Author: Money Mechanics

Even if you withhold taxes on your retirement benefits, you might be surprised by an IRS estimated tax penalty at year-end.That’s because income sources like capital gains, dividends, and interest are not eligible for automatic tax withholding. And retirees face a particular risk of incurring an IRS underpayment penalty since they don’t have an employer automatically withholding taxes on their behalf.For example, the default withholding rate for a traditional IRA is 10%, which may not be enough to cover your total tax bill. You also can’t set up a state tax withholding on Social Security benefits, which could lead to…

Key Takeaways For the most part, home listing prices increased within three years after a major disaster. While there may be an initial drop as hard-hit areas rebuild, prices usually bounce back because of reduced housing supply, which increases buyer competition. If your home is in an area hit by a natural disaster and you think you may want to sell, your prospects may be better than you’d imagine. For potential buyers, “disaster discounts” may be small or non-existent unless you act quickly. You might expect home prices to plummet after a major disaster like Hurricane Harvey. The storm brought…

Being a sports fan can be expensive. Not only are there tickets, clothing and other goods associated with supporting your favorite team, but you also need a way to watch them.On this front, streaming services come into play. They’re easy to set up, and you can tailor options to best suit your viewing needs. However, this comes at a significant cost.The New York Times found the average NFL fan will spend up to $634 to stream games this year. They came to this total by factoring in the following: From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Be a smarter,…

Key Takeaways Less than a week before the Fed’s policy committee is set to vote on interest rates, the makeup of the 12-person body is undecided.Key questions are whether Fed Governor Lisa Cook will remain on the committee despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to fire her, and whether the Senate will confirm a Trump nominee to join the FOMC.Wednesday’s meeting will mark a pivotal moment in President Donald Trump’s efforts to influence the Fed and get the central bank to cut interest rates. The Federal Open Market Committee is set to vote on whether to lower the Federal Reserve’s key…

Key Takeaways Americans gave a record $592.5 billion in 2024, driven by a strong stock market and economy.Fewer people are donating—down from about two-thirds of Americans in the early 2000s to under half in recent years.Wealthy individuals, corporations, and foundations are making up more of the total, creating what experts call “top-heavy” philanthropy.Tax law changes are a significant reason, especially a shift in 2017 that decreased the number of households that itemize their deductions, making donations less rewarding for many everyday givers. Americans gave a record $592.5 billion to charity in 2024, but fewer of us are actually reaching into…

Last week, the Department of Transportation (DOT) shot down a proposed new rule that would have entitled travelers to compensation (on top of a refund) for flight delays or cancelations. That rule hadn’t taken effect yet so travelers won’t notice a difference on future trips.But, you may need to brace for other changes in the coming months. Around the same time that the DOT announced that it was dropping that compensation rule, the agency issued additional notices stating that it would be reviewing existing consumer protection regulations. Depending on what the agency decides, the upcoming changes could make it harder…

KEY TAKEAWAYS Oracle shares advanced in premarket trading Thursday, a day after soaring 36% in their best session since 1992.The surge in Oracle stock yesterday briefly lifted the net worth of chair and co-founder Larry Ellison above that of Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person, according to Bloomberg.Several analysts have lifted their price targets on Oracle, which they see as leading the race to provide AI infrastructure. Oracle (ORCL) shares advanced in premarket trading Thursday, a day after skyrocketing 36% in their best session since 1992. The shares soared after the cloud computing and software giant announced after…

The major U.S. stock indexes rose in early trading on Thursday after consumer inflation data came in as expected, adding to Wall Street’s conviction that the Federal Reserve will resume rate cuts next week. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% in early trading on Thursday, as was the Nasdaq Composite, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh record highs yesterday, boosted by cool wholesale inflation data and a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Consumer inflation data came in largely as expected on Thursday, with headline inflation accelerating to 2.9% in August…

Key Takeaways Consumer prices rose 2.9% over the year, the highest annual inflation rate since January.Tariffs pushed up prices as merchants passed the costs of President Donald Trump’s sweeping import taxes on consumers.Grocery prices rose the most in one month since 2022. Inflation continued to crunch household budgets in August as tariffs pushed consumer prices.Prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index rose 2.9% over 12 months ending in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday. Inflation was up from a 2.7% annual increase in July and reached the highest since January, “Core” inflation, which excludes volatile prices for…

While the global business ecosystem has been firmly focused on artificial intelligence and other innovative solutions, key industrial commodities have also risen to the forefront. Increasingly, awareness has been building regarding the enormous scale of resources required to feed the digitalization machinery. However, production of necessary metals and minerals is difficult to come by, potentially presenting a unique opportunity for forward-thinking investors.Fundamentally, one only needs to consider the tremendous burden that generative AI imposes on the supply chain of core resources used in the production of power. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a single request on the popular…