The IRS is sending $1,400 stimulus checks to 1 million taxpayers

As many as 1 million taxpayers will receive a "special" year-end gift from the IRS as the agency deposits pandemic-era stimulus checks worth a total of $2.4 billion directly in their bank accounts.

The automatic deposits will be issued "later this month" and should arrive "in most cases" by late January 2025, the agency said. They will be paid to eligible taxpayers who did not claim the 2021 recovery rebate credit on their tax return for themselves and their dependents, worth up to $1,400 per individual.

"Looking at our internal data, we realized that 1 million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a statement. "To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic." The IRS is sending these direct deposits to eligible taxpayers who did not receive the original payment and did not claim it on their 2021 tax return.

Nordstrom to go private in $6.25 billion deal with founding family

• Nordstrom will become a private company after it agreed to a buyout deal valued at $6.25 billion from Nordstrom’s founding family and Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool.

• Common shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they hold, according to a press release.

• In September, the Nordstrom family offered $23 a share for the chain, which valued the company at roughly $3.76 billion.

US stocks climb on tech rally

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and the Nasdaq 100 advanced 1% while the Russell 2000 fell 0.2% Monday.

The S&P 500’s advance-decline line was positive for back-to-back sessions.

Tech and healthcare were the top-performing S&P 500 sector ETFs; real estate, industrials, utilities, and materials all fared poorly.

Chip stocks drove the gains in tech, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH $249.28 (3.22%) putting in a strong showing, led by BroadcomAVGO $233.25 (5.59%), while the iShares Expanded Tech Software ETF IGV $102.78 (-0.65%) slumped. MicroStrategy MSTR $337.00 (-8.58%) tumbled along with bitcoin BTC $93,854.89 (-2.00%), which it bought even more of.

All members of the Magnificent 7 advanced save for Microsoft MSFT $433.44 (-0.32%), with Nvidia NVDA $139.33 (3.68%) pacing gains.

A couple quantum computing stocks — Rigetti Computing RGTI $10.91 (16.76%) and D-Wave Quantum QBTS $8.03 (26.48%) — put in massive rallies as the former launched its newest computer.

• Americans are less confident about where the US economy is headed.

• Hyundai will give its EV customers free NACS adapters in early 2025.

• U.S. sues Walmart, Branch Messenger over payment accounts for delivery drivers.

• The Starbucks Christmas strike is spreading to even more big cities.

1,900 gallons of water just to make a single pair of jeans.