Author: Money Mechanics

More Ground Rules for RetirementAuthor: Jann FreedRecently, I had the opportunity to attend a local event called Poetry Palooza. I participated in a workshop with Jewel Rodgers, the State Poet of Nebraska. Her workshop, “Big Mood,” was an interactive lab to help writers master the art of vocal dynamics, body language, and tone of voice. The goal was to bridge the gap between what we write and what the audience feels. While I am not specifically a poet, I am a speaker and writer and can benefit from learning how to use body language and tone of voice to make…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Stocks were choppy Friday as market participants awaited updates on negotiations with Iran. A continued rally in tech stocks kept the price action positive into the close, with all three main equity indexes ending the week at new all-time highs.Following news on Thursday that the U.S. and Iran agreed to extend their ceasefire for 60 days, President Donald Trump on Friday said via a Truth Social post that he is making “a final determination” on a Middle East peace plan. According to Trump, Iran must agree to “never have a Nuclear Weapon or bomb” and to reopen…

Austin, Texas-based Oracle Corporation (ORCL) offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Valued at a market cap of $549.2 billion, the company offers various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning ERP, Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management EPM, and others. Companies with a market capitalization of $200 billion or more are typically referred to as “mega-cap stocks.” ORCL fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the software infrastructure industry. More News from Barchart However, the stock currently trades 43.5% below its 52-week…

Americans have spent nearly $450 extra per household on rising energy costs during the Iran war, according to an analysis shared exclusively with CNBC’s Steve Liesman.The average household has shelled out $447.19 for additional fuel-related expenses since the conflict began, data from Moody’s Analytics found. That’s cumulatively cost American consumers nearly $60 billion as gas prices and airline fares surge.Moody’s data puts a dollar amount on a portion of the economic pain Americans are feeling as the U.S.-Iran war reaches its three-month mark. Higher energy costs can force consumers to raid their savings and lean more on debt to cover…

Artificial intelligence is changing the world, and simultaneously inventing a whole new language to describe how it’s doing it. Spend five minutes reading about AI and you’ll run into LLMs, RAG, RLHF, and a dozen other terms that can make even very smart people in the tech world feel insecure. This glossary is our attempt to fix that. We update it regularly as the field evolves, so consider it a living document, much like the AI systems it describes. Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, is a nebulous term. But it generally refers to AI that’s more capable than the average…

This week’s Baker Hughes Rig Count shows that the U.S. increased by 4 last week, resulting in a total count of 562 rigs. Canada increased by 24 over last week, resulting in a total Canadian count of 162 rigs. Breakdown by region Of the regions tracked by Baker Hughes, the Permian regions experienced an increase this week. Meanwhile, no regions experienced a decrease this week: Major Basin Variances This Week +/- Ardmore Woodford 2 0 Arkoma Woodford 1 0 Barnett 0 0 Cana Woodford 21 0 DJ-Niobrara 8 0 Eagle Ford 44 0 Granite Wash 17 0 Haynesville 55…

Josh Green, Network Engineering Manager, received Cboe’s 2025 Outstanding Community Service Award for his decade-long volunteering with Scouting America. Scouting America was founded over 100 years to help young people develop strong ethical and moral character, guided by the Scout Oath and Law. The organization focuses on outdoorsmanship, ethical decision making and strong leadership development.Josh was first introduced to Scouting America in the Kansas City area by his uncle, who encouraged him to join his local troop as a kid. As an adult, Josh became involved with the organization again when his son joined Cub Scouts. Josh now serves as…

Each week in our Ask the Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week, she’s looking at four questions on whether Congress will enact more tax changes before November’s mid-term elections and related topics.(Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.)1. Congress and tax changesQuestion: Do you think Congress will enact more tax changes before this November’s midterm elections?Joy Taylor: No, we really don’t expect any big federal tax changes to pass before November’s midterm elections. That’s not to say that many in Congress wouldn’t like to…

Mastercard (MA) shareholders might not be too thrilled with the stock’s more recent run, but few names have treated buy-and-hold investors to better returns over the long haul.The world’s second-largest payments processor has lost some of its luster over the past few years, but that’s more to do with the legal and regulatory landscape than the company’s operations. Threats to Mastercard’s duopoly with Visa (V) are overblown, bulls say, and shares are priced for future outperformance for patient investors.Buy-and-hold types who’ve been in the blue chip stock for ages can attest to Mastercard’s strength. And while its competitive moat might…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Health savings accounts (HSAs) offer a rare triple tax advantage: Contributions are tax-deductible, investments grow tax-free and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free.Those tax benefits come with an important responsibility, though. If you take tax-free withdrawals from your HSA, you should be able to document that the money was used for qualified medical expenses.While IRS audits involving HSAs are relatively uncommon, they do happen. And when they do, many account holders struggle to locate receipts or remember which expenses they reimbursed themselves for earlier. Creating a simple system to save and organize HSA receipts can help…