Author: Editor

It’s been an interesting five years for Americans studying abroad. The pandemic slammed the brakes on many international programs, sending would-be global citizens back to their parents’ homes. Now, the pendulum has swung back the other way — the number of American students studying abroad for academic credit is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and a growing number of students are undertaking their entire college careers outside the US as stateside higher education costs soar. Shorter trips are booming, too, as more students and families try to scratch that international experience itch.The landscape is not an easy one: Costs are…

Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia has agreed to pay nearly $5.2 million in overdue personal taxes, the latest saga for the former billionaire who has been followed by a trail of financial challenges going back well over a decade.An attorney for Justice and his wife, Cathy, entered into a joint motion for consent judgment with the federal government Monday, the same day that the government filed a lawsuit saying that the couple “have neglected or refused to make full payment” for the income taxes dating to 2009. An attorney for the Justice Department’s tax division signed off on…

3TOP Aviation, a UK-based ethnic minority-led business (EMB) specializing in trading and refurbishing aircraft, has experienced vigorous growth on the back of strong domestic sales.However, in September 2025, thanks to a loan guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government’s export credit agency, 3TOP Aviation secured a £20 million trade-finance facility to expand further into overseas markets.”Capital backing from UKEF aligns perfectly with our growth plans and aspirations,” said Chris Emechete, managing director of 3TOP Aviation, at a recent roundtable event sponsored by UKEF in London. “It helps strengthen our position and allows us to further exploit new opportunities around…

The logo for the Justice Department is seen before a news conference at the Department of Justice on Aug. 23, 2024, in Washington. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption toggle caption Mark Schiefelbein/AP Landlords could no longer rely on rent-pricing software to quietly track each other’s moves and push rents higher using confidential data, under a settlement between RealPage Inc. and federal prosecutors to end what critics said was illegal “algorithmic collusion.” The deal announced Monday by the Department of Justice follows a yearlong federal antitrust lawsuit, launched during the Biden administration, against the Texas-based software company. RealPage would not have to…

Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors (right to left), Mark Reuss, President, Sterling Anderson, Chief Product Officer, and Dave Richardson, Senior Vice President Software and Services Engineering at “GM Forward” on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 in New York.GMDETROIT – A third high-profile technology executive is leaving General Motors amid a restructuring of the automaker’s software and product businesses, CNBC has learned.Baris Cetinok, GM senior vice president of software and services product management, will depart the company effective Dec. 12, the automaker confirmed Tuesday after an internal announcement to employees.Cetinok is the third tech-turned-auto executive to leave GM in…

Federal tax refunds often represent a family’s single largest check of the year, and next year’s refunds could be even bigger, with the average payment set to increase by about $1,000 per filer, according to a recent analysis from financial services company Piper Sandler. That could boost the typical refund check to roughly $4,151 per filer, based on IRS data that shows the average tax refund was $3,151 for the 2025 tax filing season. Americans will file their 2025 individual returns in early 2026, with most people receiving their refunds within 21 days of submitting their forms to the tax agency.The…

Maybe this holiday season won’t be so lean after all.Despite early predictions that shoppers would cut spending as they bought gifts this year, a PwC report released Tuesday shows that consumers have upped their spending plans by 7% since June.PwC’s Holiday Sentiment survey, conducted by the Big Four firm in October, shows that shoppers plan to spend an average of $770 on gifts this year. In PwC’s June Holiday Outlook survey, that amount was $721.The increase contrasts with predictions earlier this year from some analysts and retailers that shoppers would hold back on spending, potentially making this one of the…

The American Institute CPAs, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and state CPA societies voiced their objections to a proposal from the Department of Education to exclude accounting from the definition of “professional degree” programs, potentially reducing the amount of student loan aid available.The proposal has raised alarms, particularly in the nursing profession, but has excluded a number of other prominent fields that have traditionally been considered professions, such as architects, educators, social workers, engineers, physician assistants, occupational therapists and audiologists. The Department of Education pointed out that under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s required to identify…

Lindsey Halligan pictured outside of the White House in August, a month before she was appointed acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James,finding that the prosecutor overseeing them was unlawfully appointed to her role. That prosecutor is Lindsey Halligan, a 36-year-old former insurance attorney who served as one of President Trump’s personal lawyers after his first term and joined his second administration as a White House aide. Trump appointed…

Campbell Soup Company put an executive on leave while investigating claims made in a lawsuit that he trashed the company behind closed doors, including mocking its “poor” customers and saying the company’s meat “came from a 3D printer.”In a statement Tuesday, the company said the alleged comments by Martin Bally, Campbell’s vice president of information technology, were “unacceptable.””Such language does not reflect our values and the culture of our company,” the company said. “We do not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances.”The move follows a lawsuit filed Thursday in a Michigan court by Robert Garza, a former cybersecurity…