Stocks continued to rally at the beginning of last week amid hopes of enhanced testing for COVID-19. But by the end of the day Wednesday stocks slid, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting their largest single-day declines since March 18.

On Friday, March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law. 

Along with the tax filing and tax payment extensions, the IRS has extended 2019 IRA and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) contributions to July 15, 2020.

Watch a recording of our webinar: Special Markets Update 2020 #4

Stocks opened the week as they closed the previous one — in a tailspin. However, aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve late in the day, coupled with the hope of a massive aid package from Congress, helped push stocks higher during early trading Tuesday.

A volatile market isn't the best time to do a complete makeover of your portfolio, especially if you have long-term financial goals you're trying to address.

If you are considering offering to loan money to a loved one, there are administrative matters and some financial, tax, and regulatory considerations to cover to protect yourself and your relationship.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the due date for filing federal income tax returns and making tax payments has been postponed by the IRS from Wednesday, April 15, 2020, to Wednesday, July 15, 2020.

On March 20, 2020, the Department of Education announced terms for student loan relief for tens of millions of borrowers in response to COVID-19.

Fidelity has temporarily increased the mobile check deposit limit to $100,000 in order to allow customers to make large deposits from the comfort of their own home.

Watch a recording of our webinar: Special Markets Update 2020 #3

The longest bull market in history lasted almost 11 years before coronavirus fears and the realities of a seriously disrupted U.S. economy brought it to an end.

Following the Fed's latest interest rate cut last weekend, stocks opened markedly lower on Monday, prompting the third circuit breaker in the last six sessions as trading was halted only seconds after the opening bell. 

Watch a recording of our webinar: Special Markets Update 2020 #2

As the government has continued to lower the federal funds rate we can also expect to see money market yield rates continue in that direction.

The run of positive weekly market gains ended last week as benchmark indexes lost value.

Watch a recording of our webinar: Special Markets Update

While it apparently took a day to take effect, the Fed's decision to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points quelled the massive rush to sell stocks and brought some investors back to the market.

If recent volatility is causing you to consider cashing out of your stock holdings, it may be worthwhile to pause and put recent events into perspective, using history as a guide.

If your plan is to keep your business in the family, as opposed to selling it to an outside party or another business, you should be aware of some of the issues that can contribute to the success or the failure of the business as it is transferred to the successor generation.