The Money Plot by Frederick Kaufman Source: Other Press What is money? Why do we need it? These are some of the big questions writer Frederick Kaufman explores in his book “The Money Plot: A History of Currency’s Power to Enchant, Control, and Manipulate,” which was published in the thick of the pandemic. Kaufman, a
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Chef Matt Bolus Source: Kelli LaMatia Like many restaurant owners, Matt Bolus, executive chef of The 404 Kitchen in Nashville, had to get creative when the city shut down due to Covid-19 mandates last spring. He kept some of his core staff busy by cooking meals for the local food bank, private dinners and other
Geber86 | E+ | Getty Images After Janell Ivy lost her job at a daycare center because of the pandemic, she fell behind on her $890 rent. The single mother feared that she and her four children, all under the age of 7, would be evicted from their apartment in Houston. She packed up her
Many Americans are suddenly house rich. On paper, anyway. Soaring home prices have resulted in a record amount of home equity on hand. By the end of last year, roughly 46 million homeowners held a total $7.3 trillion in equity to tap, the largest amount ever recorded, according to Black Knight, a mortgage technology and
A store advertises a Help Wanted sign in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 12, 2021. JIM WATSON | AFP | Getty Images Long-term unemployment fell for the second straight month in May, an encouraging shift away from the recent near-record levels fueled by the economic carnage of the Covid pandemic. Economists classify long-term unemployment as a
MoMo Productions | DigitalVision | Getty Images More than two dozen states are opting out of federal unemployment programs early, meaning nearly 4 million Americans will see their benefits reduced or cut entirely. But monthly payments of the child tax credit, slated to start July 15, may offer a financial lifeline to parents who lose
Siraj Ahmad | iStock | Getty Images More than 10 million Americans, or 14% of U.S. renters, say they aren’t caught up with their housing payments, meaning many could be at risk when the national moratorium on evictions expires in under a month. That finding comes from data collected by the Census Bureau between May
Thomas Trutschel | Photothek | Getty Images Inflation is here and higher interest rates may follow — much to the delight of savers who’ve endured rock-bottom returns on cash and other safe investments since the Great Recession. But inflation is a double-edged sword. Higher prices that consumers pay for goods and services may completely gobble
In this article SPCX Morsa Images | E+ | Getty Images Early in 2021, SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, raised record amounts of money to take private firms public. The frenzy, and recent slump of SPAC shares, could lead to riskier deals in the coming months and years, meaning those looking to invest in
In this article GME AMC BB-CA Mario Tama | Getty Images AMC Entertainment‘s stock continued its wild ride on Wednesday, with the price per share rising more than 100% and prompting a halt to its trading several times. AMC is one of several so-called meme stocks that have seen a surge in interest from individual