Author: Money Mechanics

Each week in our Ask the Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week, she’s looking at five tax questions for investors, including queries on capital gains and qualified small business stock. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.)1. 0% capital gains rateQuestion: I generally have about $60,000 of taxable income from pensions and other sources of ordinary income when I file my tax return. However, this year I sold a large investment, generating a $150,000 long-term capital gain. I am married and file a joint…

Insurance-linked securities investment fund strategies, across catastrophe bonds and private ILS, delivered another positive month of performance in May 2026, averaging a return of 0.43%, according to the ILS Advisers Fund IndexFor the second month in a row, all of the tracked ILS fund strategies that have reported performance figures so far were positive for the month. The 0.43% average return for May 2026 is based on only 78% of ILS funds having reported their performance for the month so far, meaning with all ILS fund strategies positive for the month again, there is a strong chance the total rises.…

Security researchers have confirmed that a European politician had his phone hacked with the Pegasus spyware while serving on an investigatory committee probing abuses of the notorious surveillance tool. This has reigniting fresh controversy over governments abusing spyware to collect information about their critics. The researchers at the University of Toronto’s digital rights unit The Citizen Lab say the confirmed phone hacking of Greek journalist and former politician Stelios Kouloglou during 2022 and 2023 marks the first time that a member of the European Parliament’s PEGA committee, tasked with investigating phone spyware attacks by European governments, has been publicly identified…

(Investing) – UBS has lowered its oil price forecasts for 2026 and 2027 amid a faster-than-expected recovery in flows through the Strait of Hormuz following an interim U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on June 17. The bank now expects  to average $84 a barrel in 2026, down $9 from its previous estimate, and $75 a barrel in 2027, a $10 cut.  forecasts were reduced to $79 a barrel for 2026 and $71 for 2027. “Lower geopolitical risk and quick rebound in flows have led to a steeper price decline than we had expected,” analysts led by Henri Patricot said in a Wednesday…

Mortgage rates dropped substantially Thursday, as falling oil prices and the tentative U.S.-Iran peace deal pushed long-term borrowing rates lower.The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans fell to 6.43% for the week ending July 2, down 6 basis points from 6.49% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. For perspective, rates averaged 6.67% during the same period in 2025.It marked the biggest weekly decline in mortgage rates since late April, and took average rates to their lowest level since May 14.”The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage eased slightly this week averaging 6.43%,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “With rates…

The proliferation of consumer “cord-cutters” has caused economic distress for the satellite television services, such as Dish Wireless, forcing restructurings and bankruptcies as the percentage of households subscribing to satellite TV services continues to decline as they switch to streaming services. EchoStar Corporation, which owns Dish Wireless satellite TV service, reported a net loss of 366,000 paid subscribers in the quarter ended March 31, 2026, with a total of 6.63 million subscribers, Cord Cutters News reported. The company had lost 381,000 subscribers in the same quarter in 2025. The loss of hundreds of thousands of subscribers has contributed to financial…

extended its steep decline, with West Texas Intermediate falling below $68 a barrel to its lowest level since late February, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz surged and the market welcomed signs of progress in indirect talks between the United States and Iran. The benchmark dropped roughly 2% on the session, its third straight decline, returning prices to levels seen before the conflict that had convulsed the energy market for months. , the international benchmark, steadied near $73 after its own precipitous fall. The catalyst for the slide was the rapid recovery of flows through the world’s most important…

A now hiring sign is posted in the window of a Chipotle restaurant on June 5, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesOn the surface, a June drop in the unemployment rate helped provide some upside to what was an otherwise downbeat jobs report — but it was for all the wrong reasons.That’s because the decline in the jobless level to 4.2%, the lowest in a year, came largely from an exodus of workers from the labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data Thursday.In fact, the measure of the working-age population either employed or…

“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul has checked herself into rehab amid her ongoing legal battles involving her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, and ex-husband, Tate Paul.Paul, 32, who has endured a tumultuous few months that have seen her face a string of domestic violence allegations and personal turmoil, voluntarily entered the treatment facility just weeks after purchasing a $1 million home in Utah—a move she had hoped would mark a fresh start.A source close to the former TV personality told People she “checked into a facility upon the recommendation of her doctor.” The insider emphasized that Paul…

“The White Lotus” star Leslie Bibb has once again pulled back the curtain on the breathtaking transformation of the historic upstate New York retreat she shares with longtime partner Sam Rockwell—revealing the impressive progress the couple has made on the gut renovation of the centuries-old dwelling, which they bought more than two years ago. The 52-year-old actress gave fans an exclusive look at the lavish renovation on Instagram, where she revealed several significant updates, not least the installation of the couple’s enormous swimming pool, while also laying bare some of the less-than-glamorous aspects of the project.Bibb and Rockwell, 57, who…