Author: Money Mechanics

The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its key borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point seems to be sitting well with the White House, if National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is any indication.In a CNBC interview Thursday, the day after the Fed’s move, Hassett noted that the administration, and new Fed Governor Stephen Miran, had been pushing for a bigger reduction. Miran, who is on leave as head of the Council of Economic Advisers, pushed for a half-point cut but was outvoted 11 to 1 on the Federal Open Market Committee.However, Hassett was not critical of the committee’s decision.”The…

Key Takeaways Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed at midday ahead of a highly anticipated decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve.Shares of Workday surged after activist investor Elliott Investment Management announced a $2 billion stake.Nvidia shares slipped following a report China has blocked the sale of the U.S. company’s AI chips to tech companies there. Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed at midday ahead of a highly anticipated decision on interest rates from the Federal Reserve. The Dow advanced, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell. Workday (WDAY) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 after activist…

Key Takeaways While overall divorce rates are declining, the divorce rate among adults 65 and older is steadily increasing. Thirty-five percent of baby boomers said that divorce would derail or set back their retirement plans. Recovering from a gray divorce requires a clear picture of your finances and a new, individualized retirement plan. Americans are living longer, but that doesn’t mean their marriages last longer too. Divorces are becoming more common for older adults, forcing them to reimagine their futures after decades of shared financial planning. The 2025 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement…

Key Takeaways Cracker Barrel Old Country Store posted weaker-than-expected profit and guidance on the pushback from the family restaurant chain’s rebranding plans.CEO Julie Masino said traffic has fallen about 8% since the company’s August 19th logo change, which it reversed after negative feedback from customers.Masino said traffic would likely continue to decline in the current quarter. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) shares fell Thursday as the blowback from the restaurant chain’s location updates and logo change hit its results and guidance. Shares of Cracker Barrel were recently down about 3%, extending year-to-date losses. The company reported fourth quarter fiscal…

American Express has updated its popular Platinum card—and lifted its annual fee to nearly $900. It’s the latest move by a big credit-card issuer to rejigger the offerings of a popular high-end card and to lift the fee users pay to get them. American Express (AXP) in June teased “major updates” to its Platinum Card lineup. That announcement came one day before rival JPMorgan Chase (JPM) introduced changes to its premium card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, including an increase in its annual fee to $795 from $550. Citigroup (C) last month introduced its own option. The U.S. consumer and business…

KEY TAKEAWAYS Nvidia is investing $5 billion in Intel and will co-develop chips for PCs and data centers, the companies announced Thursday.Nvidia said it will buy Intel common stock at $23.28 a share, around 7% below where they closed yesterday. Intel shares soared in premarket trading Thursday following the news. Nvidia shares also climbed. Nvidia (NVDA) is investing $5 billion in Intel and will develop chips for PCs and data centers, the companies announced Thursday. Nvidia, the chip designer at the heart of the AI boom, said it will buy Intel common stock at $23.28 a share—around 7% below where…

Key Takeaways D-Wave Quantum remain in focus after surging 19% to a fresh record high yesterday following the company’s inaugural Qubits Japan 2025 quantum computing user conference. The price broke out from a multi-month trading range on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for a bullish continuation of the stock’s longer-term uptrend.Bars pattern analysis forecasts a potential upside target of around $41.30 and indicates a trend higher could last until early next month. Investors should also watch critical support levels on D-Wave’s chart around $20, $14 and $11. D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) shares remain in focus after surging to a fresh record high yesterday…

If you’re among the roughly 70% of workers in the United States who contribute to a 401(k) or similar workplace retirement plan, some important upcoming changes could affect how you make extra retirement contributions known as “catch-ups.”These catch-up contributions let workers over 50 save beyond regular annual limits, helping boost retirement savings as they near retirement age.New IRS rules tied to the SECURE 2.0 Act, passed a few years ago, now require certain higher earners to make those catch-up contributions exclusively on a Roth basis. That means contributions are made with after-tax dollars instead of pre-tax, but with tax-free withdrawals…

Question: I’m not worried about saving for retirement. I’m planning just to work forever. What can go wrong?Answer: Saving early and often is the recipe for success in retirement. After all, the longer you invest, the more time your money has to grow before your paychecks stop.But what if you plan to work forever and the paychecks never stop? Does that mean you can blow off or pull back saving for a retirement you don’t intend to have? From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE Sign up for Kiplinger’s…

Nvidia Bets Big on Intel With $5B Investment 21 minutes ago Nvidia (NVDA) is investing $5 billion in Intel and will jointly develop chips and data centers, the companies announced Thursday. Nvidia, the chip designer at the heart of the AI boom, said it will buy Intel common stock at $23.28 a share—around 7% below where they closed yesterday. The news of the tie-up between the two American chipmakers sent shares of government-backed Intel soaring 28% in premarket trading, while Nvidia shares climbed 3%. Intel will build data centers that Nvidia will ” integrate into its AI infrastructure platforms and…