Free Republic

A recent survey by Intuit found that U.S. high school students want to learn about personal finance in schools but that many lack access to such courses at school, while parents may be reluctant to teach their children about financial literacy. Intuit's Financial Education survey found that 85% of U.S. high school students said they're interested in learning about financial topics at school and that 95% of those who currently receive a financial curriculum find it helpful. "Ultimately, what we learned is that 81% of students said they really try to discuss financial topics with their parents, but parents typically...

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – As millions of Americans head to their local gas station or store to purchase a new pack of Marlboro’s or Newport’s, they may soon see that their favorite type of cigarettes are no longer available for purchase. According to an announcement made by the Food & Drug Administration back in 2022, the agency had begun planning to “propose product standards to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and prohibit all characterizing flavors (other than tobacco) in cigars,” due to “menthol being a flavor additive with a minty taste and aroma that reduces the irritation...

Trump-supporting truck drivers are reportedly boycotting New York City after a Manhattan judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $355 million because of his business practices. Friday’s decision follows a New York jury’s decision last month to award left-wing writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages in her defamation suit against Trump. The two decisions have outraged conservatives, including many truckers. Chicago Ray, a trucker with over 244,000 followers on X, said on Friday that he was hearing that truckers were planning to boycott deliveries to the Big Apple starting on Monday. “I don’t know how far across...

Capital One Financial is set to acquire Discover Financial Services , according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The deal could be announced Tuesday, the outlet said, citing sources. The merger of the two companies, who are among the largest credit card issuers in the U.S., would expand Capital One’s credit-card offerings. The news comes on the back of a Bloomberg News report on Monday that Capital One was considering an acquisition. Shares of Discover are down 1.7% lower for the year, putting the company at a $27.63 billion market cap. Capital One has a market cap of...

This is insane, the US State Dept forced all Ukrainians to tie their financial assets to their smartphones by developing the DIIA “State-In-Smartphone” app for Ukraine, and now Ukrainians who try not to die will have all their assets seized...

CV NEWS FEED // An agency of the federal government “flagged” Bible purchases as an indication of “extremism” in communications with banks following the events of January 6, 2021. “We now know the federal government flagged terms like ‘MAGA’ and ‘TRUMP,’ to financial institutions if Americans completed transactions using those terms,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, wrote on X. “What was also flagged? If you bought a religious text, like a BIBLE, or shopped at Bass Pro Shop.” Jordan serves as the chairman of both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal...

Former Biden associate Eric Schwerin told lawmakers that he was 'not aware' of then-Vice President Joe Biden's role in his son's foreign dealings despite meeting with him 'multiple' times and providing financial advice when he worked with Hunter Biden. Schwerin, a close business associate of Hunter's at his investment firm Rosemont Seneca, was brought in Tuesday under a subpoena by Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. He specifically faced questions about the then-Vice President's use of pseudonyms to discuss personal and business activities. Schwerin was included on at least 54 direct emails with Joe between 2009 and 2017,...

The Democratic Socialists of America, affiliated with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other liberal leaders, is facing severe financial trouble, with the organization’s leaders calling for massive budget cuts and layoffs. The seven-figure deficit comes after the DSA, which leads anti-Israel protests across the country, did not publicly condemn the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. “The current deficit will force us to make 7-figure budget cuts. This will require us to make painful decisions that will impact all levels of the organization. … Given our current financial state, we do not believe we can have a healthy, democratic, and effective...

The financial landscape is fraught with warning signs as retail investors remain fully invested in stocks, and cautionary voices like market prophet Gary Shilling raise alarms about the precarious nature of the current market conditions. Recent data from the monthly AAII asset allocation report for December reveals that investors are heavily committed to stocks, with cash on the sidelines dwindling to below-average levels. This heightened exposure comes as Shilling, a seasoned forecaster, issues stark warnings about the ‘everything rally,’ urging investors to divest from stocks and cryptocurrencies.

A major trend among mainstream media outlets and pundits in 2023 was them attempting to convince Americans the economy has been doing well under President Biden. A majority of Americans consistently tell pollsters that they believe the economy is doing poorly, however, leading to a disconnect of sorts as conditions on the ground don't appear to match with positive economic data like low unemployment and a booming stock market. Several of these outlets have even gone so far as to claim that Americans’ dour outlook on the issue is due to them not seeing things clearly, and clinging to bad...

President Joe Biden greenlit the release of Colombian businessman Alex Saab, accused of acting as Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro’s top money launderer, on Wednesday. Saab’s release is allegedly the result of a prisoner swap with the rogue socialist regime that will also allow for the release of unjustly detained Americans in Venezuela, the Associated Press reported. Saab, 51, is a close personal ally of Maduro and is widely considered the socialist dictator’s financial brain. American law enforcement authorities arrested Saab in Cape Verde in 2020 after the Department of Justice indicted him in 2019 on charges of laundering $350...

As the clock ticks closer to 2024, one outspoken economist is making a dire predication about the markets in the new year. "Since 2009, this has been 100% artificial, unprecedented money printing and deficits; $27 trillion over 15 years, to be exact. This is off the charts, 100% artificial, which means we're in a dangerous state," Harry Dent told Fox News Digital. "I think 2024 is going to be the biggest single crash year we'll see in our lifetimes."

In a distressing reality check, the average American is in the throes of an unprecedented financial crisis, and the situation demands swift and decisive action. The stark numbers tell a harrowing tale: a staggering sixty percent of American families are on the brink, navigating the precarious path of living paycheck to paycheck. A record number are forced to take on second or even third jobs merely to stay afloat. The hidden tax of inflation is hitting hard, with the average American worker now burdened with an extra $4.97 per hour—effectively doubling their federal income tax. This is not a mere...

A German research body that tracks donations to Ukraine says the value of pledges fell almost 90 per cent between Autumn 2022 and 2023, with levels dwindling since this Summer, around the time of Kyiv’s ‘Spring Offensive’. Pledges of military and financial aid to Ukraine are now lower than they were before the renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Keil Institute says of its latest tranche of data published through its Ukraine Support Tracker programme. Noting donors have become “more hesitant in recent months”, Christoph Trebesch, a director at the Institute claimed “a further delay” to large...

The Biden-Harris campaign's communications director argued that "a brick wall of MAGA extremism" has contributed to Americans struggling financially and working multiple jobs to make ends meet. "That's precisely why we need another four years to continue to finish the job, right? I think it's important, too, that the president, of course, wants to get all of this done. But we have to be honest about the brick wall of MAGA extremism that we continue to run into when we're trying to get things done for the American people," Biden campaign official Michael Tyler told CNN's Victor Blackwell on "First...

As the 2024 Election season approaches, polls abound. Putting the concerns of most Americans in order looms large in the scheme of things. Most polls show us that we are more concerned about the economy. After that, the integrity of the election, failing schools, and a plethora of other woes seem to be on our minds.

Britain’s ageing population poses a long-term threat to the economy and will affect interest rates for decades to come, Andrew Bailey has said. The Governor of the Bank of England identified changing demographics as one of two biggest problems facing the UK and similar countries in the years ahead, along with stagnant productivity since the financial crisis. He suggested that these challenges would have more of an impact in the long run than the war in Ukraine and the Covid crisis, which have combined to drive inflation to its highest level in decades. Setting out the challenge from these two...

Three in five Americans now say inflation is causing them financial hardship, an increase from the end of last year despite inflation falling in recent months, according to a new poll. A Gallup poll released Thursday showed 61 percent of respondents said recent price increases have caused severe or moderate financial hardship, 6 points higher than the level in November. That includes 15 percent who said the hardship is severe. Pollsters found inflation is having the most significant effect on those making less than $40,000 per year, with 29 percent of them saying they are experiencing severe hardship and 46...

A strong majority of parents in the United States report making financial sacrifices to help their adult children, especially as they “[start] their careers in tumultuous period of inflation and rising interest rates,” according to a recent survey from Bankrate. Approximately 7 in 10 report making financial sacrifices for their children, and nearly one third of that group (31 percent) say help is significant, KARE11 reported of the April poll on Tuesday.

While much of the financial transactions in the U.S. and globally are digital, a CBDC would be digital only and not available in a tangible form.. Florida could become one of the first states to reject via legislation plans by the Federal Reserve to implement a central bank digital currency. House Bill 7049 and related bill Senate Bill 7054 both define the terms of central bank digital currency and money for the purpose of the U.S Uniform Commercial Code, which is a uniformly adopted state law for the transaction of interstate commerce. Both bills would prohibit the use of both...