Author: Money Mechanics

Real gross domestic product (GDP) by industry, or value added, is a measure of an industry’s contribution to GDP. In the second quarter, value added increased 7.7 percent for private goods-producing industries, 1.0 percent for private services-producing industries, and 1.0 percent for government (table 1). Overall, 13 of 22 industry groups contributed to the 2.1 percent annualized growth rate in real GDP in the second quarter of 2023 (table 2). Comprehensive Updates to the National, Industry, and State Economic Accounts As part of this first-ever synchronization of the national, industry, and state comprehensive updates, updated annual industry GDP estimates for…

Annex, a Scion community in Oxford, Ohio, that serves students of Miami University.Courtesy of ScionA 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.Consumers are increasingly concerned about the state of the economy, and that is affecting yet another real estate sector — student housing. Rent growth in the sector slowed to just 0.9% in July across 200 colleges…

How did we choose these deals? I only write about products I have tested myself, know is from a reliable brand, and would recommend to my friends and family. I have no interest in writing about junky products you’ll buy and regret spending money on. As a wearables editor, I’m constantly reading and writing news about interesting products, scrolling through Reddit threads to see what users have to say about these products, and testing them out for myself. So when I’m choosing deals, I have a low tolerance for garbage (and garbage discounts). You can trust that I’m only including products worth…

When you die, your IRA turns into an inherited IRA. Without proper planning, this can lead to high tax burdens for your beneficiaries. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Getty Images An Individual Retirement Account, or IRA, is a powerful savings tool. You can deduct your contributions on your current tax return and watch those funds grow tax-deferred. At some point you’ll be required to begin taking taxable distributions, ideally after retirement when your tax rate may be lower. But what happens to your IRAs when you die? You might assume your IRA simply passes to your beneficiaries. What’s easy to forget…

Key Takeaways A modest drop in mortgage rates could make refinancing possible for millions of homeowners, a recent report found.If mortgage rates could fall from current levels to around 6.3% by the beginning of the year, 3 million homeowners could be in position to refinance their home, according to financial services firm and exchange operator Intercontinental Exchange.Homeownership has become unaffordable for many Americans as high mortgage rates, on top of rising home prices, push costs higher. Even a modest drop in mortgage rates could offer homeowners some relief from high borrowing costs, according to a recent report. The August Mortgage…

Key Takeaways The S&P 500 added 0.4% on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, as investors looked past concerns about President Trump’s move to fire a Federal Reserve official and ahead to Wednesday’s Nvidia earnings release.Eli Lilly stock surged as the pharmaceutical company reported positive results from a late-stage clinical trial of its experimental oral weight-loss treatment.Keurig Dr Pepper stock fell for the second straight day after the company said it will acquire coffee giant JDE Peet’s and then separate its beverage and coffee businesses. Major U.S. equities indexes ticked higher as investors looked past concerns about President Donald Trump’s effort to…

On July 1, interest rates for new federal student loans rose to their highest levels since before the Great Recession. Interest rates for undergraduate loans have increased to 6.53% this year, nearly a 19% increase over last year and a 44% increase from just five years ago. For graduate and parent borrowers, costs were raised to their highest levels since 2006, with interest rates set over 9% (Figure 1). These higher interest rates could cost students over $3 billion in additional interest for loans taken out in this year alone.Figure 1: Federal Student Loan Interest Rates, 2006 – 2024Borrowers Will…

Key Takeaways Social Security’s trust fund is projected to run out of reserves by 2033, at which point retirees may only receive 77% of their benefits.The decline in U.S. fertility rates—1.6 births per woman in 2023—means fewer workers are paying into the system that funds today’s retirees.While congressional action is needed to prevent trust fund depletion by 2033, the long-term financial health of Social Security is largely dependent on factors like birth rates. While Social Security benefits are an essential source of income for many retirees, future beneficiaries could receive smaller benefits in the future, due in part to falling…

(BOE Report)– South Korea touted a broad range of U.S. investment plans by its companies at Monday’s summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, spanning shipbuilding, nuclear energy, aerospace, energy and critical minerals. While South Korean companies pledged at the summit $150 billion in U.S. investments, the countries also agreed to establish a non-binding agreement to steer $350 billion of investment funds proposed by Seoul in July as part of a trade deal to cut threatened U.S. tariffs on Korean goods. Here are some of the investment plans announced as part of the summit.…

Key Takeaways DISH TV operator EchoStar announced the sale of low- and mid-band spectrum allocations to AT&T for $23 billion.The two firms also agreed to change their earlier network services deal to create a hybrid mobile operator relationship.EchoStar said the transaction resolves issues with federal regulators, who have been investigating whether it was meeting it wireless and satellite rights obligations. Shares of EchoStar (SATS) skyrocketed 70% Tuesday as the satellite TV provider, under pressure from federal regulators, sold 50 megahertz of its nationwide low- and mid-band spectrum allocations to AT&T (T) for approximately $23 billion. The operator of DISH TV,…