Any cardholder in the U.S. can count on the following protections: No Discrimination When you apply for credit, credit card issuers can’t discriminate against you based on your gender, race, religion, nationality, age (unless you’re under the legal age), or marital status. Additionally, credit card issuers can’t deny your credit card application because you receive public assistance, which you’re legally allowed to include in your income. Credit card issuers have to tell you the result of your credit card application within 30 days....

Find Out If You’re Required to Accept Section 8 Tenants Some landlords rent to Section 8 tenants by choice, and others do not have a choice. Certain states, such as Massachusetts, require that all landlords accept Section 8 tenants. You need to know if this is a requirement in your state so that you are not accused of violating the law if you refuse to rent to tenants with these vouchers....

Just because your credit card issuer gives you access to a sizable credit line, and just because there’s something you want to buy, doesn’t mean it’s a good time to use your credit card. Here are a few times you should leave your credit card in your wallet instead. If you swipe your card knowing you can’t pay back what you bought, you could technically be guilty of fraud. Some creditors may use the fraud argument to keep you from having that debt discharged in bankruptcy later on....

Those looking to invest in France have several different options, ranging from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to American Depository Receipts (ADRs). In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the benefits and risks of investing in France, as well as the best ways to build exposure into your portfolio using the many options available to international investors. We will also discuss why investors may want to consider investing in France and some common ways to gain exposure using U....

China, India, and Brazil are NICs, although exact definitions of NICs can vary. The one thing most can agree on is that NICs tend to be nice investment destinations, given their strong growth rates. This attracts international investors. Characteristics of NICs Developing countries are often classified as those with a low living standard. They have an under-developed industrial base and a low Human Development Index (HDI) compared to other countries with more advanced economies....

For Alessandro Roco, the sameness of sparkling water brands and lack of Asian representation on grocery store shelves was enough to compel the 31-year-old to kickstart his own New York City-based beverage company, Sanzo. However, the path that led Roco to entrepreneurship was somewhat unorthodox, as he started his career by putting his chemical engineering degree to work for a nuclear power company before eventually dealing in credit default swaps on the trading floor at J....

Asset Protection Asset protection means keeping your property safe from being taken by someone who wins a lawsuit against you. It can range from a lawsuit related to a negligent act that you performed, such as causing a car accident, to a lawsuit related to the foreclosure of property for which you have stopped paying the mortgage. Planning How can you protect your assets from lawsuits? It is achieved through the process of asset protection planning, which means taking assets that are subject to creditors’ claims, called nonexempt assets, and repositioning them as assets that are out of the reach of creditors’ claims, called exempt assets....

Absolute return strategies came from the hedge fund world, where hedge fund managers have long used various hedging techniques, trying to achieve positive returns regardless of market conditions. Essentially, unlike traditional mutual funds, absolute return mutual funds are designed to perform based on a specific goal – to outperform a particular, low-risk security type (such as a Treasury bill) in absolute terms. What does all of this mean? Let’s look at absolute return mutual funds more closely to understand....

It’s easy to put money into an annuity, but getting it back out can be challenging. In addition to potential income taxes and tax penalties, some annuities have surrender charges—which often come as a surprise to confused investors. What Is a Surrender Period? A surrender period is the amount of time that you must keep your funds in an annuity to avoid paying penalty charges to the insurance company. Some annuities allow you to take money out whenever you want, but if you withdraw more than 10% during the surrender period, you may pay surrender charges (or additional fees to the insurance company)....

Governments are unlikely to use austerity measures unless forced to do so by the bondholders or other lenders. These measures act like contractionary fiscal policy. They slow economic growth. That makes it even more difficult to raise the revenue needed to pay off sovereign debt. Austerity measures require changes in government programs. For example, they: Limit the terms of unemployment benefits.Extend the eligibility age for retirement and health care benefits....

Fueled by increases among people with lower credit scores, the average FICO credit score has had a relatively sharp uptick since the onset of the pandemic, rising to 716 in April from 711 in October and 706 in October 2019, according to FICO data released Tuesday. The drivers of the increase? Pandemic-driven leniency for struggling borrowers, government aid, increased discipline, and fewer places to spend during the lockdown period. These factors led tofewer missed payments, lower consumer debt levels, and a smaller appetite to borrow, according to Ethan Dornhelm, a vice president of FICO Scores and Predictive Analytics....

Before you authorize a bank transfer, understand that the money you send will leave more or less immediately, and you won’t be able to get it back. You can’t “stop payment,” and you can cancel the transfer for a refund only in specific circumstances. If you’re not 100% certain who’s getting the money, you’re taking a risk. Types of Wire Transfers The term wire transfer is often used to describe: The exact process will depend on which type of transfer you use, but the “wire transfer” process as defined here concerns a bank-to-bank transfer of money....

Richards’ behavior gap theory suggests that many investors earn lower returns not because of the investments they choose but because of the way they use those investments. If these investors behaved differently while still using these same investments, they might experience better results. How the Behavior Gap Works Richards posits that there is a difference between investor returns and investment returns. Specifically, he claims that the real returns that investors get are lower than the returns of the average investment....

Gas credit cards come with the added benefit of helping us earn rewards and discounts on our gasoline purchases. However, it’s important to note there are two different types of cards that fall into this category: general rewards credit cards that offer bonus rewards points on gas station purchases; and branded store cards you can only use at specific gas stations. Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of both....

We did the research and came up with a short list of bond funds that can be smart choices for almost any investor. How We Chose the Best Bond Funds There are bond index funds, corporate bond funds, U.S. Treasury bond funds, high-income (junk) bond funds, foreign bond funds, emerging market bond funds, municipal bond funds, short-term bond funds, intermediate-term bond funds, long-term bond funds, treasury inflation-protected (TIPS) bond funds, and multi-sector bond funds....

While you could grow your money faster, investing means assuming a higher degree of risk than you would with a savings account or a certificate of deposit account. That’s why choosing the right investments—ones that fit your goals, time frame for investing, risk tolerance, and risk capacity—is so important. If you need investment advice, you may turn to a professional financial adviser, but it’s also possible to tap into expert market knowledge without paying a fee....

Whether you are considering incorporating in your own state or looking at your options for other states, there are a number of factors that are going to determine whether you have a smooth or bumpy ride. The best state to incorporate in is determined by the formation fees, annual filing fees, taxes, and legal structure. We’ll go through each one of these, paying special attention to which states rank high for each category and which ones bring up the rear....

Let’s look at some of your best options to keep your money safe from the risks of uninsured losses should your bank close its doors. Understand Your Current FDIC Insurance Limits The FDIC raised the insurance limit to $250,000 per depositor per bank and ownership category. If you have an account owned by just you, it is insured to $250,000. If you hold a joint account, that insurance will double to $500,000, as it is insured to $250,000 per account holder....

New $20 notes with Tubman’s image were first announced in April 2016, under President Barack Obama, but were delayed during the Trump administration. Concept designs of the Tubman notes were supposed to be revealed in 2020, the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. In May 2019, Steve Mnuchin, treasury secretary under President Donald Trump, told the House Committee on Financial Services that the timeline had changed and the bill’s updated imagery likely would not appear until 2026 at the earliest....

Performance Factors Leading to a Downgrade Agencies base their bond ratings on several factors, one of the most important being the risk of default, the issuer’s failure to make scheduled interest and principal payments. Other factors that the rating agencies consider are: A deterioration in the issuer’s balance sheet, such as falling cash balances or rising debtThe issuer’s declining ability to service its debt with cash remaining from revenues after expenses have been deductedOther deteriorating business conditions—a corporation’s falling profit margins and earnings growth among them—or for a government issuer, weaker economic growthA deteriorating outlook: A corporation, for instance, with major revenue from desk phone sales or an energy corporation invested in coal mines....