Companies of any size and entrepreneurs starting a new business should have a Research and Development Department. That department, along with usually a committee composed of finance, marketing, technology, and other executives are charged with coming up with ideas to improve the company and the products and services offered by the company. Research and development are not free to a company. It is a cost/benefit operation. Well-managed firms go to great lengths to develop good capital budgeting proposals that provide value to the firm and the economy at large....

For Black-owned businesses, though, the need for additional funding may be even greater. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Annual Business Survey, there were an estimated 134,567 Black- or African American-owned businesses with 1.3 million employees. However, during the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Black-owned businesses were hit the hardest among minorities, experiencing a 41% decline from just February to April of that year....

For employees, this presents an intriguing possibility: Could they take their current salary, which was perhaps previously tied to a location with a high cost of living, and move somewhere less expensive? If those employees work at Reddit, for instance, the answer is yes. In an October 2020 blog post, the social content company announced that it will eliminate geographic compensation zones in the U.S., meaning employees can work wherever they choose in the country, but still earn compensation tied to the pay ranges of high-cost cities such as San Francisco and New York....

Two factors are behind the jump: rising interest rates on mortgages and skyrocketing housing prices. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has nearly doubled since the beginning of the year to hit 6.70% last week, its highest since 2007, according to Freddie Mac. Coupled with the pandemic-era ballooning of property prices, monthly mortgage payments on newly-bought homes have soared. Little wonder that those who locked in a good rate and a nice low payment at some point in the past are loath to give that up....

Making matters worse was a decision by OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) not to ramp up production to help supply more oil to the world, as well as a decline in weekly U.S. oil inventories. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories dropped in the latest week and were about 12% below the five-year average for this time of year. Oil prices are seen as an indicator of where inflation is headed, and that looks markedly higher....

What Is Unemployment Insurance? Unemployment insurance was first created in 1935 by the signing of the Social Security Act. Its purpose is to offer stability to the newly unemployed while they look for work. Employers pay into the unemployment insurance program via a combination of state and federal taxes, and in most states, you can receive up to 26 weeks of benefits—though there are a few exceptions. Extensions can also be made in times of high unemployment to give you an additional 13 weeks of benefits....

Such a provision typically requires one or both parties to give up the right to sue the other. This article will explain how waivers of subrogation may affect your commercial property insurance. The effect of waivers on your general liability, commercial auto, or workers’ compensation insurance is addressed in a separate article. Subrogation Clause Many commercial property policies contain a subrogation provision similar to the one found in the ISO Property Conditions form....

Insurance ratings organizations can give you an unbiased look at how an insurance company is performing along with its key strengths and weaknesses. Weiss Ratings is a well-respected rating organization within the insurance industry. Why Ratings Matter When shopping for insurance, most people don’t think about the business end of a company. They are concerned with their policy, the coverage, and the price they’ll pay. But if you ever need to file a claim, and the time comes time to cash in, you’ll expect that the insurance company can holdup their end of the bargain....

Definition and Examples of Cash-Like Credit Card Transactions If you make a credit card transaction where money is being transferred to another method of payment that can be converted to or used as cash, it likely falls into the cash-like or cash-equivalent transaction category. These transactions usually come with a cash advance fee. Common cash-like transactions include the purchase of: Travelers’ checks Foreign currency Money orders Peer-to-peer money transfers Lottery tickets Casino chips Racetrack wagers...

Here’s information on employee referral bonuses, including what they are, when employers pay them, and how much you may be eligible to receive. What Are Employee Referral Bonuses? Companies seeking talent often devise an incentive system where current employees are rewarded with a referral bonus if they recommend a candidate who is ultimately hired. The bonus could be cash, or it could be a reward, such as a gift card or extra time off from work....

Mutual life insurance companies issue dividends to policyholders (paid annually based on the company’s performance) which may be used to purchase paid-up additions of life insurance. By using dividend payments in this way, you can gradually increase both the death benefit and the cash value of the policy over time without increasing the premium. Policies that are entitled to dividends are called participating. In 2019, 30% of new individual policies purchased were participating....

Biden also plans to overhaul the nation’s embattled healthcare system and address the global climate crisis. He has outlined policies for education, immigration, and housing, as well as taxes, infrastructure, and trade. These are the specifics of each category that he and Vice President Kamala Harris plan to tackle during Biden’s presidency. The Pandemic Response Biden’s “National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness”—released on January 21, 2021, the day after he was sworn in as president—is guided primarily by recommendations issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)....

We explore the most popular social payment apps, what people are using them for, and how they’re changing the landscape of how we shop and share payments with friends and family. (Our favorite part? No more splitting the dinner bill amongst eight different debit cards.) Popular Social-Based Payment Apps There are several popular peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps. Perhaps most notable of the group, Venmo allows you to instantaneously send money to family or friends for items like your share of dinner, a cab ride, and even rent....

But the IRS balances the tax advantages of these accounts with a fair number of rules you must abide by to qualify. You can’t earn too much, but you must earn at least some taxable income. Contributions are capped at a certain amount annually, based on your filing status. Penalties can apply if you don’t follow the rules. Tax Advantages of Roth IRAs Your money shouldn’t sit stagnant in your Roth IRA until you need it in retirement....

However, some state laws, union agreements, and employment contracts may affect whether a company or employee is eligible for such a policy. What Is a Use-It-or-Lose-It Employee Vacation Policy? In a use-it-or-lose-it employee vacation policy, employers do not pay employees for any unused vacation leave at the end of the year. Instead, the employee forfeits their remaining vacation time, unpaid. These kinds of policies are illegal in some states. But if there is no state law regarding use-it-or-lose-it vacation time and no company policy against it, the company is free to refuse to pay out for unused vacation time when employment ends....

Funding a revocable trust isn’t necessarily a once-and-done deal. You might want to transfer additional property into the trust as you acquire more assets, and you can do this. You can also remove assets and take them back into your ownership at any time. Some assets are more appropriate for funding into a trust than others. A change of title will result in negative income tax consequences with these types of accounts....

Applying for this kind of loan is similar to applying for a traditional mortgage, with some variations in requirements. These requirements vary by lender and loan type, but the most common are income, cash on hand, credit rating, and debt-to-income ratio. Learn what financial requirements you must meet to qualify for a home equity loan and what documentation lenders want to see, such as proof of income, credit history, and tax returns....

Related term: Underbanked Underbanked describes someone who may have a checking or savings account at a bank but also uses an AFS. These services can be expensive, and they’re often used by individuals with lower incomes. Underbanked individuals are classified as such because bank credit and services do not fully meet their financial needs. Both banked and unbanked individuals may use services like reloadable prepaid cards to receive direct deposits, make purchases, or withdraw from ATMs....

Upwards of 20,000 people come to Omaha for this event. If you would like to attend, all it takes is one share of stock to participate. Unfortunately, the typical annual meeting of a corporation isn’t quite as exciting as this. But an annual meeting is required for nearly every corporation, so you will need to know what goes on. What Is an Annual Meeting? The annual meeting of a corporation is a gathering of shareholders of the corporation....

It can be a frightening proposition. Perhaps you have lost your job. Maybe there has been an accident in your family and you are hit with a huge medical bill that you were not expecting. Maybe you just simply bit off more than you can chew financially. Whatever the reason, if you now find yourself seriously strapped for cash and you can’t make your car payment — and it looks like you won’t be able to any time soon — what should you do?...