Business & Finance

The nation is bracing for recession. The Federal Reserve continues to steadily raise its federal funds rate in an attempt to kill inflation, and many experts fear an economic downturn will be an unfortunate side effect of that campaign.

CEOs of major companies are especially worried that the economy will contract soon. A staggering 86% of chief executives polled in October forecast a recession in 2023. And they are wasting no time getting ready for hard times.

At least seven big companies recently have announced layoffs of 1,000 employees or more. Some of these companies are trying to restructure, while others appear to be getting lean and mean before a downturn potentially arrives.

Following is a roll call of the firms slimming their workforces.

Amazon

Amazon recently notified staff that the company plans to lay off around 10,000 employees. The cuts

Millions of Americans are job hunting during their 50s, 60s and beyond. Some of these seniors are looking for a job because they love to work. Others are sending out resumes for reasons ranging from pink slips to financial need.

Seniors can be attractive job candidates. Many potential employers value older workers for their experience and work ethic, and for the stability they bring to the workplace. But if you hope to land a job after 50, you must avoid some key mistakes.

Here are some crucial errors that can derail the job search of anyone who has passed the half-century mark.

1. Forgetting to edit your resume

Today’s businesses get an avalanche of resumes every time they post a job opening. Computer programs may first scan these and weed out the ones deemed lost causes. The survivors then go to a hiring manager, who may

The income thresholds that trigger some important taxes are changing in 2023, the IRS has announced.

The agency is making the changes to account for inflation. The moves will mostly impact wealthy taxpayers, although some folks in the middle class also likely will benefit.

Following are definitions of the three key taxes that are impacted and explanations of what will be new in 2023.

What is the gift tax?

When you give a certain amount of money or other property to someone, it is considered a gift — whether or not you intended it that way. Such gifts are subject to a tax. Here is how the IRS defines the gift tax:

“The gift tax applies to the transfer by gift of any type of property. You make a gift if you give property (including money), or the use of or income from property, without expecting

How poor do you have to be before you’re in poverty?

The answer is important because many social welfare programs determine eligibility by some measure of poverty — often based on the federal poverty guidelines. These include the Medicaid health insurance program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which was previously known as food stamps.

The federal poverty guidelines — which are sometimes loosely referred to as the “federal poverty level” — are set by the federal government as a baseline and take into account the size of your family and where you live.

Following is a look at how these poverty guidelines are determined, what they are used for, and how much they are in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.

What the federal poverty guidelines are used for

Many federal, state and local government programs use poverty guidelines to

The Social Security system of retirement benefits, begun in 1935, are a crucial underpinning of life for American retirees. For most people over 65, it’s undoubtedly hard to imagine life without this retirement benefit.

About half of Americans 65 or older live in households that depend on Social Security benefits for half or more of their income, says the Social Security Administration. In a quarter of such homes, Social Security checks comprise nearly their entire income.

Since its inception, Social Security has hit periodic financial crises, and Congress has always resolved them with adjustments. Today, Social Security approaches another financial cliff for these and other reasons:

• The retirement of the huge baby boomer generation
• Longer lifespans
• Lower birth rates
• Growing income inequality

Here’s a quick look at the problem and whether Social Security will be allowed to go broke this time.

How Social Security is financed