Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Your credit report includes your personal details, information about your credit accounts, inquiries, and any public records. You can check for errors by requesting copies of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. Errors are commonly the result of data entry mistakes, identity theft, or fraud. Report errors immediately by filing a dispute in writing with the credit bureau. Your credit report is like a financial report card that details how you’ve managed your debts in the past, and lenders use it to gauge how much of a risk you’ll be in the future.…

Key Takeaways U.S. equities were little changed at midday as the market had little news that would move stocks very much either way.Eli Lilly said its weight-loss pill met primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 study.Constellation Brands was downgraded by Bank of America on concerns about beer sales. U.S. equities were little changed at midday on limited market-driving corporate earnings news and economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all moved by small amounts.  Eli Lilly (LLY) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 when the drugmaker announced positive results from a…

Editor’s Note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, and the latest economic releases were updated in the story.U.S. stock futures tumbled on Tuesday following Monday’s lower close. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower.While durable-goods orders in July fell by 9.3%, the decline was smaller than the 10.4% drop that had been forecasted. This follows a significant 16.5% increase in orders back in June.The futures decline followed President Donald Trump‘s firing of Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, on Monday.Cook was removed from her position, citing what Trump referred to as “deceitful…

Accessible Keys for Video [Space Bar] toggles play/pause; [Right/Left Arrows] seeks the video forwards and back (5 sec ); [Up/Down Arrows] increase/decrease volume; [M] toggles mute on/off; [F] toggles fullscreen on/off (Except IE 11); The [Tab] key may be used in combination with the [Enter/Return] key to navigate and activate control buttons, such as caption on/off. Revised version: July 15, 2025 Governor Barr’s remarks on financial inclusion were updated on July 15, 2025, to add and remove language inadvertently omitted and included in the published version. Thank you, Eric; thank you to the Fed staff who have organized this second…

Key Takeaways The Trump administration is looking into taking stakes in top defense contractors, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on CNBC Tuesday.The comments come after President Trump said yesterday that he plans to make more equity deals like the one he announced last week with embattled chipmaker Intel.The Trump administration’s stated interest in growing its ownership and influence in private businesses marks a notable shift in the approach of the federal government, which has typically reserved such measures for times of extreme stress. The Trump administration is looking into taking stakes in top defense contractors, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick,…

If you need to call Social Security, expect a long wait to get someone on the line. While the agency says it’s using technology to reduce call times, news reports say phone waits have exploded. An employee union official and an advocacy organization describe chaos at the offices.The agency says in a press release it has reduced the average speed of answer on its 800 number to 13 minutes, which it says is a 35% reduction compared to this time last year and over a 50% reduction compared to last year’s annual average.But the agency’s current claims are “not credible,”…

As index funds attract trillions, several outlets have voiced concern that a passive investing bubble could be forming.getty Is one of the most popular investing strategies quietly distorting the stock market? As index funds attract trillions, several outlets—including Barron’s and Harper’s Magazine—have voiced concern that a passive investing bubble could be forming. The core argument is that too much money is chasing too few stocks. Passive investing—through index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs)—has become so dominant that it funnels an enormous volume of investor capital into a shrinking pool of mega-cap names such as Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and…

Key Takeaways Eli Lilly reported a late-stage study of its oral weight-loss pill met primary and key secondary endpoints.The GLP-1 medication for obese or overweight patients with Type 2 diabetes lost an average of as much as 22.9 pounds over 72 weeks.Eli Lilly said it now has enough information to apply for approval of the drug from regulators. Eli Lilly (LLY) shares gained more than 4% soon after the opening bell Tuesday as results from a new study moved the drugmaker closer to applying for approval of its experimental weight-loss pill. Lilly reported a Phase 3 trial of its oral…

Your asset allocation may be the most important decision you make as an investor. In fact, studies have found that asset allocation determines over 90% of the variations in portfolio returns. In other words, get your asset allocation right, and the rest is largely semantics.Asset allocation refers to how your investment funds are spread across the different asset classes, particularly in stocks and bonds.Portfolios with more stocks tend to lead to higher potential long-term returns, but also greater risk. Meanwhile, bonds provide a buffer against sharp downturns, but not necessarily the same growth as stocks. Finding the right balance between…

According to a letter he posted to his Truth Social platform, President Donald Trump says he has fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook.Based on allegations of mortgage fraud made by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte and referred to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump cited his authority under Article II of the Constitution as well as the Federal Reserve Act to remove Cook for cause, effective immediately.Responding to the president, Cook said she would not leave her position. “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do…