Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)Stocks gained ground Thursday on well-received earnings from a pair of blue chips. While upside was contained early on by a few disappointing mega-cap results and uneven economic data, the main equity indexes rallied into the close to end the month at new record highs.Alphabet (GOOGL) found itself on the positive side of the ledger, adding 10% after the Google parent reported higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue. Google Services revenue was up 16% year over year, while Google Cloud revenue surged 63%. The company also hiked its quarterly dividend by 5%Additionally, Alphabet raised its full-year capital expenditures…

“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Kyle Richards has made it clear that she believes she is entitled to a significant chunk of estranged husband Mauricio Umansky’s real estate empire—telling her Bravo co-stars that she will fight to claim her half of the business that she says she helped to build should the couple end up filing for divorce.Richards, 57, who separated from the 55-year-old real estate tycoon in July 2023, was questioned about why she and Umansky have yet to make their split legal during the second part of the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” Season 15 reunion, according…

Target (TGT) is one of the oldest and most iconic brands in American retail, but shares in the national discount chain have been a bad buy-and-hold bet for ages.The big-box chain that came to define the concept of “cheap chic” traces its roots to a single family-owned department store in the early days of the 20th century. Six decades later, a rapidly expanding middle class in the midst of the baby boom drove consumer demand for one-stop shopping at value prices. It’s no coincidence that Target shifted to a discount format at the same time that Walmart (WMT) and K-Mart…

California-based PG&E Corporation (PCG) is a major regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company that serves a large portion of Northern and Central California. Valued at $36 billion by market cap, it operates primarily through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, delivering electricity and gas to millions of residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Shares of this leading gas and electricity provider have underperformed the broader market over the past year. PCG has declined 5.9% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 29.1%. In 2026, PCG stock is up 1.2%, compared to the SPX’s 4.3% rise on a YTD…

Russia will remain in the OPEC+ group alongside the remaining OPEC members and doesn’t expect a price war following the abrupt exit of the United Arab Emirates, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.  In a surprise announcement earlier this week, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it is quitting OPEC and the wider OPEC+ alliance effective May 1, to pursue its national interests. For years, the UAE has been working to boost its production capacity to 5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2027, and has frequently clashed with its fellow OPEC and OPEC+ producers over output quotas. The…

I Bonds remain an attractive investment for capital preservation. By David Enna, Tipswatch.com The Treasury announced this morning it is holding the fixed rate of the U.S. Series I Savings Bond at 0.90%, the rate in effect since since November 2025. This decision sets the I Bond’s six-month composite rate at 4.26% for purchases from May to October 2026. This is exactly as I predicted, which means the Trump administration is carrying forward the basis of a decade-long formula for determining the fixed rate. That is very good news for I Bond investors. An I Bond pays interest based on…

U.S. economic growth picked up the pace during the first three months of 2026, representing a steady recovery from the previous quarter’s pullback—while a key inflation metric closely tracked by the Federal Reserve accelerated.Together, the indicators released Thursday point to an economy running fairly hot, a trend that will put upward pressure on mortgage rates and reduce the chances of a Fed rate cut anytime soon.Gross domestic product (GDP), the total monetary value of the nation’s goods and services, increased at an annualized rate of 2% from January through March 2025, according to an advance estimate released Thursday by the…

Jada Jones and Nina Raemont/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysI found Bose and Sony’s headphones to be exceptional in their own right.Bose’s option appeals more to laid-back listeners who prioritize comfort and simplicity.Sony’s option appeals to headphone enthusiasts who prioritize customization and utility.Sony’s and Bose’s latest flagship headphones have some of the best noise-canceling performance we’ve tested at ZDNET. But which one is better if you’re deciding between the two?Also: Sony just shook up the Bose rivalry with these earbuds, and I wasn’t prepared for itHaving spent months testing both the Sony WH-1000XM6 and the Bose…

(World Oil) – bp Plc and Venezuela agreed on a deal to explore for natural gas offshore as the South American country’s energy revival gathers pace following the U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro. The memorandum of understanding between bp and Caracas establishes “potential areas for co-operation in material gas and future exploration,” bp said Wednesday in an emailed statement. Venezuela state firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA also announced the pact. The deal follows an energy conference in Caracas that drew large turnout from international companies and investors. European oil companies have been particularly keen to advance in Venezuela. Italian major Eni SpA announced…

(Image credit: Getty Images)The gap between firms that have built AI workflows and those still running on legacy tools is widening.Firms with integrated AI are doing more client work with the same staff. If you are still evaluating, you are not holding your position. You are losing ground.Google’s AI ecosystem is worth a close look because it runs on infrastructure your firm most likely already has. If you use Workspace, you already have the foundation. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special…