I owe how much? Americans shocked by impact of new tax law

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government. Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projected the tax law would reduce individual income taxes by about $1,260 on average, although it benefits higher earners more.

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  5 Early Warning Signs From Tax Reform's First Year

  Motley Fool
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  Here's Why You Might Not Be Getting a Tax Refund This Year

  Reader's Digest

CVS Health Stock Pops Before Q4 Earnings: What to Expect

CVS Health CVS shares jumped 0.50% during regular trading hours Tuesday in continuation of a strong month for the pharmacy firm. So, let's see what to expect from CVS' fourth-quarter financial results that are due out before the opening bell Wednesday. Overview CVS completed its nearly $70 billion acquisition of Aetna in November 2018.

• CVS Health Is Cheap and Poised to Rally on Positive Earnings

  TheStreet.com
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  CVS's New HealthHub Program Aims to Reinvent the Corner Drugstore

  Motley Fool

Losing a job in your 50s is especially tough. Here are 3 steps to take when layoffs happen

This is one of the many reasons why I believe our 50s can be the most challenging decade of our lives. Assuming you can clear the mental challenges, the financial and administrative obstacles can leave you feeling like a Rube Goldberg machine. Income, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, bills, expenses, short-term savings and retirement savings are all immediately important in the face of a job loss.

Natural Gas Price Forecast – natural gas markets continue to kill time

Natural gas markets continue to look very quiet as we continue to base near the $2.50 level. Ultimately, I am a seller of these rallies and don't have any interest in buying this potential bounce, because we have seen so much in the way of negativity for the longer-term, and of course there is a major problem with oversupply. There is also concern about global demand for energy overall as the global markets are pricing in less global growth.

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  GBP/USD Price Forecast – British pound continues to show strength

  FX Empire
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  Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Supported by Forecasts for Weaker Global Economy

  FX Empire

4 Red Flags The S&P May Pull Back Sharply

The most widely-followed barometer of the U.S. stock market, the S&P 500 Index (SPX), has staged a dramatic recovery from its December low, but a key technical indicator suggests that the S&P's rally -- and the broader market rebound -- may lose steam. "This area right here makes me very nervous because there's actually four significant technical levels here," says Todd Gordon, founder of TradingAnalysis.com. "The 200-day moving average right here--we have tried it once, twice, three, coming back on a fourth time," he told CNBC Adam Kobeissi, founder and editor-in-chief of The Kobeissi Letter, has a similar view.

Illinois may tax private retirement funds to pay public worker pensions

FOX Business' Jeff Flock on the impact of Illinois' proposal to tax private retirement funds to pay for public workers' pensions.

Americans — particularly millennials — are alarmingly late on car payments

A record seven million Americans are more than 90 days late on their auto loan payments, and millennials are clearly leading delinquency rates, according to a report by the New York Fed. The NY Fed found that the number of new auto loans and leases appearing on credit reports in 2018 reached a new peak — the highest level in the 19 years they have monitored the data — at $584 billion. Looking at the number of auto loans in serious delinquency, the researchers noted that there was a “sharp worsening in the performance of the loans held by borrowers under 30 years old between 2014 and 2016.

Walmart has something Amazon can't compete with

Those numbers dwarf Amazon, which has been expanding similar services from Whole Foods Market through Prime Now to 60 U.S. metro areas with grocery delivery and over 20 metros with pickup service. Amazon said it plans to expand, but it's hard for them to catch up to Walmart, which revealed efforts to grow grocery deliveries to more than 300 metro areas by the end of this year. We will continue to play and innovate as we shape the future of our omni retail.

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  Board member Sarah Friar: Walmart will be a great company for the next 100 years

  Yahoo Finance
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  Walmart holiday-quarter sales jump, says consumers still spending

  Reuters

P&G stock hits $100

P&G stock began flirting with the century mark on Feb. 12, when shares crossed into the $99 range. Procter & Gamble shares last traded above $100 in 2004, but the all-time high is calculated based on the current adjusted price, which takes into account stock splits.  P&G announced in March 2004 a pending two-for-one stock split and shares closed at $105. The Courier's Steve Watkins reported back in 2004 that the P&G stock split would be like taking $100 out of the bank and being asked whether you wanted a $100 bill or two $50 bills.

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  PG&E Stock Up 9% after Citi Upgrades to 'Buy' Rating

  Market Realist
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  Why PG&E Popped 16% Today

  Motley Fool

Lump Sum vs. Regular Pension Payments: What's the Difference?

Understandably, you might be tempted to go with the lump sum. By taking a lump sum payment, you gain access to a large sum of money, which you can spend or invest as you see fit. "One thing I emphasize with clients is the flexibility that comes with a lump sum payment," says Dan Danford, CFP®, Family Investment Center, Saint Joseph, Mo. "[A pension payment] annuity is fixed (occasionally COLA-indexed), so there is little flexibility in the payment scheme.

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  Roth 401(k) vs. Roth IRA: What's the Difference?

  Investopedia
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  Here's what needs to change on the 401(k)

  CNBC Videos

Health Savings Account Rules: 6 Little-Known HSA Tips That Will Save You Money

Health Savings Account Rules: 6 Little-Known HSA Tips That Will Save You Money

Top 5 Companies Owned by Walmart (WMT)

In fiscal year 2018, the company reported nearly $500.3 billion in revenue from its operations in 27 countries and e-commerce websites. As of 2018, Walmart has 11,200 store locations. The vast majority of Walmart stores operates under the Walmart name, including large-format Walmart Supercenters and small-format Walmart Neighborhood Markets.

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  Walmart Beats Estimates, Digital Sales Continue to Rise

  Market Realist
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  Walmart's Q4 smashes expectations, U.S. online sales jump 43%

  Yahoo Finance

5 Dividend Stocks Offering Solid Growth

Dividend-paying securities are the major sources of consistent income when returns from the equity market are at risk. While there are several dividend stocks that could provide capital appreciation, zeroing in on stocks having a history of dividend growth year over year leads to a healthy portfolio with a greater scope of capital appreciation as opposed to simple dividend paying stocks or those with high yields. Stocks that have a strong history of dividend growth belong to mature companies, which are less susceptible to large swings in the market, and thus act as a hedge against economic or political uncertainty as well as stock market volatility.

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  Is Low Keng Huat (Singapore) Limited (SGX:F1E) A Smart Choice For Dividend Investors?

  Simply Wall St.
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  Something To Consider Before Buying Pine Care Group Limited (HKG:1989) For The 4.4% Dividend

  Simply Wall St.