Author: Money Mechanics

Many people know it is important to have a financial power of attorney so someone else can manage your finances when you are not able. What many people don’t know is that the Social Security Administration doesn’t recognize traditional powers of attorney.An additional step must be taken to appoint the person who will manage your Social Security benefits when help is needed. To ensure a person of your choice can manage your Social Security benefits, contact the SSA and make an advance designation of a representative payee. Created under a 2018 law, this rule allows a person to choose one…

Key Takeaways The S&P 500 hit a fresh record high Monday morning at the start of a busy week that includes high-stakes trade talks, the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates, and a wave of earnings reports from major technology companies.The index has traded higher within an ascending broadening formation since late May, recently finding support near the pattern’s lower trendline and 50-day moving average.A continuation of the S&P 500’s current uptrend could see a rally toward the ascending broadening formation’s upper trendline near 7,075. Major support levels lie on the chart around 6,600, 6,500 and 6,360. The S&P 500 (SPX)…

Chuck Berry released the song “Johnny B. Goode” on March 31, 1958. If you happened to pick up the single and were smart enough to flip it over and play the B side, you got to hear another amazing song: “Around and Around.”The Rolling Stones covered that song on their second U.S. album, 12 X 5, in 1964. They performed it during their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and it was a regular part of their set on tour in 1964 and 1965.”Around and Around” has also been covered by other notable artists, including David Bowie, The Animals,…

Key Takeaways Too much cash in your checking account won’t earn you interest, can easily be spent, and may not be insured. Keep about one month’s worth of expenses in your checking account at any given time. Consider high-yield savings and money market accounts for easy access and annual percentage yields of up to 5.00%. Certificates of deposit let you lock in a fixed interest rate for a period of time and are good for short to medium time frames when you don’t need a highly liquid account. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs let you save for the…

Shares of US Rare-Earth Firms Sink Before Bell on Bessent Comments 15 minutes ago Shares of U.S. rare-earth producers dropped in premarket trading on comments by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that would delay export curbs of the minerals. Critical Metals (CRML), USA Rare Earth (USAR), and MP Materials (MP) sank a respective 10%, 9%, and 6% before the bell after Bessent told ABC that “I believe they are going to delay that for a year while they re-examine it.” The U.S. firms’ shares had soared earlier this month following Washington’s trade spat with Beijing. Rare-earth minerals are key to many…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Global markets rallied on Monday on hopes that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will extend a trade truce during a high-stakes meeting in South Korea this week.Asian markets led the gains, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbing 2.5 per cent to surge past 50,000 points for the first time. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 2.9 per cent to a record high.China’s CSI 300 index rose 1.2 per cent, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.1 per cent. In the US, futures for…

Positive developments in US-China trade talks over the weekend provided a boost to risk assets, including large parts of the commodities complex Energy – US-China Trade Tensions Thaw Following the sanction-driven rally in oil late last week, the market got another boost from the improved tone in trade talks between the US and China. Over the weekend, indications were that the truce would be extended. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the additional 100% tariff threat is “effectively off the table,” China is expected to delay export controls on rare earths. The announcement of these controls essentially triggered the…

Nationwide, there are an estimated 37% more sellers than buyers—a near-record gap that’s giving buyers across the country negotiating power. There are seven metros where sellers outnumber buyers by at least 2-to-1, and all but one are in Texas or Florida.  There are five remaining seller’s markets, the strongest of which is Newark, NJ. Sale prices are up 1.3% year over year in buyer’s markets versus a 3.8% gain in seller’s markets. It’s a buyer’s market—for those who can afford to buy.  America had an estimated 36.7% more home sellers than buyers in September, meaning many of the buyers who…

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) is one of the Trending AI Stocks on Wall Street’s Radar. On October 22, Piper Sandler initiated the stock as “Overweight” and a $172 price target. The firm believes that Dell’s opportunities are “strong.” According to analysts at Piper Sandler, Dell should be one of the “primary beneficiaries” of a robust enterprise data center refresh, which “looks particularly strong for 2026.” It also pinpointed the AI infrastructure buildout and the forthcoming Windows 10 end-of-life as additional catalysts, stating that “~50% of units still need to be refreshed.” With shares “up ~3.5x since November 2022,” Dell is now viewed…

Jamaica’s $150 million IBRD CAR Jamaica 2024 parametric World Bank catastrophe bond has been marked down on secondary pricing sheets and the US National Hurricane Center forecast cone still shows a major hurricane Melissa landfall.This article was originally published on October 25th. Melissa became a hurricane on Saturday evening UK time and rapidly intensified into a major hurricane on Sunday. Our latest updates are at the foot of this article, here. Original article begins: The forecast as of Saturday morning October 25th, sees the NHC’s forecast cone centred on the island nation of Jamaica, with the current forecast indicating a…