MoneyWatch

While inflation and elevated interest rates have hurt the wallets of millions of American borrowers, there has been a silver lining: high returns on savings accounts. In today’s inflationary climate, it’s not difficult to find a high-yield savings account with an interest rate of 4.5% or higher— or a certificate of deposit (CD) with a rate over 5%. Select savers …

Filing for bankruptcy can be a challenging and overwhelming period in your financial journey. But while the bankruptcy process can be tough, and can result in serious financial hurdles, it’s also a relatively common option to choose. For example, annual bankruptcy filings totaled 452,990 in 2023, according to a report from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts — an …

Credit card debt forgiveness has been a hot topic as of late. With the federal funds rate target frozen at a 23-year high, credit card interest rates have risen significantly in recent years. And since interest makes up a sizable portion of credit card minimum payments, many are dealing with higher monthly payments today than they were just a couple …

Credit card debt can be overwhelming, especially in today’s high-rate environment. And, since the majority of a credit card’s minimum monthly payment is interest, rising interest rates can result in larger credit card bills. Combine that with the increasing costs of consumer goods and it’s easy to see how many people are facing financial hardship. So, what can you do …

Inflation remained stubbornly high in January, possibly pushing back any interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Still, the long line graph indicates a cooling trend, albeit a bumpy one. Nevertheless, lenders have already begun lowering mortgage rates in anticipation of any cuts to the federal funds rate. According to Freddie Mac, the rate on a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage …

Google has struck a deal with Reddit that allows the search giant to use posts from the online discussion site for training its artificial intelligence models and to improve services such as Google Search. The arrangement, announced Thursday and valued at roughly $60 million, will also give Reddit access to Google AI models for improving its internal site search and …

Vice Media will no longer publish content on its website, with the former digital media darling joining BuzzFeed in slashing additional staff this week. Vice also plans to lay off several hundred workers as it shifts a studio-only business model, CEO Bruce Dixon told employees in a memo delivered late Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The women’s lifestyle site Refinery …

After promising that its software would shield internet users from third-party tracking, Avast allegedly harvested and sold customers’ online browsing data, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The maker of antivirus software deceived customers by claiming it would protect their privacy, while not making clear it would collect and sell their “detailed, re-identifiable browsing data,” the agency announced Thursday. “Avast …

Yale University on Thursday said it is reversing a pandemic-era policy that made standardized test scores like the SAT exam optional for applicants, joining other top colleges such as Dartmouth and MIT. In a statement posted to its website, Yale said it is abandoning the test-optional approach that it began four years ago, when the pandemic shut down testing centers …

More than half of Americans who earned college diplomas find themselves working in jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree or utilize the skills acquired in obtaining one. What’s worse, they can get stuck there for the entirety of their careers. If a graduate’s first job is in a low-paying field or out-of-line with a worker’s interests, it could pigeonhole …