Author: Money Mechanics

Warren Buffett is known as the greatest long-term investor of all time, but that kind of gives him short shrift. When the Oracle of Omaha steps down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) at the end of 2025, it will mark the end of the career of the greatest capital allocator of all time.What’s the difference? Market participants who pore over which stocks Buffett is buying and selling every quarter forget that Berkshire is essentially a conglomerate with massive insurance operations at its core.That’s not to denigrate Buffett and his late partner Charlie Munger’s stock-picking skills. They are legendary. But…

Dealing with debt collection can be a source of significant stress for many people trying to navigate an already challenging financial landscape. Unscrupulous companies may use aggressive tactics to collect debts, including contacting people in the workplace, which can be illegal. This can threaten your employment or put pressure on you to pay debts even if you don’t actually owe them.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues to crack down on companies that harass consumers, including by unlawfully contacting their employers. In 2014, the CFPB with the states of North Carolina and Virginia got millions of dollars of relief from…

You made it! You’ve reached 67, or are almost there.Age 67 is the full retirement age for tens of millions of Americans — when they can collect complete Social Security benefits and may feel psychologically ready to retire.“Sixty-five might seem too early and 68 a little too late. But 67 is the perfect age,” says Pam Krueger, founder and CEO of Wealthramp. “You made it here, and now you have enough life left to live.” Subscribe to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with…

Please enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser or access the information through the links provided below. June 27, 2025 Agencies request comment on proposal to modify certain regulatory capital standards Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of the Comptroller of the Currency For release at 11:00 a.m. EDT The federal bank regulatory agencies today requested comment on a proposal to modify certain regulatory capital standards to reduce disincentives for banking organizations to engage in lower-risk activities and promote the smooth functioning…

(Oil Price)– Indian Oil Corp has bought another cargo of U.S. West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October, Reuters reported today, citing unnamed industry sources. The deal is part of a recent streak of U.S. oil purchases following President Trump’s threat to impose additional tariffs on Indian exporters to the United States if the country continues buying Russian crude. The October deal was priced at a premium of between $2.80 and $2.90 to dated Brent, Reuters’ sources said. It is price that pushed India to step up Russian oil purchases in the first place, turning Russia from a minor exporter to…

Key Takeaways The first autocallable note ETF approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the Calamos Autocallable Income ETF, which delivers a laddered stream of autocallable-note coupons in a low-cost, low-minimum ETF wrapper. Income stops if markets rally sharply, and losses kick in if the linked index falls about 40% or more. High-net-worth investors have long tapped exotic “structured notes” to squeeze double-digit yields out of sideways markets. Now, Wall Street is packaging one of those strategies—laddered autocallable notes—into ETFs, available to ordinary investors. The first such ETF, the Calamos Autocallable Income ETF (CAIE), was launched in…

Shares of Walmart (WMT) fell about 2.5% in premarket trading Thursday after the giant retailer reported fiscal 2026 second-quarter profit below expectation.  The Bentonville, Ark.-based firm posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.68, below the $0.73 expectation of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Revenue increased nearly 5% year-over-year to $177.40 billion, ahead of the $175.97 billion consensus. U.S. comparable sales growth came in at 4.3%, above the 4.1% projection. Global eCommerce sales rose 25%, “led by store-fulfilled pickup & delivery and marketplace,” while analysts were looking for 17.2% growth. Walmart raised its fiscal 2026 outlooks for revenue and adjusted EPS,…

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual Economic Policy Symposium bills itself as a “venue for international central bankers, Federal Reserve officials, other policymakers and academics to discuss issues of mutual concern.”But normies really just care about what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has to say in his speech Friday morning.After all, when the Fed chief speaks, markets listen. And that’s especially true at this particularly delicate time for both the economy and the independence of the Federal Reserve. Subscribe to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free…

The start of summer is a reminder that we’re almost halfway through the year. For investors, the first six months have seen stocks make sharp moves higher and lower. However, for all the ups and downs, the S&P 500 is essentially flat in 2025. That’s because the same issues that were concerns in January (e.g., inflation, interest rates, tariffs) continue to weigh on markets. Add in new geopolitical concerns, and it’s not surprising that stocks are behaving in a choppy fashion. An optimistic view is that even with minimal growth so far in 2025, the S&P 500 stands within 5%…

This week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the roll out of eGates to speed up the identity verification process travelers do before going through the security screening. Starting at a handful of the country’s busiest airports, the first eGates will be operated by CLEAR, the company behind the accelerated security screening program called CLEAR+.The eGates, currently available exclusively to CLEAR+ members, are the latest in a series of moves by the TSA to make your time spent going through airport security shorter and less tedious as it gears up for an influx of travel during the 2026 FIFA World…