Author: Money Mechanics

401(k)s, Google’s Alphabet and tariffs on luxury goods are subjects we’ve written about recently — but why? Test your knowledge of this week’s financial and business news.If you’ve been following Kiplinger, you should have no trouble. And if you slip up on an answer or two, you can follow the links below the quiz to refresh your memory.Stories making the newsRead more on the Kiplinger stories featured in our news quiz: 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 Free Newsletters Profit and prosper with the…

Key Takeaways A new Redfin report suggests that the path back to more “normal” housing costs could happen by the end of the decade.The report says the median U.S. home could be as affordable as it was in 2018 by 2030 if home prices and incomes keep growing, and mortgage rates fall modestly.However, it could take longer in major metro areas even if mortgage rates fall to 5.5%. Homebuyers have faced a daunting real estate environment with high mortgage rates and ever-increasing home prices in recent years, but a recent report from real estate brokerage Redfin lays out how the…

This week, a federal jury in California found Google liable on two counts of privacy violations for continuing to collect the data of millions of users who had turned off a data tracking setting in their Google Accounts. Google has to pay $425 million for the privacy violations.Google denies the allegations in the lawsuit and plans to appeal the verdict, so there is no date set yet on when members of the nationwide class action lawsuit will get a payout or how much that payout will be. If a court overturns the verdict after the appeal, there might be no…

By Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK (Reuters) -Some investors see potential cracks in the U.S. bond market and red flags from recent whipsawing moves, saying the market is underpricing long-term fiscal risks and the danger posed by White House pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates. U.S. bond markets sold off earlier this week as concerns about global fiscal health escalated, although the pain was quickly reversed and bonds rallied on weak economic data. The rebound continued on Friday, as a sharp slowdown in U.S. job growth raised the prospect that the Federal Reserve would embrace a faster pace…

Turkish annual economic growth outperformed Europe’s largest economies, beating forecasts in the second quarter, driven by the construction and IT sectors.Second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4.8%, compared with a forecast of 3.8%, the Turkish Statistical Institute said on Monday. GDP growth quarter-on-quarter also beat expectations, rising 1.6% compared with a forecast of 1.1%.In comparison, the German economy expanded by an annual 0.2% in the second quarter. French GDP grew 0.8% for the second quarter, while Spain increased 2.8%, according to data from Trading Economics.”Turkey’s second-quarter GDP data reflected a notable pick-up in annual growth, largely supported by resilient…

Bitcoin holds key support at $108K and now tests $112.3K, a critical technical pivot. A breakout above $115K–$117K could confirm trend reversal and open path to $119K–$125K. Fed rate decisions, labor data, and geopolitical risks remain decisive for Q4 rally prospects. Looking for actionable trade ideas to navigate the current market volatility? Subscribe here to unlock access to InvestingPro’s AI-selected stock winners. Since July, has attempted several recoveries with brief upward pushes, but the broader price action has remained corrective. Profit-taking after the August peak near $124,400 confirmed the bearish phase. Last week, however, support around $108,000 prevented deeper losses…

There are two potential definitions of “reserve currency.” The first is quantitative and weak: do other countries hold official foreign exchange reserves in that currency? The second is qualitative and stronger: is the currency at the centre of global financial markets while other countries peg their currency to the reserve currency, necessitating large holdings of official reserves? That is, the stronger definition implies that the reserve status affects economic behaviour beyond a basic fixed income portfolio allocation decision.The U.S. dollar — along with other major developed currencies — qualify under the weaker, quantitative definition of reserve currency. Other countries hold…

Chen ZhaoChen Zhao is the head of economics research, where she produces research on the housing market for public and internal audiences. Previously, she was an executive director leading housing finance and financial markets research at the JPMorgan Chase Institute. Prior to joining JPMCI, Chen was an economics consultant at Analysis Group, Inc., where she worked on financial litigation cases and led teams conducting health economics and outcomes research on behalf of pharmaceutical companies. While in graduate school, Chen was with the Center for Economic Studies and the Social Economic and Housing Statistics Division at the US Census Bureau, where…

koto_feja/E+/Getty ImagesFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysGen Z is using AI for far more tasks than older generations.Millennials, however, are more willing to spend money on AI.Different generations cited different barriers to adopting AI.The adoption and use of generative AI tools vary widely between generations, according to a recent study from media company Future.Based on a survey of more than 2,000 people across the US and UK, the study found — unsurprisingly — that the heaviest users of AI tend to skew younger, between the ages of 18 and 40. Also, The fastest-growing AI chatbot…

Key Takeaways In a recent survey, nearly half of all retirement savers said they’re opposed to investing in alternative investments in their retirement accounts.Just 34% of respondents support the idea of including alternative assets like cryptocurrencies, private equity, or real estate in their 401(k)s or other retirement-savings vehicles.President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August to make it easier for employer-sponsored retirement plans to include these assets. Nearly half of all retirement savers said in a recent survey that they’re opposed to putting alternative investments into their retirement accounts. The survey, conducted by retirement planning company Boldin, found that…