Month: December 2015

With the New Year of 2016 quickly approaching, gold and silver investors are holding their breath. According to Coinworld.com, December proved a bit tricky for bullion sales, though a large dip wasn’t experienced. As we welcome 2016, experts are expecting the prices of gold and silver to stay low, meaning another strong year of sales for gold and silver bullion investors. However, some are questioning just what the low numbers of December mean for the industry. An estimated 2,000 ounces … Continue reading “Gold and Silver Bullion Sales Expected to Stay Strong in 2016”

As 2015 winds to a close and tax season approaches, small business owners got some good news when the limit for a popular tax deduction was drastically increased. According to Time, many entrepreneurs have been anxiously waiting to find out if Congress will pass the tax extenders package, which would raise the fiscal cap for the Section 179 deduction in 2015 from $25,000 to $500,000. On Friday, President Obama signed the new bill, and millions of small business owners simultaneously … Continue reading “Small Business Owners Breathe Sigh of Relief as Congress Raises Tax Deduction Limit”

Since the financial crisis, the housing market has yet to reach the prosperity it once had. But Fox News has reported that U.S. construction spending this year has shown considerable improvement in new housing builds. According to the Commerce Department, construction spending rose by 1% from September to October, leading to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of more than $1.1 trillion. This is the highest rate since the beginning of the recession in December 2007. The largest jump in federal … Continue reading “Is There Room for Home Builders to Return to Their Former Glory?”

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has officially hit U.S. theaters as of Dec. 18, and fans of the science fiction franchise are lining up for the big screen returns of Luke, Leia, and Han. Although fans will likely rejoice over “Episode VII,” experts are nerding out over the film’s release for other reasons. Namely, they want to know what happened to the “galaxy far, far away” after the end of “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.” At the end of … Continue reading “Would the Galactic Economy in ‘Star Wars’ Need a Bailout? This Expert Thinks So”

The U.S. has an aging sewer infrastructure, and cities around the country are struggling to fund improvements. Making matters worse: so-called “flushable” wet-wipes and hygiene products are damaging private and public sewer systems around the country. Now the nation’s largest producers of these flushable wipes, including Procter and Gamble Company (Charmin), KimberlyClark Corporation (Cottonelle), Nice-Pak Products, Professional Disposables International, Tufco Technologies, and Rockline Industries are all named as defendants in a class action lawsuit in federal court. Recently, the Federal … Continue reading “Proctor and Gamble, Cottonelle Face Lawsuit Over ‘Flushable’ Products”

New information on the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act has saved American consumers billions of dollars on late fees, but many financial experts are saying that credit card companies aren’t entirely consumer-friendly yet. According to Reuters and TIME, the legislation (known as CARD) was put into place as a cushion for consumers following the 2008 financial crisis. Between 2011 and 2014, consumers have avoided approximately $20 billion in unnecessary credit card fees, said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. … Continue reading “Americans Have Saved $20 Billion on Credit Card Fees Since 2011 Thanks to Gov’t Regulations”

The cost of health care in the U.S. has been under heavy scrutiny in the past several years, and recent findings suggest that the price disparities between hospitals may be even more extreme than consumers realize. According to Time, a new study has found that the number of hospitals in any given region plays a central role in determining the cost of certain procedures. Additionally, patients on one end of the country “routinely” might have to pay up to eight … Continue reading “New Research Finds Shocking Increase in Health Care Costs among Cities with Fewer Hospitals”