Rising friction in the $24 trillion market for U.S. government debt is stoking concerns for investors throughout financial markets. The ranks of traders ready to buy and sell Treasurys are shrinking. Individual trades are moving prices more. Treasury securities with similar characteristics are trading at larger-than-normal price differences. Major players, including the big banks and … Read more
WASHINGTON—Americans paid a greater share of the taxes they owe in recent years, according to new estimates from the Internal Revenue Service. In tax years 2014 through 2016, Americans paid 85% of their taxes on time, up from the agency’s 83.7% estimate for tax years 2011 through 2013, the IRS said Friday. That compliance rate … Read more
When Janet Yellen testified before a congressional commission almost a decade ago about the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, an interlocutor noted that she seemed to have seen trouble brewing in banks and mortgage markets before most others. In truth, she said, she hadn’t put the pieces together fast enough to stop the ensuing disaster. “I’m … Read more
LONDON—U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss fired Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng and reversed crucial parts of her government’s tax cuts, after her plans to jolt the economy into growth unraveled in spectacular fashion following a backlash from financial markets and her party. Mr. Kwarteng, who just three weeks ago presented the U.K.’s largest tax cuts since the 1970s, … Read more
LONDON—In late August, Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey was at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., when a New York University economist flagged a problem. In a world where central banks are quickly raising interest rates to calm inflation, they might face an unexpected crunch in financial markets and need to flood them with … Read more
Millions of Americans will soon face the daunting task of choosing health insurance for 2023. If you’re one of them, it pays to be aware of little-known benefits—and some pitfalls—of health savings accounts, known as HSAs. HSAs are now a key feature of many health-insurance plans, both for employees and individual buyers. There were about … Read more
A drilling site in Nuiqsut, Alaska. Photo: Mark Thiessen/Associated Press Utqiaġvik, Alaska The long-delayed Willow oilfield project, which is located within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), is vital for Alaska’s economy, for America’s energy security, and for further modernizing the North Slope region. Some of our residents still live in homes that aren’t connected to … Read more
President Biden’s plan to cancel student debt for some borrowers will cost the federal government an additional $400 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The estimates released Monday are the latest to put a price tag on the administration’s student-loan modification plans, in the absence of a detailed accounting from the White House. … Read more
China has spent a trillion dollars to expand its influence across Asia, Africa and Latin America through its Belt and Road infrastructure program. Now, Beijing is working on an overhaul of the troubled initiative, according to people involved in policy-making. A slowing global economy, combined with rising interest rates and higher inflation, have left countries … Read more
The last Tax Report came out just as Congress took up the Inflation Reduction Act, and it discussed the bill’s $80 billion in proposed new Internal Revenue Service funding. Over half the new dollars were earmarked for new tax enforcement, especially audits of high-earning taxpayers, while the rest was to improve operations, technology and taxpayer … Read more