Welcome to the Weekly News Round Up from the SC&H Group blog. Each week, we showcase audit, tax, and consulting news to keep you informed about the current stories and events impacting the accounting and business landscape – and ultimately your financial obligations.
This week, we highlight how U.S. consumers were cautious with their spending habits in December, while the private sector added more than 200,000 jobs in January. In addition, a new study shows that U.S. high schools are falling behind when it comes to offering financial literacy classes.
Consumer Spending Unchanged in December
U.S. consumers, worried over the potential of a global slowdown, were cautious spenders in December and inflation remained well below the U.S. Federal Reserve’s target, according to the Department of Commerce.
IMF Changes Rules to Avoid Large Bailout Loans
The International Monetary Fund has approved new lending rules to help resolve sovereign debt crises without having to resort to the large bailout loans made to Greece, Ireland, and Portugal.
Private Sector Added 205,000 Jobs in January
In what is another healthy sign of employment growth, despite a turbulent stock market, private sector employment grew by 205,000 jobs in January.
IPO Drought Ends With Two Biotech Deals
Last week, the U.S. IPO drought ended with the offerings of two biotech firms, the Wall Street Journal reported.
IRS Systems Outage Shuts Down Tax Processing
Last Wednesday evening, the Internal Revenue Service said that its tax-processing systems suffered a hardware failure and that tax processing could be affected.
NASBA and AICPA to Re-issue Exposure Draft on Proposed Revisions to CPE Standards
Last week, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the AICPA re-issued their Exposure Draft for the proposed revisions to the Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards) for public comment.
U.S. Schools Get Failing Grade for Financial Literacy Education
The number of states that require high school students to complete a course in economics has dropped over the last two years, and mandates for personal finance education in the upper grades remain stagnant, a new survey shows.