Author: Money Mechanics

Small caps outperform as Fed rate cuts lower borrowing costs and boost demand. Affordable valuations and growth potential attract investors to small-cap stocks. Two small-cap stocks are offering promising prospects despite sector-specific risks. Looking for actionable trade ideas to navigate the current market volatility? Subscribe here to unlock access to InvestingPro’s AI-selected stock winners. The Russell tracks the performance of 2,000 small-cap U.S. companies across various sectors, such as financials, technology, healthcare, and consumer services. It was established in 1984 by the Frank Russell Company and is a subset of the Russell 3000, which represents 95% of all U.S. stocks.…

Note: this unedited article may be used within a new chapter in my inflation primer.The topic of tariffs became of extreme importance in 2025, courtesy of American President Trump’s trade war on the rest of the world. In the modern meaning, a tariff is a tax on imports or more rarely, exports. (In practice, “export taxes” seems to be used in the financial media.) The origin of the term is that it referred to tables, coming from the Arabic ta’rif (a notification or announcement, see reference by Paul Anthony Jones below). The tables were of fees paid by traders, and…

Key Takeaways A nationwide index of housing prices showed that home values grew at a rate slower than inflation in June, which might indicate a cooling market.Housing prices are diverging by location, with prices in the Northeast and Midwest climbing, while prices in the South and West fell. Housing inventory levels are up, which is keeping prices down in some locations. Fresh data about U.S. home values is the latest sign that the market is dimming for sellers. The problem: The growth rate of home prices isn’t keeping up with inflation, which might indicate a cooling market. In some areas prices…

Key Takeaways Nvidia shares lost ground Thursday morning even as the AI chipmaker and investor favorite reported revenue and profit that topped analysts’ estimates.After registering a fresh all-time high earlier this month, the stock has traded mostly sideways, indicating apprehension among market participants ahead of the chipmaker’s quarterly results.Investors should watch key support levels on Nvidia’s chart around $174, $159 and $150, while also eyeing an important overhead area near $183. Nvidia (NVDA) shares lost ground Thursday morning even as the AI chipmaker and investor favorite reported revenue and profit that topped analysts’ estimates. While the results, released late Wednesday,…

The most oversold stocks in the information technology sector presents an opportunity to buy into undervalued companies.The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered oversold when the RSI is below 30, according to Benzinga Pro.Here’s the latest list of major oversold players in this sector, having an RSI near or below 30.Intuit Inc…

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 2,404 counties, decreased in 691 counties, and was unchanged in 17 counties in 2021, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The percent change in real GDP ranged from 81.8 percent in Coke County, TX, to –34.8 percent in Chouteau County, MT (table 1). GDP is the value of goods and services produced within a county. The size of a county’s economy as measured by GDP varies considerably across the United States. In 2021, the total level of real GDP ranged from $11.7 million in Petroleum County,…

In-brief analysis August 28, 2025 On August 25, 2025, the Monday before Labor Day weekend, the retail price of regular gasoline averaged $3.15 per gallon (gal) across the United States, 5% (or 17 cents/gal) lower than at the same time last year. The cost of crude oil typically accounts for a little more than half of the retail gasoline price. Falling crude oil prices, driven by increasing global crude oil supply, have contributed to lower retail gasoline prices heading into this Labor Day. From August 1 to August 25, Brent crude oil prices averaged $67…

Declining mortgage rates have pushed monthly payments down to their lowest level since the start of the year, leading to a modest improvement in demand. But Redfin agents report that many prospective buyers are waiting for rates to drop lower before making a move.  The weekly average mortgage rate is sitting at 6.58%, its lowest level in 10 months. Falling mortgage rates have pushed the median U.S. monthly mortgage payment down to $2,616, its lowest level since the start of the year. Lower housing costs are bringing some house hunters off the sidelines. Pending home sales rose 1.6% year over…

Hazal Ak / iStock via Getty ImagesFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysAI agents help identify and remove waste in business.All waste is costly, but not all costs are wasteful.CEOs pursue cost efficiency with AI to protect performance.In an AI-powered economy, business leaders are focused on enhancing the productivity and efficiency of their workforce and operations. To accelerate value creation, while focusing on cost reductions and efficiencies, companies are identifying and removing silos — structural, data, and organizational — so they can successfully deploy hyper automation and emerging technologies like autonomous AI agents and robots,…

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) gives most people 65 and older a new deduction on their federal income taxes starting in 2025.But to get the full or partial amount, you can’t exceed the income limits. For some older adults, it can thus make sense to reduce their taxable income to get under the limit.Through 2028, eligible taxpayers 65 and older can get an additional $6,000 deduction (or $12,000 for a married couple if both spouses are 65). This is in addition to the standard deduction for all taxpayers and the extra deduction for older adults. From just $107.88 $24.99…