Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways Nvidia Corp.’s (NVDA) outsized role in the market means that index and target-date funds tracking the S&P 500 are heavily invested in this single company. AI hype could be cooling, China trade tensions are heating up, and the Federal Reserve’s walking a tightrope—any of these could send your “diversified” retirement fund on a wild ride. Options include looking for overlapping funds, choosing equal-weight options, or adding international stocks, which can dial down your Nvidia risk without missing the next rally. Nvidia is the most overweight stock in U.S. stock indexes ever—and by extension, in the retirement plans of…

Key Takeaways The S&P 500 added 0.5% on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, bolstered by communications and tech stocks, while an uptick in job openings raised concerns about the labor market.Shares of Google parent Alphabet notched the top performance in the benchmark index after a judge ruled the company would not have to divest its search engine.Dollar Tree warned of near-term pressure from tariffs, and shares of the discount retailer tumbled. Major U.S. equities indexes finished Wednesday mixed after a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that job openings in July declined from the previous month, suggesting that tariffs…

Walmart Inc WMT is quietly rewriting the retail playbook with AI “super agents” and digital twins — tools built to streamline operations and reshape the shopping experience. Against Amazon.com Inc.’s AMZN steadily expanding AI portfolio, Walmart’s bold ecosystem pivot may catch the e-commerce giant off guard.Walmart’s AI Overtake: The Rise of Super AgentsWalmart is rolling out four AI “super agents” — Sparky (shoppers), Marty (suppliers), Associate (employees) and Developer — built on agentic AI to consolidate and simplify functions across the enterprise. Sparky already personalizes retail experiences, automates reordering and suggests recipes via computer vision.In parallel, Walmart is using digital…

Investors own more than 131,000 homes in the Las Vegas Valley now.Las Vegas Review-journal | Tribune News Service | Getty ImagesA version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.John Carrafiell, co-CEO of BGO, a global real estate investment manager with $89 billion in assets under management, takes great pride in the fact that he sits right next…

The world’s most-flown rocket may start flying even more. U.S. regulators have completed a key environmental review that paves the way for SpaceX to more than double the number of Falcon 9 launches from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In addition to the annual launch increase from 50 launches to up to 120, the Federal Aviation Administration’s environmental review also approved a new on-site landing zone that could accommodate up to 34 booster landings per year. These boosters are the reusable first-stage portions of Falcon 9 rockets that SpaceX lands and refurbishes for future flights. The review, finalized on…

Starting your investing journey can feel like stepping out on a tightrope. It’s exciting and empowering, but also a bit terrifying.You may have read a few books on how to do it, even watched some talking heads talk about what to buy, but when it comes time to take that first pivotal step, things can get shaky.It’s worth pausing before you jump into your friend’s “hot stock tip” to make sure you aren’t thrown off balance by the most common mistakes new investors make. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. CLICK FOR…

Alphabet (GOOGL) shares are red-hot Wednesday after a federal judged ruled in the tech conglomerate’s favor.Specifically, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta barred the company from signing exclusive search engine deals, but stopped short of requiring it to divest Google’s Chrome browser.While banning Alphabet from entering new deals, Mehta allowed the company to maintain current agreements, including one with Apple (AAPL) that allows Chrome to be the default search engine in its Safari browsers. 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…

If you’re 65 or older and have been itemizing your tax deductions, you may wonder if the new “senior bonus deduction” in Trump’s tax bill — available starting in 2025 — could benefit you.After all, most taxpayers take the standard deduction. So, it makes sense that eligible older adults who do could stack the new bonus deduction on top of the regular standard deduction and the existing extra standard deduction for 65+.But what if you choose to itemize your deductions — can you still claim this new tax break? Here’s more to know. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal…

Buying a home has so many moving parts that it can feel like it takes forever to finish. One part of that process includes mortgage underwriting.A mortgage underwriter is the person who approves — or denies — your loan application for a mortgage. An underwriter is one of the most important people to review your application, and it could take days or even weeks to finish the underwriting process.If you’re beginning the home-buying process or simply planning for the future, let’s explore the role of a mortgage underwriter and why their work matters for your approval. From just $107.88 $24.99…

Key Takeaways The last deadline for filing 2024 taxes is in six weeks.The deadline is for those Americans who filed for an extension to file past April 15.The IRS estimated that about 19 million people filed for an extension in 2024.Experts recommend filing as early as possible, but the extended deadline is helpful for people who are self-employed or high earners with a range of investments. September is here, bringing pumpkin spice lattes and the changing color of leaves. And for some Americans, taxes. The final day to file your taxes if you received an extension ahead of the original…