“The recession that just rocked the U.S. economy happened in part because Americans were borrowing and spending more than they could afford. Now, three years after the downturn began, families are moving faster than many analysts had expected to put their finances in order by paying down debt and boosting their savings.”
Are you saving more? Spending less? Do you think saving is good for the economy?
“The World Bank says food prices are at “dangerous levels” and have pushed 44 million more people into poverty since last June.
According to the latest edition of its Food Price Watch, prices rose by 15% in the four months between October 2010 and January this year.
Food price inflation is felt disproportionately by the poor, who spend over half their income on food.”
As a philanthropist, how would you approach the problem of unaffordable food?
“CARACAS, Venezuela — A judge in a tiny courtroom in the Ecuadorean Amazon ruled Monday that the oil giant Chevron was responsible for polluting remote tracts of Ecuadorean jungle and ordered the company to pay more than $9 billion in damages, one of the largest environmental awards ever.”
Is $9 billion enough to cover large-scale destruction of the environment and irreparable damage to human health? Is it too much?
And would knowing that BP has already pledged $20 billion to pay for damages related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill change your mind?
A 401(k) is a retirement account that you don’t have to pay taxes on right away (the technical term is “tax-deferred”). These accounts are generally sponsored by employers, who can use them as a substitute for a traditional pension plan. Unlike a pension plan, which is managed and paid for entirely by the employer, a 401(k) acts as a personal retirement plan. Employees can contribute up to 15% of their salary every year (but no more than $11,000 a year for people under 50, and $12,00 for people over 50), which will not be taxed until they withdraw the money.
The interest, investment earnings and employer contributions (the employer can decide to pitch in to the account, if they want) are also not taxed until the employee withdraws the money. If the money is withdrawn before retirement age (currently 59.5 years old), the account holder faces an early withdrawal penalty fee.
Arbitrage is a trading technique in which an investor (or sometimes a computer program) finds the same instrument (like a stock) offered at a lower price in one market and a higher price in another. The investor then buys the instrument at the lower price and immediately sells it in the other market for a higher price.
A W-2 is a tax form that your employer gives you to help you fill out your federal tax return correctly. Basically, the form adds up all your wages and tips from that particular job. Every employer is required to send you a W-2 before the national tax filing deadline.
But the W-2 isn’t the whole story. If you’ve made money some other way – by working as an independent consultant, for example, or by collecting earnings on your investments, you’ll have to add up and report that income by yourself.