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This announcement will directly affect the monthly payouts of over 65 million beneficiaries.For most aged Americans, Social Security is imperative to their financial well-being. An April survey conducted by national pollster Gallup found that 84% of non-retirees believe Social Security will represent a “major” or “minor” source of income during their golden years. Meanwhile, 89% of existing retired workers are currently leaning on their Social Security income, to some degree, to make ends meet.Given how important monthly Social Security checks are for seniors, there simply isn’t a more anticipated annual announcement than the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).What is the cost-of-living adjustment...

Shifting from building a nest egg to building your passive income is something you are probably thinking about if you are near or already in retirement. It's a great strategy for making ends meet as you look to supplement your Social Security checks. One name that you might want to consider adding to your portfolio is Realty Income (O 1.00%). When it comes to money, it's just easier to work with round numbers like $1,000. This way, you can simply scale up (or, less likely, down) to hit the dollar figure you have in mind. On June 14, Realty Income...

Key Points The department store industry's recovery will soon be capped by waning interest that was declining well before the pandemic surfaced. Commodity metal prices are elevated right now, but both the supply and demand forces at work are both set to weaken sooner than most anyone anticipates.

Since the beginning of our fiscal year, [and Carnival's presumably speaking of fiscal 2022 here, so pay attention if you want to know how this current year is going], we have experienced an impact on bookings for our near-term sailings, including higher cancellations resulting from an increase in pre-travel positive test results and challenges in the availability of timely pre-travel tests. In addition, in the last few weeks we have seen a dampening of the booking activity for the second half of 2022 relative to 2019. In other words, customers are canceling trips in the first half of the year,...

Lucid Motors, a Silicon Valley start-up that is gearing up to launch an advanced electric luxury car, said that it has struck a preliminary deal with Electrify America to provide its future customers with a nationwide recharging plan. This is an important deal. Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) Supercharger network has given it a big advantage in winning buyers away from internal-combustion alternatives. Any company looking to challenge Tesla will be at a disadvantage unless it can also provide its buyers with assurance that they'll be able to access high-speed chargers on road trips. Lucid isn't yet public, but it just won a...

This Android phone maker's mobile payments service continues to lag Apple's own. Along with the launch of its iPhone 6/6 Plus phones, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) introduced its very own contactless mobile payment system known as Apple Pay. Unsurprisingly, with the launch of its own Galaxy S6 smartphones, Apple rival Samsung (NASDAQOTH:SSNLF) released its own, very creatively named mobile payment system known as Samsung Pay.Also, it would seem that Apple Pay is utterly crushing Samsung Pay.Billions vs. just hundreds of millionsSamsung recently bragged that its Samsung Pay service is now up to 5 million users and they have spent "over $500 million"...

After more than four decades in service, the A-10 Warthog is due for a replacement. So says the U.S. Air Combat Command. What's more, ACC says it's already "thinking about" fielding such a replacement. But what might that replacement be? Last week, we got a clue. As reported by Reuters, the Air Force has recently begun evaluating Textron's Scorpion fighter jet as a potential 21st-century replacement for the 20th-century Warthog.

The apology from J.C. Penney's (NYSE: JCP) in the "We're Listening" campaign seems to be working, at least for now. Customers have been returning to stores in the wake of J.C. Penney re-opening celebrations. During the tenure of a rough year riddled with mistakes and hard-learned lessons, J.C. Penney found that the soul of their customer was driven by super low sale prices and an enthusiasm for home and back to school shopping.

Tokyo stocks tumbled nearly 3 percent Thursday to the lowest closing levels in about two weeks as gloomy April retail sales rekindled worries about the U.S. economic outlook and a stronger yen exacerbated damage to Japanese exporters. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 246.76 points, or 2.64 percent, from Wednesday to 9,093.73, a closing low since May 1, when it logged 8,977.37. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 26.09 points, or 2.94 percent, to 862.66, also the lowest since May 1, when it wrapped up at 846.85. Stocks declined across...

I don't know when we'll see the next bear market. But like you, I know it's coming ... it's not a matter of "if" but rather a matter of "when." And today I'll tell you how you can prepare your portfolio so that you'll not only survive the bear intact, but also be better off than if it never happened at all. Siegel says We had the pleasure of hearing one of the world's great investing minds deliver the keynote speech at a recent Fool investing seminar. Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel is well-known for his book Stocks for the Long...