Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Alphabet this week became just the fourth company to achieve a market capitalization of $3 trillion, boosted recently by a favorable legal ruling and optimism about the company’s prospects amid the AI boomSince breaking out from a saucer pattern in late August, Alphabet shares have trended sharply higher this month.The measuring principle projects bullish price targets at $261 and $286.53. Investors should also watch key support levels on Alphabet’s chart around $215 and $201. Alphabet (GOOGL) this week became just the fourth company to achieve a market capitalization of $3 trillion, boosted by a favorable legal ruling and…

Americans increasingly live their lives online, storing everything from bank records to family photos in the cloud. Banking apps, retirement portals, iCloud photo libraries, and business websites, all of these accounts hold financial, personal, and sentimental value. Yet most estate plans do not account for this modern form of property, with less than 15% of Americans having an estate plan that addresses digital assets. Digital estate planning is a crucial growing area of planning in this digitalized world. Even when a plan exists, digital accounts are often left unassigned. Just 53% of people with estate plans say their documents spell…

Wall Street is pretty confident that stock market will get a boost from a rate cut on Wednesday. Traders expect the S&P 500 to move about 0.6% in either direction on today, according to options pricing data. That would be the S&P 500’s biggest post-Fed-Meeting move since March, when the benchmark index finished up 1.1% after policymakers left their full-year interest rate forecasts despite increasing economic uncertainty.  The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut rates for the first time this year, with federal funds futures trading data putting the odds of a 25 basis point cut at about 94%…

Key Takeaways The Federal Reserve’s policy committee voted to reduce the central bank’s key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 4% to 4.25%, the lowest since December 2022.Fed officials have grown more worried that tariffs will spark a wave of unemployment than that they will fuel inflation, at least for the time being.The vote was divided, reflecting the Fed’s dilemma: lower interest rates could boost hiring, but a higher rate would help keep inflation down. The Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate, reducing borrowing costs in an effort to boost hiring…

Key Takeaways If you’re looking to find a good place to retire, you may want to consider avoiding the few states that tax Social Security benefits. Most of the country doesn’t tax Social Security, but only select cities in select states made our list of the 50 best places to retire in the U.S. this year. Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, and Colorado are just a few states that made our list. Retirement takes years of planning and careful financial projections like how far your money will take you, and part of that planning includes knowing how much you…

Key Takeaways An inheritance is a one-off event that can transform your financial life. Take time to weigh options, seek expert advice, and resist the urge to splurge. While deciding what to do with your windfall, park it where it earns a strong return but stays accessible—like one of the top high-yield savings accounts. Putting some of your inheritance in a CD can also be smart, locking in a high rate and curbing the temptation to overspend. Inherited more than $250,000? Split it across accounts to keep every dollar federally insured. The full article continues below these offers from our…

Key Takeaways Ted Weschler is one of Warren Buffet’s top investment managers at Berkshire Hathaway.Weschler met Buffett when he was a hedge fund manager, paying millions at a charity auction for the chance to have lunch with the legendary investor.It’s been revealed that Weschler grew his retirement savings to more than $269 million, through exhaustive research, investing in stocks only, making concentrated bets, and focusing on long-term value. In a remarkable tale of investment success spanning three decades, Ted Weschler—now one of Warren Buffett’s top lieutenants at Berkshire Hathaway—transformed a modest retirement account into a fortune worth hundreds of millions.…

On Wednesday, Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest executed significant trades involving Bullish BLSH, Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc. KTOS, Pony AI Inc. PONY, and Robinhood Markets Inc. HOOD.The Bullish Inc TradeArk Invest added 36,328 shares of Bullish across its ARK Innovation ETF ARKK and ARK Next Generation Internet ETF ARKW, a stake worth nearly $1.97 million. The stock ended the regular session at $54.35, up 5.82%.This surge followed the release of Bullish’s second-quarter earnings, which reported a profit of 93 cents per share, a significant improvement from last year’s losses.The Kratos Defense TradeArk Invest reduced its holdings in Kratos Defense and Security Solutions by selling 131,177 shares across ARK Autonomous…

Mortgage rates dropped sharply Tuesday, as investors in mortgage-backed bonds seemed to buy in ahead of a widely expected rate cut by the Federal Reserve.The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 12 basis points from Monday to 6.13%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That is the lowest level since late 2022.”The overall set-up is reminiscent of September 2024 when rates were doing the same thing for the same reasons ahead of Fed meeting with a virtual 100% chance of a rate cut,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. “Back then, mortgage rates moved paradoxically…

Although today’s Meta Connect developer conference was largely about new smart glasses, the social networking company did announce a handful of metaverse updates during Wednesday’s keynote. Of these, one of the largest was the introduction of Hyperscape, first demoed at last year’s event, which allows developers and creators to build more photorealistic spaces in virtual reality. The company announced that Hyperscape Capture is now rolling out in Early Access, meaning Quest device owners will be able to scan a room in a few minutes, then turn it into an immersive and photorealistic world that’s like a digital replica of a…