Author: Money Mechanics

The Trump administration is expanding work requirements for food stamp beneficiaries, and the new rules could leave some vulnerable households at risk of going hungry.The recently passed tax cuts and spending legislation includes a provision that eliminates work exemptions for veterans receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal food assistance program previously known as food stamps.Under Trump’s new tax legislation, able-bodied adults ages 18 to 64 must work, participate in job training, or volunteer at least 80 hours a month to be eligible for benefits – that includes veterans. Only those who are pregnant or disabled…

Key Takeaways Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares gained when Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock from equal-weight to overweight.The analysts also increased the price target by $6 to $28.Morgan Stanley pointed to “healthy enterprise spending” for anything artificial intelligence- and network-related. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares advanced Thursday on an upgrade by Morgan Stanley, which sees increased corporate spending on the computer processing hardware maker’s artificial intelligence (AI) and other products. Morgan Stanley raised its rating to “overweight” from “equal-weight,” and boosted the price target to $28 from $22. In a note to clients, the analysts noted that “our checks signaled healthy…

A happy retirement hums right along when you’ve got the right mindset — beyond having plenty of cash and waving goodbye to the daily grind. But retirement can mark a significant life transition, triggering both optimism and uncertainty.In a long-running Harvard study on happiness (that has tracked the same group of men since they were teenagers in 1938), researchers asked participants as they entered their golden years what they worried about most in retirement, beyond financial concerns. The answer? How to find new social ties to replace the work connections they leaned on for so many years.More recently, research from…

Key Takeaways U.S. equities fell at midday as weekly jobless claims were above expectations and Walmart missed earnings estimates and warned that tariff costs are rising.Cosmetics giant Coty posted a surprise loss as retailers were cautious about spending.Hewlett Packard Enterprise was upgraded by Morgan Stanley, and shares rose. U.S. equities were lower at midday on higher-than-expected initial jobless claims and concerns about retail. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all fell. Walmart (WMT) was the worst-performing stock in the Dow when the world’s biggest brick-and-mortar retailer missed earnings estimates and warned that tariff costs are rising. Coty…

Key Takeaways More than half of retired Social Security recipients are cutting discretionary spending, according to a new survey. However, nearly one-third are also cutting spending on essentials, including medical costs and groceries.The projected cost-of-living adjustment to benefits for 2026 might not be enough for many older Americans to live off.As a result, retirees might need to reduce their expenses, dip into their savings more (if they have savings), or seek assistance with basic living expenses. Rising costs are cutting into necessities for Social Security recipients, according to a new report. According to a new Nationwide survey of retired Social…

Executive Summary:While the VIX index is often referred to as a “fear gauge” – reflecting the fact that it typically moves inversely to the SPX® index – there are times when the two either move together (“spot up, vol up” or “spot down, vol down”) or the VIX index over/under-reacts relative to expectations.This decoupling between the VIX index and the SPX index occurs because the VIX index is more accurately a measure of the bid for optionality which is often, but not always, driven by demand for protection. In fact, sometimes the VIX index goes up not due to fear…

For many people, having children doesn’t follow a straight path. I work with clients navigating fertility challenges, LGBTQ+ identity, or choosing to parent solo. The options available to them, while beautiful, are often complex and expensive. IVF, egg freezing, artificial insemination, adoption, and surrogacy each come with emotional highs and lows, and a wide range of financial impacts.  So we talk about it early. While traditional financial planning tends to assume a predictable life path (marriage → kids → retirement), reality often looks very different. For those pursuing a nontraditional route to parenthood, I help them think through the financial…

Key Takeaways Traders expect the S&P 500 to move about 0.8% in either direction through the end of the week, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday likely to be a driving force behind that move. Stocks jumped more than 1% the day of last year’s Jackson Hole speech, when Powell signaled the Fed was ready to cut interest rates for the first time in 4 years. Analysts earlier this week expressed concern that investors were overly optimistic about the likelihood of a September rate cut, but expectations and stocks have drifted lower in recent days. Wall Street was…

We recently published 10 Big Names With Surprising Gains. Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) is one of Wednesday’s best performers. Newly listed cryptocurrency exchange Bullish snapped a three-day losing streak on Wednesday, adding 5.68 percent to close at $62.89 apiece as investors mirrored an investment firm’s acquisition of a significant stake in the company. In a disclosure, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest said it acquired $21.2 million worth of additional shares in Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) on Tuesday, bringing its total ownership to $73.85 million. The transaction covered 356,346 new shares at a price of $59.51. Bullish (NYSE:BLSH) joins the roster of publicly listed cryptocurrency exchange platforms, taking…

Today we switch to an important part of the stock market ecosystem: Exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs are one of the most successful financial innovations of the last 30 years. Since their launch (in Canada) in 1990, ETFs have proliferated and their assets have grown around the world. According to ETFGI, in the U.S., there are now over 4,000 ETFs (right axis, open circles) with assets totaling over $10 trillion (left axis, bars). Chart 1: ETF asset growth from 2003 to April 2025 What is an ETF?An ETF is both a mutual fund and a stock!So, when you see an ETF ticker, like…