Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Wells Fargo is raising its checking account fee to $15 in November, while new waiver rules will take effect this month.Most options for avoiding the fee will stay the same, but the minimum balance for a fee waiver will rise from $500 to $1,500.If you can’t easily avoid the fee, it may be worth switching to a bank with free checking, high-yield savings options, or rewards checking. The full article continues below these offers from our partners. What’s Changing With Wells Fargo’s Checking Fee Wells Fargo currently charges a $10 monthly fee on its Everyday Checking account. That…

Stocks opened higher as more strong bank earnings provided an early boost. But volatility spiked again, and all three main U.S. equity indexes briefly dipped into the red before regaining their respective footing in the afternoon. Market participants remain wary of new tariffs and trade war talk from the White House.The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), widely recognized as the market’s “fear index,” jumped to 22.44 around 1 pm Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday from 20.81 on Tuesday. The VIX has risen from 16.43 on October 9. A “normal” range for the index is between 12 and 20.The recent move correlates…

Gold’s uptrend picked up speed in October after a slow holiday period. Prices easily broke the $4,000 per ounce level and reached a new record just above $4,200. The rally is mainly driven by the escalation of the trade war, as China, the world’s main producer of rare earth metals, announced export controls. These materials are crucial for many industries. While this move may be part of ongoing negotiations with the US, the possibility remains that export limits and US retaliatory tariffs could continue, which would worsen the situation.Trump Eases Concerns, but Markets Follow Their Own PathPresident Donald Trump’s reassurance…

We live in interesting times, and let’s face it: mostly, in a good way. It doesn’t have to stay that way, naturally, and it won’t stay that way naturally. This has always been the weak spot in any system that insists on centralized management of certain functions. Of course, that’s the fundamental flaw and conceit of socialism: it relies on the active intercession of omniscient beings to order activities better than the masses of private actors can. Usually, “better” means “less volatile” to the policymakers who set up the committees of omniscient beings (personally, I would say “better” means “less…

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo & Company CEO and Kathy Warden, Northrop Grumman Chair & CEO speak during the Invest in America Forum on Oct. 15, 2025.Aaron Clamage | CNBCWells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sounded the alarm Wednesday over the potential for the the U.S. to lose its competitive edge to China, but said artificial intelligence could help America maintain its lead.Speaking at CNBC’s inaugural Invest in America Forum in Washington, D.C., the two executives said that while the U.S. still leads in many sectors, inconsistent policy and underinvestment is ceding…

Apple announced Tuesday that it had signed contracts for 650 megawatts of renewable power in Europe. This includes wind and solar projects that are either operational or will be soon. A large chunk of the power they’ll produce will go toward offsetting the energy use by Apple customers. Use of everything from Mac Pros to Apple Watches accounts for nearly one-third of the company’s carbon footprint. Even though Europe isn’t usually considered a sunny continent, Apple is buying energy from several solar farms, including 110 megawatts each in Greece and Latvia, 131 megawatts in Spain, and 40 megawatts in Poland.…

Key Takeaways The government shutdown that began Oct. 1 could easily continue into November, potentially becoming the longest in history.The shutdown affects 750,000 furloughed federal workers and 690,000 more who are working without pay.Workers will miss 1.8 million paychecks if the shutdown continues into November, by one estimate. As the government shutdown drags into its third week with no end in sight, furloughed federal workers are grappling with missed paychecks and in some cases, soul-searching about whether to continue working for the government.The outlook for ending the shutdown got a little bleaker this week after the White House said it…

(Oil Price) – The Norwegian government on Wednesday proposed to raise the spending from the country’s oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, in next year’s budget, according to the draft budget of the Labor party, which won a second term in office at the general elections last month. The Labor government of Jonas Gahr Støre will need support from its junior partners in the coalition to pass the bill in Parliament. The 2026 budget proposes to use $57.4 billion (579 billion Norwegian crowns) from the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), which is commonly referred to as ‘Norway’s oil fund’ because it…

Key Takeaways Investing in companies with strong performance and durable advantages can lead to positive financial outcomes.Cash reserves provide flexibility when markets stumble and investment opportunities arise.Focus on business performance, not short-term prices. Market volatility is unavoidable, but how you react to it determines your long-term results. Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha” and longtime chair of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B), is one of the world’s most respected investors. He has spent decades sharing his financial words of wisdom, and offering perspective during periods of market volatility. His approach isn’t about complex strategies or fast trades but about discipline, patience,…

Key Takeaways Morgan Stanley equity strategist Michael Wilson says the surprise trade escalation could kick off “the first meaningful correction” in U.S. stocks since April.Healthcare stocks look like the “best hedge” for policy uncertainty, he wrote, while semiconductors, quantum computing and crowded stocks have the most downside risk. U.S.-China trade tensions are back—and things could get worse for investors before they get better, some on Wall Street say, with the possibility of a big pullback in stocks and a retreat in some hot sectors. Absent a near-term truce, according to analysts, the bull market that has chugged higher since April…