Your graduation cap might not be the only thing up in the air after receiving your college diploma. What about your financial plans? A recent study from Handshake, a career services platform, shows that nearly two-thirds of the class of 2025 with concerns about their careers cite a shaky job market and low starting salaries as the culprits. With job openings on the decline, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many graduates are worried about whether their first job will provide enough income—and stability—to support their future. Amid these concerns, your post-graduation financial plans should reflect the realities of…

The Treasure State of Montana has adopted the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (“UPEPA”). The UPEPA passed the Montana House by a vote of 96-1 and in the Senate by a vote of 50-0. This follows the similar unanimous passage of the UPEPA in Ohio and Idaho and speaks volumes for the quality of the UPEPA as an out-of-the-box Anti-SLAPP law for states not having an Anti-SLAPP law or looking to replace a bad one. Peter Russo of the Institute for Free Speech put out a statement that: “This achievement represents years of advocacy and marks a dramatic improvement in…

The sirocco, a wind that blows from the Sahara and across the Mediterranean, delivers, in turn, dry and then humid air that can reach hurricane speeds. It’s said to cause people to become irritable, aggravate health problems, and abrade mechanical devices. There’s an economic sirocco coming in from previous conditions, skimming over trade war uncertainty, pulling up additional heat from volatile labor markets, lifting vapors of concern about the national debt, getting a boost from growing international distrust over U.S. actions and intentions, and blossoming into a hot and damp atmosphere. The chances of a recession continue to grow. What…

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is exploring ways to lower the costs of his proposal for a public catastrophic long-term care insurance program. Among the ideas on the table: Simplifying the benefit structure and switching from a cash benefit to one that reimburses people for their out-of-pocket expenses. Suozzi’s bill, the Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home (WISH) Act, would provide a lifetime long-term care benefit for people who need assistance with two of six daily activities, such as bathing, eating, dressing, and toileting. Once somebody requires help with these tasks, they’d receive a benefit equal to the median…

Republicans in Congress, at the Department of Education, and in the White House are advancing an array of proposals that threaten to diminish or eliminate multiple federal student loan forgiveness programs. If enacted, advocacy organizations warn that the consequences for borrowers could be devastating, leading to higher payments and decades trapped in debt. The attack on student loan forgiveness programs is three-pronged. Last week, Republican lawmakers in Congress advanced legislation that would make major changes to key federal student loan forgiveness and repayment programs, and cut off debt relief entirely for certain borrowers. Simultaneously, the Department of Education initiated a…

The Class of 2025 is walking off the graduation stage and into one of the most volatile job in years, one shaped by economic uncertainty, AI disruption and shifting employer expectations. Hiring projections for the class of 2025 are up slightly, by 7.3% compared to last year’s class, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, but people aren’t feeling especially optimistic. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s March Survey of Consumer Expectations shows the perceived probability that unemployment will rise in the next year jumped to 44%, the hmarkets ighest level since the early days of the…

President Trump has been very vocal in calling for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hasn’t blinked. In the most recent May meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the target federal funds rate the same. The FOMC, as you may recall, is the 12-member body that decides monetary policy and sets the target interest rate and hasn’t changed it since last December. Since it’s been nearly six months since a change, you may need a refresher as to what happens when the FOMC decides to change interest rates and the impact it…

How A Small Raise Could Spike Your Student Loan Payments Imagine getting a $1 raise only to see your student loan payments jump by more than $1,000 a year. That’s the cliff effect buried inside the GOP’s proposed student loan overhaul, the Repayment Assistance Plan. For millions of future borrowers, even a modest salary bump could lead to a dramatically higher monthly payment. In some scenarios, that raise could actually leave you worse off financially. What Is The GOP Student Loan Plan? House Republicans have proposed a new student loan repayment model called the Repayment Assistance Plan. It’s designed to…

Music mogul Sean Combs, who, according to his criminal indictment is also known as “Puff Daddy,” “P.Diddy”, “Diddy,” “PD” and most curiously, considering the charges being brought against him, “Love” is now on trial for a wide variety of crimes including kidnapping, sex trafficking, prostitution and drug offenses, but the cornerstone of the charges is a RICO charge for operating a criminal enterprise. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 and was enacted as a tool to fight organized crime, where it was successfully used to prosecute leaders…

The S&P 500 bottomed out around -25% in October of 2022. Since then, the U.S. has enjoyed a relative recovery and numerous all-time highs. That is, until the fallout from the April 2025 tariffs and subsequent trade wars triggered “… the worst week for the stock market since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic led to global shutdowns and other disruption.” Suddenly, the term “bear market” is back in the news. What Is A Bear Market? A bear market typically describes a scenario when stocks, on average, drop at least 20% from their previous high. For context, any drop greater than…