Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial advice, gathered from around the web:
Investing shouldn't be this fun
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NYU makes med school free
New York University is eliminating tuition for medical students, the first U.S. medical school to do so, said Melissa Korn at The Wall Street Journal. The move goes into effect immediately, and the school will refund tuition payments for the coming year, which had been set at $55,018. Students will still have to pay living expenses. Sixty-two percent of NYU medical school's most recent graduating class carries an average $171,908 in student loans. An NYU official said reducing the debt was a "moral imperative." Nationally, more than 70 percent of grads from the class of 2018 are in debt, with a median of $195,000 in loans. Graduates who go into top-paying specialties such as neurosurgery can cover repayment. But the cost of medical school has limited the supply of doctors in fields such as internal medicine and other primary-care practices.
Goodbye, 'crack and pack'
The IRS has issued a fresh set of rules to limit misuses of the new 20 percent small-business tax break, said Darla Mercado at CNBC. The biggest target: business owners trying to get around the income limits ($157,500 for singles, $315,000 for married taxpayers). "Crack and pack," a strategy of splitting a business into several parts, is now out of bounds. So is having an employee leave and get rehired as an independent contractor. The IRS presumes that if you're doing the same work, you're still an employee and don't qualify for the 20 percent deduction. Even worse, if you went self-employed to grab the tax break, "you're still on the hook for all tax responsibilities related to running your own business."
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Political cartoons for November 15Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include cowardly congressmen, a Macy's parade monster, and more
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Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
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The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
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The pros and cons of noncompete agreementsThe Explainer The FTC wants to ban companies from binding their employees with noncompete agreements. Who would this benefit, and who would it hurt?
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What experts are saying about the economy's surprise contractionThe Explainer The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web
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The death of cities was greatly exaggeratedThe Explainer Why the pandemic predictions about urban flight were wrong
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The housing crisis is hereThe Explainer As the pandemic takes its toll, renters face eviction even as buyers are bidding higher
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How to be an ally to marginalized coworkersThe Explainer Show up for your colleagues by showing that you see them and their struggles
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What the stock market knowsThe Explainer Publicly traded companies are going to wallop small businesses
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Can the government save small businesses?The Explainer Many are fighting for a fair share of the coronavirus rescue package
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How the oil crash could turn into a much bigger economic shockThe Explainer This could be a huge problem for the entire economy
