An attendant holds 1-kilogram gold bars on Feb. 17, 2025. Akos Stiller/Bloomberg via Getty Images Gold prices are popping. But investors should avoid the temptation to chase a shiny object, investment experts said. The SPDR Gold Shares fund (GLD), which tracks the price of gold bullion, is up about 11% in 2025 as of 2 p.m.
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The average tax refund is 10.4% lower than last year according to the latest Internal Revenue Service data, and inflation is taking more of those dollars. Bill Oxford | E+ | Getty Images The average tax refund this year is down 32.4% compared to last year, according to early filing data from the IRS. Tax
Students walk through the University of Texas at Austin on February 22, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images Amid President Donald Trump’s threats to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and recent reports that Elon Musk‘s secretive government slashing effort, the Department of Government Efficiency, had gained access to confidential student loan
Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Although a broader window for Medicare enrollment has closed, some retirees have another opportunity to make changes to their coverage. Medicare Advantage open enrollment is available from Jan. 1 through March 31. Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private insurers as an alternative to original Medicare. Generally,
Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images There’s a lesser-known tax break for low- to moderate-income Americans who save for retirement. However, most eligible taxpayers don’t claim it, experts say. The retirement savings contributions credit, or saver’s credit, helps offset funds added to an individual retirement account, 401(k) plan or another workplace plan. The tax break
Elon Musk speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S., Feb. 20, 2025. Nathan Howard | Reuters A federal judge in Maryland on Monday granted a temporary restraining order barring staffers from Elon Musk‘s secretive government-slashing effort, the Department of Government Efficiency, from accessing the personal information of millions of student loan
Protestors in New York City demonstrate against the push by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who leads the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, to gut federal services and impose mass layoffs, Feb. 19, 2025. Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers may ultimately amount to the biggest job
Although inflation has eased considerably, in many ways, it is still alive and well. The consumer price index, which measures the cost of a wide-ranging basket of goods and services, has fallen gradually from a 9.1% pandemic-era peak in June 2022 to 3% in January. But it is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. “The progress toward 2%
Damircudic | E+ | Getty Images Student loan borrowers who expected smaller monthly payments under the new Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan received some bad news on Feb. 18, when a U.S. appeals court blocked the program. As a result, millions of people will need to switch to a new repayment plan
Protesters demonstrate in support of federal workers outside of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Feb. 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images On Feb. 11, Elizabeth Aniskevich, an attorney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, received a notice that she was being terminated immediately. “I was completely shocked,”