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A few months of market swings have taken a toll on retirement savers.The average 401(k) balance fell 3% in the first quarter of 2025 to $127,100, according to a new report by Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) plans.The average individual retirement account balance also sank 4% from the previous quarter to $121,983, the financial services firm found. Still, both 401(k) and IRA balances were up year over year.The majority of retirement savers continue to contribute, Fidelity said. The average 401(k) contribution rate, including employer and employee contributions, increased to 14.3%, just shy of Fidelity’s suggested savings rate…

Asiavision | E+ | Getty ImagesAmericans have a near-record level of credit card debt — $1.18 trillion as of the first quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The average credit card debt per borrower was $6,371 during that time, based on data from TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting companies.Many people don’t understand why a common strategy that can help them pay down that debt — paying bills on time — isn’t all it takes to improve their credit. Separating fact from fiction is essential to help you pay down debt and raise…

CNN  —  High economic uncertainy has hiring grinding to a halt at US businesses. Job growth slowed for the second month in a row at private-sector firms, which added just 37,000 jobs in May, according to new employment estimates released Wednesday by payroll company ADP. May’s job gains, which marked a sharp stepback from the 60,000 jobs added that ADP reported for April, came in significantly below economists’ expectations for 130,000 jobs to be added. It’s the lowest monthly total since March 2023, ADP said. “The weak numbers we’re seeing now does not point to a labor market that’s collapsing,…

NEW DELHI: This year’s Asia Cup hangs in the balance following the recent clashes between tournament hosts India and arch-rivals Pakistan. Already-soured relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours further worsened after four days of intense fighting before a ceasefire was announced last month. India are scheduled to host the Asia Cup, a flagship event of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), in September but uncertainty lingers over the T20 tournament. “To be honest, we have had no discussions within the board about the Asia Cup,” a top official of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) told Reuters on Tuesday, refusing to confirm whether…

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to the media after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump’s agenda at the Capitol on May 22, 2025.Kevin Dietsch | Getty ImagesAs Senate Republicans debate trillions of tax breaks advanced by the House, some business owners could be blocked from part of the proposed windfall, policy experts say.If enacted as written, the House GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would raise the federal deduction limit for state and local taxes, known as SALT, to $40,000. That would phase out once income exceeds $500,000.The bill would also boost a…

A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, DC, March 26, 2025. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty ImagesThe Social Security Administration has now processed about 91% of cases related to a new law that is prompting higher benefits and lump-sum retroactive payments for nearly 3 million people, according to a new update from the agency.The Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law in January, eliminated two provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision, or WEP, and the Government Pension Offset, or GPO — that previously reduced benefits for individuals who also receive income from public pensions that did not…

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday declared the elections of the Islamabad Regional Cricket Association (IRCA) null and void following the adjudicator’s ruling. The controversial IRCA elections, held in March 2023, faced challenges from local cricket clubs. The adjudicator ultimately invalidated the polls, prompting the PCB to issue a notification removing all office bearers of the IRCA, headed by Shakil Shaikh, from their positions and barring them from performing any official duties. With this development, Islamabad joins Sialkot, Faisalabad, and Multan as regional cricket bodies currently operating without elected leadership. In these regions, the absence of an appointed…

KARACHI: Cricket Australia (CA) has agreed to send its team to Pakistan early next year for a white-ball series, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Tuesday. Speaking during an online media interaction, CA chief executive Todd Greenburg said that Australia was keen to visit Pakistan for more tours and that discussions were ongoing with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2025–27, Australia are slated to tour Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20Is in February–March 2026. “We are trying to schedule a red-ball and white ball series in our…

The Trump administration paused its plan to garnish Social Security benefits for those who have defaulted on their student loans — but says borrowers’ paychecks are still at risk.”Wage garnishment will begin later this summer,” Ellen Keast, a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson, told CNBC.Since the Covid pandemic began in March 2020, collection activity on federal student loans had mostly been on hold. The Biden administration focused on extending relief measures to struggling borrowers in the wake of the public health crisis and helping them to get current.The Trump administration’s move to resume collection efforts and garnish wages of those behind on their student…

CNN  —  The number of available jobs in the US unexpectedly increased in April, signaling a potential undercurrent of strength in the labor market despite broader economic uncertainty. Job openings totaled an estimated 7.39 million at the end of April, up from 7.2 million in March, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed how the US labor market — job openings, hires, quits and separations such as layoffs — is adapting as President Donald Trump’s sweeping (and frequently shifting) policy actions kicked into higher gear in…