Happy Thursday, MarketWatchers! Here are the top personal finance stories of the day:
Personal Finance Too much optimism can cost you your shirt
Pessimists rejoice: You might have been right all along.
My late sister named her friend as beneficiary on 7 retirement accounts—can I contest them?
This woman feels shortchanged by her sister’s estate decisions.
Make this estate planning move right now
Three ‘horror stories’ to convince you how important this is.
This proposed tax break could make you more likely to donate to charity
With fewer taxpayers likely to itemize, will charitable giving decline? A “flexible giving account” would let you use pretax dollars.
Foreclosed homes are appreciating faster than the typical U.S. home
Foreclosed homes aren’t as good a deal as they once were.
American Express plans major changes to its popular Gold Card
The changes appear to be intended to boost the card’s appeal with millennials.
Here are the best new ideas in money
In this series we explore the next phase of money’s evolution, profiling 12 ideas with the potential to rethink money, upgrade its operating system and unlock exciting new possibilities.
In new lawsuit, borrowers accuse Navient of standing in the way of student-debt forgiveness
The class-action funded by the American Federation of Teachers alleges the student loan company misled borrowers.
The case for paying every American a dividend on the nation’s wealth
Automation will displace tens of millions of jobs in the next decade, giving rise to the ‘free money’ movement.
Not everyone is sold on going cashless
There’s a growing rift between promoters of cashlessness and those who say cash should still be king.
These are all of the different types of financial advisers
What do all the letters after an adviser’s name mean? These are some of the specialties and certifications.
Elsewhere on MarketWatch Kavanaugh’s confirmation odds jump to their highest level as Senate reviews FBI report
A market for the likelihood that Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed on Thursday implies that the Supreme Court nominee’s chances of getting Senate confirmation in coming days is all but certain.
How Fed reacts to higher worker pay may determine the timing of the next recession
Here’s a little bit of economy heresy: Forget about how many jobs the U.S. is creating or even the nation’s amazingly low and still falling 3.9% unemployment rate. Focus on how much workers are getting paid instead.
Democrats rip FBI Kavanaugh probe as ‘incomplete’ as Grassley says no misconduct found
Senate Republicans and Democrats clashed Thursday over the results of a supplemental FBI probe into allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, as a Friday vote to advance his nomination loomed.
Trump family’s alleged tax evasion would be triple the typical evasion among the superwealthy
If this week’s bombshell report about the Trump family’s tax evasion is correct, then the level of avoidance looks remarkable even for a super-wealthy clan with adept advisers.
Moderator who botched Pennsylvania’s single gubernatorial debate — who is, Alex Trebek
Moderating is not hosting, but Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek found that out the hard way in a Pennsylvania political debate.
Russia used bitcoin to fund its cyberattacks, Justice Department says
The Justice Department indictment against seven Russian military officers for a series of alleged cyber attacks unveiled Thursday contained another allegation that Russia turned to bitcoin to fund the efforts.
Bond markets may have overreacted to Powell’s ‘long way from neutral’ remark, economists say
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments late Wednesday that short-term rates are a long way from neutral was simply a reiteration of the dot plot and not a sign of a more hawkish central bank, analysts said.
Bond-market bloodbath likely to hit mortgage rates soon — another test for the housing market
Rates for home loans moved down, Freddie Mac said, but a sell-off in bonds will likely hit the mortgage market in the coming weeks.
Jobless claims fall by 8,000 as Hurricane Florence impact fades
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits declined at the end of September and returned close to a 49-year low as the effects of Hurricane Florence faded. Initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, dropped 8,000 to 207,000.
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