price for a gallon of [...]