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Happy Wednesday, MarketWatchers. Don’t miss these top stories:
Personal Finance
Banksy is the latest artist drawing attention to homelessness this holiday season
Stars like Helen Mirren and Will Smith also slept rough in the ‘World’s Big Sleep Out’ last weekend
This is the tax break America’s 1% will cling to — even after death
Step-up basis at death is the key to tax reform, writes Robert Pozen.
A former designer for the Obama, Bush and Trump White Houses will decorate your home this Christmas — but at a price
From gift shopping to decorating, over-scheduled Americans are ‘outsourcing’ the holidays.
Video of Sears shoplifters running off with armloads of clothes goes viral
Shoplifting costs retailers $50.6 billion a year.
YouTube says it’s taking a ‘stronger stance’ against threats and harassment
The site says it will prohibit content that ‘maliciously insults someone based on protected attributes such as their race, gender expression, or sexual orientation.’
How to give more than lip service to people who are homeless this holiday season
‘Wage inequality, racial inequities and a severe shortage of affordable rental homes leave too many vulnerable people unable to afford their housing.’
This new trend in house selling could cast a cloud over America’s property market
‘With these types of transactions gaining market share, it reduces the accuracy and usefulness of data that is based on traditional multiple listing service sources.’
How’s the economy treating you? Your answer may depend on whether you’re Republican or Democrat
Even with unemployment at a 50-year low and the stock market continuing its historic 10-year bull run, a Pew Research Center survey says many people remain unconvinced.
My father died from a heart attack 2 weeks after his wedding — how much should I give my stepmother from his $500K estate?
‘I want to do right by my father.’
More Americans than ever say they’ve postponed seeking care for a ‘serious’ medical condition over cost concerns
Delays in treatment ‘can have significant implications for the economy and healthcare system, but also the political climate.’
Elsewhere on MarketWatch
Fed signals no change in interest rates in 2020 in more upbeat view of the economy
The Federal Reserve Wednesday signaled it is more upbeat about the economy and policy is on hold for now.
To tackle inequality, help the middle class get back up
Today’s inequality calls for a different approach that focuses on the economic insecurities and anxieties of groups at the middle of the income distribution, which have been driven up the drying up of opportunities for good jobs.
Top stock picks for 2020: Making money with midsize firms
The mid-cap index has outperformed small- and large-cap indexes in the long run.
Top stock picks for 2020: The best of the biggest
Most have underperformed the S&P 500 Index this year.
Top stock picks for 2020: Standout small companies
Many are volatile, but the small-cap index produces high returns over time.
