Author: Money Mechanics

Jack Wallen/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysConfiguring the Hyprland window manager is challenging.I wanted to see how well AI would perform at creating a .conf file.There’s an important lesson to be learned here.This is the year I realized how much I enjoy tiling window managers, and Hyprland is my favorite so far.If you’ve never experienced a tiling window manager, know that they aren’t exactly for the faint of heart. They are driven by keyboard shortcuts, of which there are a lot to memorize. On top of that, most of them require configuration via text…

(World Oil) – Glenfarne Group and ConocoPhillips Alaska have signed a gas sales precedent agreement supporting Phase One development of the Alaska LNG project, adding another long-term North Slope supply commitment to the proposed pipeline system. Under the 30-year agreement, ConocoPhillips will supply North Slope natural gas volumes for the first phase of the Alaska LNG project, which includes construction of a 739-mile, 42-in. pipeline designed to transport gas to Alaska consumers. According to Glenfarne, the agreement provides sufficient committed gas volumes to support a Phase One final investment decision and meet projected in-state energy demand. The Alaska LNG project is being developed in…

A woman in her 80s sitting on a sofa at home with a health care aide. gettyIn its efforts to prevent alleged widespread fraud in Medicare, federal regulators have blocked for at least six months any new home health and hospice providers from participating in these federal programs. This strategy may succeed in grabbing headlines but it won’t stem corruption and may limit access to care for many who need it. In the name of fraud prevention, the initiative appears part of a broader Trump Administration effort to restrict access to federal health and long-term care, especially through Medicaid. In…

Homebuilder sentiment perked up in May as the market for new single-family homes improved and a bill aimed at boosting housing supply gained traction in Congress.Confidence in sales conditions, expectations for the next three months, and buyer traffic all increased in May, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.The index improved three points to 37 for the month. But the gauge, which rates builder confidence from a scale of 0 to 100, still remains firmly in bearish territory.Builders have been largely cautious this year. The index fell to 38 points in March, then 34 points in…

(Image credit: Getty Images)For years, scoring concert tickets felt like the hard part. Fans battled online queues, paid premium prices and built entire vacations around seeing their favorite artist live. Now, a growing number of tours are facing a different problem: empty seats.Industry insiders have started calling it “Blue Dot Fever”, a term tied to the unsold seats lingering on ticket maps for some major tours and residencies. As ticket demand softens and household budgets tighten, more artists are scaling back shows, postponing dates or canceling tours altogether.For fans, the financial risk can stretch far beyond the ticket itself. A…

Imagine you’re riding a motorcycle at 160 kilometers per hour when an arrow appears, floating on the road ahead, telling you exactly where to turn. No phone, no dashboard. Just your helmet, and a lens the size of a thumbnail. This is not a concept video. It’s heading to European roads as early as this year. And it’s one early glimpse of where smart glasses are heading. Over the past few years, Big Tech has been quietly (and not so quietly) placing its bets. Meta has been selling AI-enabled Ray-Ban glasses since 2023, Google is building Android XR, and Apple…

(Image credit: Getty Images)We spend a lot of time talking about how much money you need to retire. Savings targets, withdrawal rates, investment strategies. All important.But there’s another factor that doesn’t get nearly as much attention, and in many cases, it plays just as big a role in retirement outcomes.It’s financial guidance. 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 Issues CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes,…

(Image credit: Getty Images)A client sold a property for $2.5 million that they had owned for more than 30 years. Their basis was low enough that the estimated tax bill was just over $800,000. Before we talked about anything else, they asked the question most people ask: “Should I do a 1031 exchange?”It sounds like a tax question. It isn’t. It’s a portfolio decision.The fork in the roadAt a high level, they had two paths: 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…

(Image credit: Getty Images)After 45 years in the financial services industry, through booms, busts, bubbles and breakthroughs, I’ve learned that the most reliable compass in personal finance is surprisingly simple.I focus on two aspects of financial planning that are in my complete control:My awareness of how I spend my moneyThe asset allocation I choose for my portfolioEven though it has taken me a few bear markets to figure it out, it is a compass that now guides me through market cycles, and it’s one I return to even more often today, in a world that feels increasingly uncertain — economically,…

Workers are getting paid to train artificial intelligence (1) systems to think more like humans and in some cases, they’re teaching machines how to do the very jobs they once feared AI would replace. That’s what happened to Hollywood writer and showrunner Ruth Fowler. In 2023, entertainment workers (2) went on strike in part over fears that studios could use AI to replace writers and actors. But after the strike ended, the work didn’t fully return. When another producer defaulted on a six-figure payment she was owed, Fowler found herself searching for a way to stay afloat. Must Read “I…