Author: Money Mechanics

(Image credit: Getty Images)If you’ve looked at your 401(k) lately, you may have been pleasantly surprised. After several years of market volatility, many retirement accounts are sitting at or near their highest levels.In the fourth quarter of 2025, the average 401(k) balance jumped to $146,400, up 11.2% from the same quarter in 2024, an all-time high. The average IRA also rose, to $137,095.This is great news for savers, especially younger generations struggling to pay for the now while trying to prioritize their future selves. This could be the perfect time to take a closer look at what’s in your plan…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Gold hasn’t been this hot since prospectors rushed to California with picks and shovels to seek a fortune. Convinced that the runup will continue, investors have flocked to buy gold, which has never been easier.You can buy gold bars at Costco or add exchange-traded funds that invest in physical gold to your retirement portfolio. And if you have gold jewelry or coins you no longer want, a “We Buy Cash for Gold” retailer will pay you a healthy sum for your shiny objects.But whether you’re buying or selling gold, it’s important to understand how you’ll be taxed…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Question: We’re 70-year-old retirees. Our children want to ship our three grandkids to our lake house for the summer. I consult two days a week and need quiet; my wife finds the idea of hosting all summer exhausting. How do we respond?Answer: As a retiree, one of the most rewarding things to do with your time may be to bond with your grandchildren. After all, they give you the best of both worlds — adoration and love without having to be in charge of the tough decisions or deal with the daily struggles of meal negotiations and…

Taxes aren’t exactly romantic, but your relationship status can have a big effect on your taxes. Whether you just got married, recently combined finances, or are navigating a more complex partnership, the IRS uses your status as of Dec. 31 to determine how you file for the entire year. That means one life change can ripple through your withholding, credits, and overall tax bill — sometimes in ways couples don’t see coming, for better or for worse. So, whether you’ve been married for years or just tied the knot, here’s what you need to know — from how to file…

Thank you for inviting me here today. Let me also thank those at all 12 of the Reserve Banks, the Board of Governors, and the staff at FedCommunities for their efforts to bring this year’s National Community Investment Conference (NCIC) to life, and a special thanks to the San Francisco Fed for hosting the conference here in Phoenix.1 Thirty years ago, I visited neighborhoods in the South Bronx alongside then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. Instead of the blighted neighborhoods that for years had attracted such negative attention, we saw new homes, safer streets, small businesses thriving, and a strong sense of…

Most mortgage companies have gotten very good at recruiting.  You can measure recruiting. You can count heads. You can show momentum on a spreadsheet and call it growth. Development is harder to quantify. It takes time, structure, and discipline, especially when the market is moving and everyone is tempted to chase short-term volume.  But if we’re honest, the industry’s obsession with recruiting has created a familiar pattern: loan officers join excited, get logins and a rate sheet and then discover the real gap: what to do when the file gets complicated, the borrower’s story doesn’t fit a neat box and…

When I speak to Blake Resnick, he’s walking around his drone startup’s newest office space in Seattle—a cavernous 50,000-square-foot facility that, Resnick estimates, won’t be fully set up until later in the year—potentially November. Still, the big (and for now, largely empty) building offers the promise of a fast-growing company intent on conquering its particular industry. The industry in question is public safety and the startup is Brinc, which sells drones to police and public agencies across the U.S. The company wants to be the “DJI of the West,” as Resnick has put it—a nod to the Chinese drone manufacturer…

(Oil & Gas 360) – EnerCom Denver – The Energy Investment Conference marks 31 years of connecting companies, investors, analysts, and leaders in the energy industry!  Presentation opportunities are available for E&P, Midstream, OFS, Minerals, and Energy Transition companies –  Sponsorship opportunities are available for companies seeking to increase their marketplace awareness    DENVER – March 19, 2026 – EnerCom, Inc. (“EnerCom”) is pleased to announce that a robust list of companies has already confirmed their attendance for the 31st annual EnerCom Denver – The Energy Investment Conference to be held August 17-19, 2026, at the Westin Denver Downtown. EnerCom Denver is the largest…

High shareholder yield backed by strong cash flow and disciplined capital allocation. Buybacks and dividends are funded sustainably without relying on debt or weak balance sheets. Undervalued companies combine solid returns, clean balance sheets, and growth potential. Many investors focus on dividends. But a more important question is how much total cash a company returns to its shareholders. This includes dividends, share buybacks, and whether the company can fund both using its own operating cash. For this analysis, the focus is on companies that return cash in a steady and disciplined way. The key factors include high shareholder yield, which…

Reinsurance broker Howden Re has released a new report in which the firm sets out a framework for introducing a secondary reinsurance market, noting that it would allow carriers to more efficiently allocate risk, which would ultimately improve and drive greater overall capital efficiency.The firm’s report explained that reinsurance functions as a type of contingent capital, highlighting that by taking on losses, it mitigates earnings volatility and diminishes the risk faced by equity and debt holders. “However, unlike debt or equity, reinsurance does not typically benefit from an active secondary market. Capital must be committed ex ante and priced to…